You’ve written a job advert and drawn up a shortlist of candidates, but before you can go ahead with a job offer, you need to go through the interview process. Conducting interviews – whether they are competency-based, panel, or over video – is a crucial part of the hiring process. It’s the employer’s opportunity to delve beyond a candidate’s CV and explore their suitability for a role. But how do you ensure you’re asking the right questions?
In this blog post, we detail 15 of the best questions to ask in an interview. These questions will help navigate the complexities of assessing suitable candidates.
Basic Questions
1. “Tell me about yourself…”
This open-ended question allows candidates to provide an overview of their background, work experience, and career aspirations. Listen for their ability to articulate relevant details concisely and highlight key achievements.
2. Walk me through your CV…”
Ask candidates to explain their CVs in detail, emphasising work history, education, and notable achievements. This will allow you to assess their ability to communicate effectively and present a coherent career narrative.
3. How do you stay organised/manage your workload?
Understanding how candidates handle time management and prioritisation is important, particularly if the role involves project management work working to tight deadlines. See if the candidate can provide effective strategies and systems they use to stay organised and meet deadlines.
4. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Inquiring about candidates’ five-year goals allows employers to better understand their ambitions, commitment to the company, and alignment with growth opportunities. This helps assess the potential for advancement and a mutual long-term partnership.
5. Do you have any questions for me?
Encourage candidates to ask questions to assess their engagement and interest in the position and the company. Look for thoughtful inquiries that demonstrate genuine curiosity and that they have taken the time to do their own research.
Intermediate Questions
6. What are your strengths?
Use this question to invite candidates to discuss what they view as their key strengths and how they relate to the position. Look for a combination of technical skills and soft/transferable skills, such as communication, leadership, problem-solving, and adaptability.
7. What are your weaknesses?
Evaluate a candidate’s self-awareness and their ability to reflect on areas of improvement. You’ll want to see candidates demonstrating honesty, and willingness to learn, and highlighting examples of how they have actively worked on addressing their own perceived weaknesses.
8. Tell me about a difficult work situation and how you overcame it…
Evaluate a candidate’s problem-solving skills and their ability to navigate challenges. See if the candidate can provide specific examples, outline their thought processes, and the outcomes they achieved in difficult situations.
9. Describe a time you fell behind schedule. What went wrong, and what would you do differently next time?
Understand a candidate’s ability to reflect on past experiences, take accountability, and learn from mistakes. Look for their proactive approach to improving their time management and overcoming obstacles.
10. Do you work best alone or as part of a team?
Understand a candidate’s preferred working style and their ability to collaborate effectively with other team members. Look for indications of their ability to contribute to team dynamics and work well with others.
Advanced Questions
11. Why are you leaving your current job?
Explore the candidate’s reasons for seeking new opportunities and professional development goals. Look for responses that indicate ambition for career growth, enthusiasm for new challenges, or alignment with your company’s values.
12. Tell me about a time you have turned a negative experience into a positive…
Evaluate a candidate’s resilience and problem-solving skills in challenging situations. This will allow you to assess their ability to find opportunities for growth and success despite suffering setbacks.
13. When conflict arises at work, how do you handle it?
Assess a candidate’s conflict resolution skills and their ability to maintain positive working relationships. Here you’ll want to see candidates demonstrating an approach to resolving conflicts with empathy, collaboration, and communication.
14. Give me an example of a time when you had to think or react quickly in response to a delicate situation…
Evaluate a candidate’s ability to handle high-pressure situations using tact and diplomacy. Use this question to assess a candidate’s thought process and the outcomes they have achieved while navigating delicate situations.
15. If you’re successful, what do you think would be the most challenging aspect of this role?
This question is used to assess a candidate’s awareness of the biggest challenges they may face and their ability to address them, allowing you to explore their ability to think critically and provide an honest opinion of their expectations for the role.
