Job Hiring Questions
- Thursday, June 17, 2010
What are the right questions to ask in a job interview? As an employer, you want to pose the hard questions that will give you a strong understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities plus the strengths and weaknesses of potential hires. Begin each interview in a comfortable atmosphere. If applicants feel at ease, you are likely to get them to talk more freely about themselves and their work habits. You might want to begin with a question such as, “How did you get involved in this line of work?” Pay attention, take notes, and let the applicant talk more than you do.
There are a few techniques and questions you can ask applicants in order to see their true colors. When an applicant comes into your office, they are prepared to answer the standard questions. Asking out of the box questions can help you decide on the best candidate for your business.
Asking a question such as “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” could provide some interesting answers, but keep in mind that the applicant surely doesn’t want to reveal that their worst weakness is not finishing a job on time, or habitually coming in late. Make sure you have references, and call them.
What may be more revealing are behavioral questions. Behavioral questions require a candidate to relate real situations, and demonstrate how their strengths and weaknesses are manifested on the job. For example, rather than asking a customer-service candidate to describe their people skills or problem-solving abilities, ask them to explain a recent problem or situation they experienced with a difficult customer and how they handled it.
This type of discussion can help you determine how the candidate approaches problem solving, and also generates a topic that you can ask the candidate’s references to comment on. As an example, did the reference see the situation similarly to the candidate?
Job interviews are stressful for both the potential employee AND the employer. A lot is riding on your decision, and you want to ask all the right questions so that you don’t end up with the wrong person. Think of it as a mini-marriage -- one that you don’t want to end in divorce!Labels: Employee Interviews, Hiring Questions, Job Interview Techniques
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