An interview is an awfully short time to get a sense of who a job candidate is. And as we all know, simply having the right skills or job experience for the role in question doesn’t paint the picture you need to make a good decision on potential talent. What you really want is to be able to get a sense of who the candidate is deep down, on a daily basis, when the pitch is over and the reality of the job kicks in. Not always easy when an interview calls for candidates to be at a peak of self-assurance and clarity of purpose. So here are nine interview questions that can inject some fresh spice into the proceedings and hopefully give you a glimpse of the man or woman behind the curtain.
1) “If there was one career decision you could take back, which one would it be?”– Job seekers come to interviews as puffed up with confidence as they can be, and that’s usually both a tactic and a defense mechanism. You as the interviewer are a blank slate that they would very much like to draw a brand-new version of themselves on. Reinvention is always in the mind of the job seeker, and that’s understandable. But asking them a question like this, which enables them to be honest about an error they believe they made, gives them the room they need to get past what is often a bluff of overconfidence and down to the nitty gritty of what you want to know about them.
2) “What’s something about you that might surprise people?”– On the topic of redefining themselves, here’s a question that gives them the opportunity to turn over a new leaf with you as they potentially start out on a new chapter of their life. With this question, you’ve giving them the opportunity to make one of the least-known things about them into one of the foundational things you know about them.
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3) “What would be your ideal position? And why?” – With this question, you can determine how closely the job they’re interviewing for matches the job they want. It’s a reality of a working life that we aren’t always sitting pretty in the exact role we want, but if your perspective talent says they want to ultimately be a lion tamer, but also would love to take the role of assistant librarian you’re offering, there’s a possibility of a mismatch causing unhapiness for them and for your company a while later down the line.
4) “What led you to your current role?” – Here’s where you can get what you need of their life story in the short time you’ve got with them. This question will prompt them to either tell a sad story of mistaken ambition and wrong turns, or an inspiring story about keeping one’s eyes on the prize and never losing focus on life goals. Neither story is necessarily a dealbreaker, but its valuable to hear how they relate the story of their recent career and whether they are reflective about it in a revealing way.
5) “Are you more interested in this particular industry or this particular job title?” – You don’t want to knock potential talent back on their heels with every question, but an unexpected ask like this will most likely get you the kind of unprepared answer that’s worth ten of the rehearsed kind, at least in terms of figuring out who the interviewee might be outside of your 30 minutes with them.
6) “What’s one thing you would like me to tell my hiring manager about you?”– Another chance to get a potentially unrehearsed answer, and a prime opportunity for them to get a message through to an HR major domo. And remember, just because they stammer and stumble a bit when you first ask, it’s the meat of their response that matters. With an unexpected question, you’re trying to get access to the first thought that enters their mind, which is also usually the most revealing.
7) “What did you learn about us while looking at our web site?” – You don’t want to trap potential talent into revealing they haven’t done their homework, but you also ultimately are always looking for someone who really wants to work for this particular company. They don’t need to respond with the enthusiasm of a majority stockholder, but it’s a valuable bit of information to know about your candidate, whether or not they’ve taken the time to understand the place they’re asking to be employed and potentially spend years of their life.
8) “What is motivating you to look for a new job?”– Here’s another question designed to get a visceral response from a job candidate. Nobody goes to job interviews because they like it: people who show up looking for work either need it or want it. So why? Is their current job making them unhappy? Is the pay too low? Are they moving? This is a friendly question, and the answer will hopefully be both casual and illuminating for you.
9) “Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me?”– Always a strong one to end on, and it relates back to the question covered in #8. It’s understandable that candidates feel the harsh spotlight on them and their skills and job experience, but the right person for the job will have a few questions in the other direction: about the hiring process, about the company and its benefits, and about who they’ll be potentially be reporting to.
