Hiring a new employee can sometimes be one of the most stressful risks a business can undergo. Everyone remembers the journey of how they got the position they are in today and it’s difficult to say no to the fluctuating number of applicants. As a hiring manager or employer in 2020, it’s important that we look at candidates beyond the paper and get to know how this position will fit into their lifestyle and career progression. But more importantly how they will fit into the structure of your organization. At Centastaff we are an agency that looks at the big picture in the hiring process and makes sure that the candidate is right for the job and the organization is right for the candidate.
As the employer or hiring manager, you probably have your position description and company-related questions that you need to cover during the interviews, but here are six great questions to ask your candidate to learn a little bit more about them.
1. What is your favourite career accomplishment?
This question will highlight what a candidate gets excited about and what they considered to be an achievement. It is an important question to ask as an interviewer because it gives your candidate an opportunity to tell you about a career highlight that may not be written down on paper. Additionally, asking this question also allows the candidate to reflect on the work they have completed and will help you understand how and where they will fit into your company.
2. What is something about yourself that might surprise us?
This question can be a real eye-opener into what type of person outside of the business your potential employee is. The candidate will probably answer with an achievement or skill that is not work-related but will show you what they have a passion for and have accomplished within their passion.This question can be considered an ice breaker and may even replace the standard “tell us about yourself” within your employment process. At Centastaff, we ask this question because we want to make the candidates feel comfortable during the initial interviews and we want to learn about the candidate away from their qualifications.
3. Why did you apply for this role?
This question will give you insight into how they view the role and can be beneficial to ask both before and after giving a brief position description. The added benefit of this question is that it will rule out candidates that are not as interested in the position and more or less just would like a job.
At Centastaff we ask this question during initial interviews because it gives us an insight into what the candidate is looking for and gives us the ability to suggest better-suited roles and job vacancies for them. Therefore, puts them in a position they love quicker than other recruitment agencies.
4. What is a difficult situation that you have experienced and how did you overcome it?
This question is probably already on your list of questions to ask, but if it is not it is an important question to help screen candidates. In this question, you are looking for genuine answers where they can admit that something has gone wrong in a position and comfortably explain how they were able to handle it as an individual or in a team sense. It is important to remember that the difficult situation may not have been experienced in their current or last position and not to pressure candidates into answering with a complex answer as it may leave them feeling anxious or on edge.
At Centastaff, we provide hiring managers with resources and training to help them best combat the answers you may get from asking this question and sift through candidates that aren’t right for your organization.
5. If you were to describe this company, how would you describe it?
It is always a good idea to see how much a candidate understands about the company before diving into the position description during the interview, as it shows how much research they have done on the company and whether they are passionate about the position. With this question, there is no right or wrong answer particularly if they have limited knowledge of the company. There are two reasons you should ask this question:
- You see how much the candidate knows about the company before asking the hard questions in the interview.
- You get an idea of how your organization is perceived online and by consumers.
Additionally, this question provides insight into what you need to highlight about the company (and position) that the candidate may not be familiar with.
6. What is your definition of a hard worker?
This question will demonstrate who is the right candidate for your business. At Centastaff we know that every organization has a different way of doing things and that they want to hire the right person for the position. This question highlights the values and the expectations that the candidate has for themselves and others and will help you evaluate whether they will fit into your company culture. Finally, their expectations and values are important to know because it will demonstrate the pace they are willing to work at and if you hire them you will be able to hold them accountable for their words.
So there you have it, six questions to help you get to know your candidate a little bit better and to help your candidate feel at ease during the interview process. If as an employer you are still unsure of what to ask in your interview, or you have queries about other interview skills and operatives, do not hesitate to get in contact with the Centastaff team and we will set up an employer consultation. Just fill out the form below or give us a call on (03) 9267 9111
