10 job interview questions to hire the perfect candidate

Do you have a vacant job position at your office and looking to hire a suitable candidate for the post? We know you are looking for the best candidate who fits position perfectly, but the question that trouble most recruiters are - how to find that elusive perfect candidate?

Interviews can be hard-hitting tasks, for people sitting at both ends of the table. A job seeker prepares for days together for his big interview day while on the other hand, recruiters put in lots of efforts to prepare questionnaires which can test a candidate’s eligibility, abilities, potential, and experiences. As an interview is a final stage in the recruitment process, the interviewer needs to be very careful while selecting ‘the one.’

If you are looking for the ideal questions that would be helpful in screening the candidates and filter the ineligible ones from the eligible ones, then look no further -

Here are 10 most ideal interview questions which will help you to hire the perfect candidate for your vacant job position:

1.Can you please briefly discuss your resume?

Let’s be honest here. Nobody likes to go through multiple resumes thoroughly before taking an interview. Just a glance, that’s it! So asking the candidate about discussing the resume can be a good way to know about his/her achievements as well as see whether he/she is able to effectively communicate those achievements in crisp and concise manner.

Generally, candidates go on describing their college level achievements, projects or grades. Be careful to weed out candidates who only keep on stressing about their degrees rather than the skills learned. Remember, their skills are going to add value to the role, not their degrees.

A good answer is one which effectively demonstrates the accomplishments that could be relevant to the job position. It should be a well-balanced and succinct while highlighting other aspects of the candidate’s profile such as hobbies, extra-curricular and career goals so as to explain how he/she could add value to the job requirement. Additionally, the body language of the candidate can be an important yardstick to measure his/her suitability for the post.

2.What can you offer us that someone else can’t?

This question can help to check the confidence level of the candidates as well as to see their ability to present their skills set in a unique or different manner. Who are we kidding with? We all know, good candidates more or less have the similar level of skills and qualifications. So what sets them apart is their way of presenting those similar skills in a different manner.

Be aware of candidates who unnecessarily brag about qualities that make them no different from the queue of candidates waiting outside the room. A candidate who replies with a clichéd one-liner like ‘I am hardworking, talented and persistent’ without supporting it with valid examples, is not someone you are looking for.

A good answer is one where the candidate is not boastful in his/her approach but still exhibits a remarkable level of confidence. It should also highlight special qualities along with examples which add a few extra bucks to their profile.

3.Why are you interested in working with us?

This is an ideal question to separate the candidates willing to put in efforts towards the post and those who are seeking a job without any serious commitments in mind. This will help you to not only identify candidates fit for the job position but also grasp their understanding of the company’s motto, work ethics, etc.

You will meet candidates who will reply with answers like ‘I was looking for a job and I saw your job post’ and others who would reply ‘I want to put my skills into practice and use my experience as a springboard for my career to flourish.’ Now you know who to hire?

A good answer is one which not only shows the willingness of the candidate to invest his/her time and energy towards the work but also the ability to implement the workplace experience and observations into future use. The candidate should also demonstrate good knowledge about the company which reflects his genuine interest in the post.

4.What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Knowing the strengths of the candidate will help you determine his/her suitability towards the job requirements and also let you know what he/she can bring on to the table for that specific job. For example, if you are want to hire someone for the post of an analyst then you will definitely look out for a candidate who has good analytical skills, but if he has good communication skills as well then it is an added benefit to the team.

Talking about the weaknesses will demonstrate their areas of improvement. Make sure that the weaknesses mentioned do not cause a major hindrance to the work capacity of the candidate. Suppose someone says he/she is not very punctual, has temper issues and is a bad listener; that’s a red signal. But be clear about the fact that everyone has some kind of weaknesses to be a little easy on that.

An ideal candidate should showcase strengths that closely match the job requirements by validating them with proper examples and should have weaknesses that should not hamper the work. Not only this, he/she should show the willingness to learn from their flaws and work towards improving them.

5.Tell me about a time you made a mistake.

This question will enable you to check the candidate’s experience at handling negative situations and turning around a bad decision. Don’t limit the question to professional front only; let the candidate divulge a little beyond that and allow him to talk about a mistake on the personal front too.

Keep an eye on candidates who easily pass the blame on to others and take no responsibility for their actions. We are all humans and making mistakes is a natural tendency. It is impossible to find someone who has never committed any mistake in his/her life. If you come across any such candidate, be sure that the candidate is just trying to conceal the flaws.

Acceptance and willingness to learn from a mistake is the first step in this answer. A good answer to this question should be demonstrated with a high level of confidence along with highlighting the lessons learned from the mistake and the role it played in shaping the future actions.

6.Where do you see yourself 5 or 10 years down the line?

This question will give you an insight into the candidate’s long-term goals in life as well as how long is he /she planning to work for this company. This will also help you figure out the candidate’s interests and if those can be aligned to the with the company’s job requirements.

A hasty answer with no long or short term goals reflects that the candidate does not value the job position that he is being interviewed for. Steer clear from such candidates!

A good answer presents an outline of career goals, career improvements plans while showing considerable interest in the current job position. Candidates who exhibit high levels of honesty in their answers and discuss not only career goals but life goals as well, do deserve bonus points, don’t they?

7.Tell me how you handled a difficult situation on the job.

This question would enable you to ascertain a candidate’s maturity level and efficiency of handling difficult situations. This way you can foresee how the candidate can handle such situations (if they arise) in the future.

You should be quick to filter out candidates who give generalized answers like ‘I have faced many difficult situations in life but with my dedication and intelligence I managed to come out of it easily.’

A good answer should display problem-solving skills and thinking abilities of the candidate backed up with an example of a tough situation he /she faced and what techniques he /she employed to solve the problem. It should showcase his/her efficiency to deal with pressure without affecting the productivity at work.

8.What motivates you? Or what gets you up in the morning?

This will enable you to see what pushes the candidate to perform and if he is moving ahead on the right track according to his/her motivations or not. Secondly, it will also reflect upon his/her values as well, as motivation is something which comes from within, it is not acquired.

It is easy to filter out candidates who give vague or unproductive answers. There should be traces of honesty and a factor which actually motivates them to work towards their goals.

A good answer should be straightforward in approach followed by examples where the candidate explains about achieving something difficult in the past and what motivated him/her to do that.

9.What is your idea of an ideal week, personally and professionally?

This question will enable you to see how the candidate maintains his work-life balance. Meanwhile, you can also get to know whether the candidate is comfortable with working on odd time (if the need ever arises.)

Some candidates would just say that they would go with the flow and do things that come their way. Well, that’s not bad but having a schedule for the week would be excellent. It would be nice to hear someone say that, they have prioritized some important tasks in the office for the first three days; next, they would complete some more tasks along with finishing off a book they have been reading since long and finally planning to take a trip out of the city over the weekend.

A good answer is one which presents a map of things to do category wise, putting high priority tasks first on the schedule. This will help you to understand the priorities and productivity level of the candidate.

10.There have been a lot of new technological innovations in the recent past. How do you think we can incorporate those into our work?

This question will help you identify the candidate who has a strong knowledge of the current developments as well as is willing to adapt to new changes. Not only this, his idea to incorporate new developments into work will demonstrate his creative thinking ability.

Just mere knowledge of current developments in the technological field is not enough; the candidate should have creative ideas regarding their implementation in the work area too. This shows that the candidate is updated regarding his field and has a keen interest in work too.

A good answer should demonstrate a willingness to adapt to push new boundaries in the innovation section and incorporating those into work. He /she should acknowledge the fact that the working style is changing every day and needs incorporation of new ideas and developments regularly to be updated.

CONCLUSION

So, these were some of the toughest questions that can be asked in a job interview. We hope these help you to get your ideal catch for the desired job position! Do let us know if you implemented any of the above into your questionnaire and if that helped you to select the perfect candidate.