Interviewing Questions to Ask When Seeking to Hire
When looking to hire a new team member to join your company or small business, you want to find the best candidate with the qualifications and personality that fits your needs. In today’s job market, this is indeed a challenge. We need to sell ourselves as the best “boss” and company to work for, as well as learn the most about the candidate during the Interview process. It comes down to asking effective questions and listening well to the answers provided. Word your questions to provide as much opportunity to hear from the candidate WHO they are as well as WHAT they can provide. Working with sites such as Indeed and LinkedIn can help narrow down your search.
Here are 5 interview questions that may help you find the perfect person for your business:
#1. Using your own words, please give your definition of the position for which you are being interviewed. Explain how this position fits in with the overall mission or purpose of this company.
This can show you how much they understand about the open position they are applying for as well as the role it plays within the company. They should provide a brief picture of how they might fit into this role. It equally shows how much preparation they made before the interview. Do they know your business?
#2. What values and skills would you bring to this position? What can you do for us that perhaps someone else cannot?
This question is an open opportunity for the candidate to share about themselves and how they would fit into the role they desire. Listen carefully to what they disclose about their personal values to learn about them as a person. Do they line up with your company philosophy? Do they have the skills you are seeking? Do they have confidence in themselves?
#3. Describe what you believe to be the ideal work environment.
The candidate has the opportunity to open up about themselves. Listen to their priorities. Does your work environment match their needs? Would they fit in with the true culture of the job environment?
#4. What do you hope to learn at this company in this position?
“Learn” is the key word here. You will gauge how interested the candidate is in growing and improving – always a valuable quality in an employee. Also, see how you might tailor the role to support their development. Such a consideration is key to engaging employees in the long term.
#5. Provide me with a specific example of a time when you had to meet an important deadline. What specifically did you do in order to meet it?
To aid in allowing the candidate to share specific details about their experiences, this targeted question draws out a specific example instead of allowing them to speak in generalities. The question may help you gather a picture of how they work and how they meet priorities. Do they easily share their job experiences in a positive manner, or do they sound negative toward being under pressure? Use this question to gain insight into how the candidate explains and communicates about themselves.
Article provided by: Sharlyn Estrem