6 Effective Interview Questions for Long-Term Hiring Success

Bad hires happen – a lot. In fact, nearly three in four employers have confessed to making the wrong call when it comes to hiring.

Finding candidates who meet all your requirements can be an uphill battle for many hiring managers. By taking preventive action, you can avoid similar mistakes down the line while saving your organization time, resources, and inconvenience.

There is power in strategy, specifically when it comes to the interview process. As you continue your quest for the ‘right fit’, consider incorporating more strategic interview questions for a higher candidate success rate and less turnover.

Determining the most effective interview questions will vary on the role, organization, and industry. Hiring managers must ensure the right questions are being asked to reveal answers that determine whether the candidate is qualified for the position they seek to fill.

While prepping for an interview can be an intimidating task, there are a few things to consider, including the reason behind your selected questions. Start by reviewing their resume thoroughly. Is there a role you’d like more clarity on? Is there anything you know about the candidate that will help better structure your interview questions? Are you trying to learn more about their personality or their job experiences? All of the above serve as great starting points for strategizing your interview questions.

Preparing for an Interview

One of the most challenging factors of an interview is time. When you think about it, you’re only given a short amount of time to get an accurate idea of who your candidate is. Hiring managers are looking to identify:

• Experience and Skill Level
• Personality
• Culture Fit
• Potential

Determining this information in a short window of time isn’t an easy task.

As a reminder, many candidates will prepare for those traditional interview questions, likely responding with a rehearsed and well-thought-out answer. Set yourself up for success by having a handful of unique questions to ask during your interview. It’s worth noting that strategic questions aren’t intended to make your candidate feel uncomfortable, but rather to uncover telling answers that help weed out underqualified applicants.

While it’s important to ask questions specific to that particular candidate, you’ll want to ask a few general interview questions that will help assess any candidate, for any role. Here’s a list of 7 revealing questions to ask during your next interview for hiring success.

1. Tell Me Something About You That Isn’t on Your Resume

Before meeting a candidate, you’ll need to review their resume in detail. Using the information on the resume is a helpful starting point, however, additional digging may be needed to paint a clearer picture of your candidate.

Asking this question allows you to learn more about personality as there are limited ways to answer. The candidate will either keep it related to their professional experience or disclose more personal information such as hobbies, passions, etc. Regardless of their reply, this gives the candidate the opportunity to speak freely about themselves, shedding light on who they are as an individual.

2. Name a Difficult Situation You’ve Faced at Work. How Did You Overcome It?

This question is essential to understanding how a potential employee handles adversity in the workplace.

It’s those tricky situations that often reveal the core of one’s work ethic and help shape people into more experienced professionals. Listen closely to the candidate’s response. Analyze their tone and body language. Did it change when you asked the question? Did they sound defensive? Or did they explain how they learned from the experience?

3. What Are Your Strengths?

This classic yet effective interview question gives the candidate a chance to share what they consider personal strengths and how they relate to the role at hand. Ideally, their reply is answered with confidence and can be elaborated on should you ask for further details or examples.

By understanding the candidate’s strengths, you can see how those transferable hard or soft skills align with the job responsibilities and better determine their potential for a role within your organization.

4. What Are Your Weaknesses?

Strengths and weaknesses go hand-in-hand. Asking about a candidate’s weaknesses proves to be effective when dealing with personality analysis. Are they quick to deny they have a weakness? Do they lose confidence in their reply? Look for those candidates who are willing to share what they consider to be a weakness along with a plan to overcome it on the job. This helps indicate whether the candidate is self-aware and receives constructive criticism well.

5. What’s the Most Interesting Project You’ve Worked on During Your Career?

This question helps interviewers gain a better understanding of the candidate’s experience, along with their passions. By determining what they enjoy working on, you’ll know if the duties included in the role will excite the candidate or not. When employees are stimulated by their work, they’re more engaged. And more engaged employees undoubtedly lead to higher productivity rates. A win-win for all!

6. Why Do You Want to Work for This Company?

All of the above interview questions will help you learn more about a candidate and their potential within your organization. This question, however, is one of our personal favorites.

The candidate’s answer shows the amount of research (if any), they’ve done on your company. As a result, they are likely to share their reasoning for applying and why they feel they are a good fit. Do you feel the candidate aligns with your missions and values?

This question also helps determine those candidates who are just looking for a paycheck, or if they have a meaningful reason for applying to your organization.

Conclusion

Effective interviewing takes planning and practice for all parties. Rather than stressing about the experience, come prepared to gather as much information as possible on who the candidate is and how they’d fit inside your organization. By using this list of 6 effective interview questions, your chances of long-term hiring success are bound to deliver the results you desire.

For additional help with attracting and screening the brightest applicant, contact our Glades Talent recruitment team today. We adhere to your hiring request as if they were our own, delivering you with reliable candidates who become integral to your team’s success. Get started by clicking HERE for immediate assistance!