5 insightful questions to ask during interviews

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5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
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5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
Building up a team is one of the most important
responsibilities you’ll ever have as a manager. Each
employee you screen for an open position will bring a
unique set of skills, expertise, and background
experience to the table.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
For that reason, during an interview, it can often be
challenging to determine which candidate out of your
hiring pool may be the best suited for the job at hand.
Add onto that the fact that the typical interview
questions don’t offer much in the way of big insights.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
Questions like ‘tell me more about yourself’ or ‘what
would you say is your greatest weakness?’ might be
common recommendations, but they aren’t going to tell
you too much about the person sitting across from you.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
To truly better understand potential hires, it’s essential
to ask insightful questions during interviews that will
help you peel back the layers of each candidate. In this
presentation, we share just 5 such questions, which you
can begin using for your next hiring process:

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
1. Why are you interested in working for us?
Has the candidate done their homework about your company?
With the ease of access to information in today’s digital age, there’s
no reason why they should lack an answer to this question. If they
do, it raises a red flag.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
A candidate who hasn’t researched the type of business your
company engages in, the values it upholds, or the achievements it
has made…is a candidate who may lack a sincere interest in
working for you.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
A question like this also ensures that candidates are in alignment
with the company’s purpose, vision, and values, and helps you see
whether or not candidates have given considerable thought to
how they fit into the big picture.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
2. Why are you the most qualified candidate for this position?
A question like this gives you a comprehensive look into a
candidate’s own self-awareness. What do they believe to be their
foremost skills and core competencies? What do they bring to the
table? What sets them apart from their peers?

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
2. Why are you the most qualified candidate for this position?
If they can clearly communicate this, then they have an excellent sense
of the value they bring. More than that, this question allows you to
confirm that a candidate understands the responsibilities of the role to
which they’re applying, and that they’ve thought about how their
unique experiences can contribute to a position with your company.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
3. If hired, what would be your first priority in this position?
“This is a great question to ask in a later interview round when
you’re choosing between the final candidates that you’ve narrowed
down,” writes career expert Kat Boogard. "This one is effective for a
couple of reasons."

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
"First, it’s yet another opportunity to confirm that the interviewee
has the right understanding of all that the position will be
responsible for. Secondly, it gives you the chance to understand
their priorities. What do they believe should be at the top of the
position’s to-do list?“

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
"Last but not least, a question like this one means you can extend
beyond the generalities that often come along with interviewing
and get some insight into how that candidate would actually
perform in the role.”

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
4. What could your current company do to be more successful?
A question like this offers insight into the way a candidate sees the
big picture at their current organisation. It also allows you to see
their sense of creativity and the way they would approach a
problem.For instance, have they given any consideration at all as to
how their current company could improve upon itself?

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
If not, they might not be driven by continual improvement, or they
may have a more short-sighted sense of their contribution to the
workplace.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
Candidates who enjoy going above and beyond, however, tend to
look for ways to do things better. They enjoy making processes
more efficient, and they are motivated by helping the company be
the best it can be.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
5. What motivates you and how do you motivate yourself in difficult
situations?
Everyone wants an employee who takes initiative. If a candidate
speaks about being motivated by achievement, excellence, growth,
etc.—then you can rest assured that such a person will be motivated
to put forth their best work as a member of your team.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
situations?
It’s equally important to get a glimpse into their sense of resiliency.
How do they cope when things get challenging? Do they withdraw to
self-sooth at the expense of their work?

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
situations?
Or do they keep moving forward? Do they innovate and find new
ways to solve the problem at hand? Do they stay focused and get
the work done?

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
When it’s time to begin the hiring process and conduct
interview after interview, it can be challenging to find the perfect
fit for the open position on your team. With so much to
consider, it’s no wonder that hiring processes often take
companies weeks or months to complete.That’s why it’s
important to ask the right questions at every stage.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
Doing so will allow you to get a clearer and more detailed look
into the way your candidates think. As a result, you’ll better
position your company to bring the right team member on
board.

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DURING INTERVIEWS
We hope you enjoyed this presentation!
Visit www.shapingchange.com.au for more resources on
leadership development, change management,
emotional intelligence, and more!

5 insightful questions to ask during interviews

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5 insightful questions to ask during interviews