Questions to Ask a New Hire Candidate

After countless interviews, you still haven’t hired a good fit for your company. You’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let Controller’s Group, Inc., make the interview process seamless for you.

Finding the Right Fit

Finding a qualified candidate who’s a good fit for your company starts with asking the right questions. If you don’t ask the right questions, you won’t get the answers you’re looking for, which ultimately will lead to the possibility of hiring the wrong candidate.

So before you even post a job opening for your company, it’s crucial to develop a set of specific questions to ask job seekers during the interview process.

Here are some good questions to think about including in your interview process:

  • How did you prepare for the interview?
    • If the job candidate has some background knowledge about your company and can relay the information to you, it shows they took the time to learn more about your business and the job description.
  • What are your short and long-term goals?
    • A candidate who expresses short and long term goals shows that they put thought and effort into planning their professional development.
  • Why should we hire you over other potential employees?
    • A qualified candidate will answer this question with confidence but also be modest about their skills and experience.
  • What do you think about social media at work?
    • This is a crucial question to ask in today’s world. A candidate’s take on social media usage in the work environment could be a game-changer, good or bad, when moving forward with the interview process.
  • How do you handle conflict?
    • When a candidate answers this question with a well-thought-out answer, it shows they can handle work frustrations well.
  • What are some of your favorite tools that keep you organized?
    • This question will tell you two things about the candidate: If they have a personal task management structure and if they are up to date on modern task management software.
 

Behavioral Interview Questions

Another set of questions to consider when preparing for the interview process is behavioral interview questions. A candidate’s answer to a behavioral question can give you a more comprehensive understanding of how the potential employee handles specific situations in the work environment.
 
We’ve put some examples of behavioral questions into several categories:
  • Leadership
    • Do you have an example of a time when you delegated efficiently?
    • How have you led by example?
  • Time management
    • How do you handle a lot of responsibility?
    • What’s an example of how you strategically work to get everything done on your to-do list?
  • Communication
    • Can you give an explanation of how you’d communicate an involved idea/solution to a client or colleague who’s confused or misunderstood?
    • What major challenges and problems have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
  • Client-facing
    • What have you done that has been most effective in persuading others to your own ideas?
    • Can you describe a situation where you disagreed with someone who had more authority than you?
  • Teamwork
    • Can you give me an example of a team project that failed?
    • Do you prefer to work with a team or on your own?
 

A well-developed interview process has a variety of behavioral and general questions to ask job candidates. Controller’s Group helps employers analyze and choose the best questions to ask to ensure quality candidates move forward in the selection process.

Attracting Job Candidates to Your Business

Before beginning the candidate interview process, you should also take some time to think about how you’re going to sell yourself and your company to quality candidates. It’s common for business owners to forget that job seekers often interview the hiring manager just as much as they interview candidates.

But to attract job candidates, it’s essential to think about the pros and cons of working at your company.

Here are some common company perks that you might want to emphasize to potential employees:

  • Free snacks and beverages
  • Holiday parties
  • Part-time remote work
  • Bonuses and incentives
 

While these are positive things to consider, they might not be enough to seal the deal with a quality candidate. Consider how your team supports each other and what human resources do to ensure each employee’s needs are met. These are essential points to emphasize during the interview that will make or break a candidate’s decision to accept your job offer.

Latest News