5 Great Interview Questions to Ask Potential Candidates

As a hiring manager, interviews can seem so routine and mundane after awhile. I mean you've read the resume, you're prepared to talk about what the role entails, and you have your handy, dandy interview guide with questions pre-selected. What I've just described is what used to bore me as I conducted interviews. While the candidates were different and interesting, the questions in the interview guide were just the opposite! Many of the questions asked during interviews didn't seem to solicit the responses needed to make an accurate recommendation for the open position. If I could design my own interview guide, I would ask potential candidates the following 5 questions:

1. Tell me why you are the best candidate for the job based on what you know about your shortcomings. The answer to this question gives the candidate the opportunity to sell themselves in their own words while recognizing their area(s) of opportunity. As a hiring manager, you will be able to glean information from this answer which speaks to the necessary qualifications for the role.

2. Give me an example of how you turned adversity into a moment of victory. Change is something that all of us experience and it isn't always great. A person who can make lemonade out of lemons is someone who could possibly be an asset to the organization.

3. In any team setting, you have the following: players, observers, and leaders. Which one of these best describes you and why? Most great employees are a part of a greater group, meaning that team dynamics are unavoidable. Depending on how this question is answered, you can determine whether or not the candidate will work well within your existing team.

4. Tell me how you manage your time. Someone who can't account for their time will not hold themselves accountable in the workplace. As a manager, this candidate will take up more of your time than you have to spare.

5. What accomplishment are you most proud of and why? Candidates seem to open up when asked about who they are as individuals. You now have the opportunity to learn about the actual person, aside from their job performance which candidates tend to appreciate.

Based on how a candidate responds to these questions, I would know who to recommend as a new hire for my open position.