An effective hiring process hinges on an effective interview stage. Interviews provide valuable opportunities to gauge a candidate’s skills, personality, communication style, leadership potential, cultural fit, and a range of other qualities. But you need to ask the right questions to properly assess these criteria.
Learn a few strategic interview questions to ask candidates to find the best fit for your role and organization.
What Drew You to This Role?
Kick the interview off by asking an open-ended question about the candidate’s interest in the position. This allows you to gauge several things:
- How well the candidate researched the position and your organization
- The candidate’s motivation for applying
- How the role might be different from or compatible with their current position
If a candidate cannot articulate why they are interested in the position, this may indicate that they are not serious about working for your company or have not done their due diligence to prepare for the interview. While you can continue with the remaining questions, you may want to dig deeper into why they answered the way they did.
Can You Tell Me About a Time When You Solved a Problem in Your Organization?
Behavioral questions are some of the most strategic interview questions to ask candidates. An interviewee can explain their skills and qualifications all day, but giving real examples of how they acted in certain scenarios is a different story.
Asking a candidate to “Tell me about a time when…” allows you to better gauge how they performed in previous roles and how they might respond to common challenges that arise in your organization. Candidates should be able to clearly articulate the:
- Situation: The context of the situation they are discussing
- Task: The task or challenge they were responsible for
- Action: The specific actions they took to address the situation
- Result: The outcome of their actions
This is the “STAR” method of answering behavioral and problem-solving questions that demonstrates critical thinking.
What Are Your Short and Long-Term Goals?
Retaining top talent is an essential element of promoting long-term success for your organization. Retention helps you minimize training and onboarding expenses and deliver the most reliable performance. It makes sense to gauge how long a candidate would be prepared to stay with your organization.
Asking about their short- and long-term goals can help you understand whether they would be motivated to stay with your company long-term or even transition into higher roles over time.
What Is a Skill You Excel in, and in What Areas Do You Have Room for Growth?
Candidates should be able to clearly dictate their strengths and weaknesses. Being overly boastful or conveying that they have no weaknesses could indicate that they do not have a growth mindset. Alternatively, if a candidate states a weakness that would prove detrimental in your role, you may need to move on to another job seeker.
Let 45 Solutions Aid Your Hiring Process
At 45 Solutions, we help businesses attract and retain top talent. We can share strategic interview questions to ask candidates and support your entire hiring process. Book a call today to learn how we can assist you.
