Best Interview Questions to Ask

How do you determine the questions you want to ask in your interviews?  The interview process gives a small snapshot of opportunity to decide whether this person is the right person for your role and your company.  It is your opportunity to look at their values, experience and expectations so how do you do this effectively?

What do you want to know?

There are 3 main areas that you want to cover.

1. What they know about you and the company?

Research shows that candidates who have spent time investigating your company are more likely to stay in the process as they have invested more in you.  This also leads to better retention if they take the role.

2. What skills and experience do they have which will transfer to your place of work?

Spend time looking at their skills and experience from their CV and whether there are any red flags.  Explore any CV gaps and take time to learn what they are used to doing daily.  How do these match with the most important parts of your role?  What must they have, and what is trainable?

3. What is important to them at home and the workplace?

Do their values match yours?  What is important to them in the workplace?  Is it around the opportunities, the management style or the job itself?

Here are my top 3 areas to ask about.

1. Job History

Spend time looking at what they have done so far.  Look at how they have progressed, and their reasons for leaving their previous role. Most importantly look for patterns.  Is it always the same reason for moving on in a job? From looking at their history what is the average length of time they will likely work for you? What will you need to do to keep them longer?

2. Competency-Based Questions

These questions are the best predictor of whether someone will be good at a job.  Break your role down into the skills or competencies a candidate needs and ask around these. See our last newsletter for more help.

3. Values Questions

In an SME fit is the most important thing, so it is worth spending time evaluating how the candidate will fit with you.  Explore what gets them up in the morning, what they are looking for in their next boss and what values are important in their lives.  Look at how they fit with yours.

Action points for you:

Considering this information as a business owner/hiring manager when you are next interviewing you may want to:

• Create a framework of standard questions that you ask all candidates.
• Create a scoring system for comparison purposes between candidates.
• Contact me for my worksheet for more guidance.

If you want to spend less time on recruitment, optimise your hiring processes and attract the best candidates book a free strategy session with me, Caroline Hunt at Emerald Starfish HERE.