Wondering about top employer questions to ask at an interview? Having your questions prepared in advances is a good idea, this helps to add structure to the interview and helps the meeting progress its natural course.
Some timeless questions that must be asked in an interview:
- What are you main strengths?
- What are your main weaknesses
- What makes you different?
- What would your past employers suggest are you best qualities?
These questions will help you assess how honest the candidate is and well as if they are confident and bring the correct skills to the role. A good candidate will highlight one weakness but turn this into a positive.
Some good questions to ask the candidate about the company:
- What makes you want to work for our company?
- What do you know about our business?
- What skills do you think will make you suitable for this position?
These questions will help you find out if they candidate has done their research, any well prepared candidate will do their homework on your company, they will find out exactly what you do and how they can fit in using their skill set. You want to find out if they have applied for your position knowing they can bring their experiences and knowledge and apply them to the available position for the greater good of the organisation.
Progressive questions
Again these questions will help to find out vital information about your candidates. Many employers will be looking for a long term fill for their position, assessing your candidates future plans is important for planning. Some questions which can help assess their plans are as follows:What are your main goals in your working life?Where do you plan to be in five years?These questions will help to see how important the position is to them. If they are keen and see their future with you, the replies will be about progressing in your company. Of course some positions are short term or a stop gap, and thus the answers will be different. These questions can help the employer understand the candidate and plan appropriately.
What drives the candidate?
Finding out what motivates the candidate is important, this will give you a great insight into the mind of the potential new staff member. Understanding what drives them can help you integrate them into the surrounding team and lead to better performance and higher output.
Simple questions to ask:
- What part of work do you enjoy most?
- What motivates you?
- What tasks give you great satisfaction?
- What tasks do you dislike the most?
Conclusion
When interviewing staff always make sure to ask the same questions to all the candidates, this may sound simple but having an organised structure to the interview is not always easy, especially when you are in full flow conversation with the candidates. Make sure to make notes of all answers, as this will prove invaluable when it comes to reviewing the candidates after the interviews have finished. If you find it difficult to choose between candidates we would strongly recommend inviting them back for second or even third interviews if the caliber of candidates is that high.If you found this blog insightful you can read more tips and tricks in our business blog.
