Five Great Interview Questions to Ask Possible Job Candidates

When interviewing most applicants, companies often use most questions for elimination, and perhaps that's as it should be. But every once in a while, along comes a candidate who seems both competent and trainable enough, to be worth considering. Mix these in with the regular questions you ask of prospective candidates and applicants.

1. "Have you ever been in trouble, on the job?" The answer they give is not as important as how they answer. Knowing that for 100% of every man and woman in the country, every one of us have been in trouble on the job, at least once in our lives. The only honest answer is "yes." What interviewers are looking for here is the applicant's level of honesty.

2. Make the interviewee sit still for one solid minute exactly, and ask them what they could have done within that minute. This gives the applicant a reference point in the value of prioritization, and time management. It also gives management a glimpse, if the applicant even can.

3. Give the interviewee a "semi-role playing" scenario, based on your company's work-flow. Take note of how they answer what they say, and what questions are they willing to ask? Watch for willingness to learn. Most good applicants are those willing to take suggestions. Good managers ask a lot of questions, and might even speak candidly.

4. Immediately after asking them where they "see themselves in five years," turn, lean in (take off glasses if you wear them.) and ask: "What do you really want to do? Wait for the answer. No matter what a person seeking work might tell you on the application, you'll want to know what your potential employee really wishes they were doing. Some hopeful candidates really do want to be doing exactly what they're being hired for. At the very least, this question reveals a bit of what the applicant is "about."

5. Why should we hire you? Not only doesn't it make sense the hopeful candidate at least like themselves enough to give any interviewer one good reason, this question gives a glimpse of the level of the applicant's confidence.

Sources:
Personal experience, and
Finding Great Employees
Hiring Honest Staff,/a>
Inc.com
ProfileInternational.com "Identifying and Hiring Great Employees"
Iowa State University "Hiring Good Employees"