8 Great Interview Questions…

Posted 14th Oct 2020

1. What one skill do you feel most makes you qualified for this position?

While cultural and personal fit are clearly important factors, it’s arguably first and foremost to find someone who possesses those essential skills/ qualifications needed for your vacant or newly created post.
..If he or she touts a skill that’s real impressive, but totally irrelevant, that’s quite possibly an alarm bell indicating you’re not on the same page regarding the major responsibilities involved.

2. Describe a difficult situation or project at work and how you overcame it?

Whilst generally instructed to be ready for them in some shape or form, many interviewees still dread these behaviour / competency based interview questions, but they’re often a very effective way for you to gain a better understanding of how that individual’s experience translates from their CV to the real-world.
…Starting a new job isn’t always easy and even once settled in, a new hire is bound to deal with some obstacles / challenges periodically. The answer to this question will provide insight as to how effectively he or she might cope

3. What three words would you use to describe your ideal work environment?

It can also be a good move to establish the interviewee’s preferred working environment and atmosphere etc.
…After all, relevant skill and experience aside, you want your new hire to feel comfortable, and so perform at their best, in the surroundings they’ll be in for eight or so hours each day

4. If hired, what is the first thing you would tackle in this position?

A great question to pose during a later round of the interview process, when probably choosing between the final two or three preferred candidates.
…Does the interviewee truly now have the right understanding of what the role requires and needs to achieve in the future? What would his or her priorities be?

5. What excites you most about this position?

So what is it that initially attracted this candidate to apply? What makes him or her most excited about the prospect of working for you or your company?
…Enthusiasm and energy generally lead to high productivity and hopefully longevity.

6. How do you handle stress and pressure?

How would he or she respond when faced with a difficult situation or decision to make? Again look for a specific example of when the interviewee has dealt with such an occurrence and indeed how they did so effectively.
…Things at work do not always run smoothly of course and when that happens, how will the interviewee deal with the stress that this may well cause them.

7. Are you a team player?

Chances are that the interviewee will say yes to this, most do, but assuming they do, then what is that they feel makes them a good team player?
…As with some of the previous questions, asking for specific and real examples will help establish if this is really the case and to what degree.

8. What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?

You may perhaps only want to ask this if the post in question has, or will soon have, supervisory responsibility. That said, even if doesn’t, it may well provide some useful insight as to how the potential new employee will respond to management and how they would best be managed.

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