What to Ask Candidates in a Job Interview

An ideal interview will help you get to know a candidate professionally and personally and cover both hard and soft skills. After all, you’re hiring a person — not a list of qualifications.

Here is a list of interview questions you can adapt to your company and the individual position.

Introductory Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why did you apply for this job? (Variations: Why do you want this job? What interests you most about this role?)
3. Why do you want to work for this company?
4. What can you bring to the company?

Background Questions

1. What did you like most about your last job? What did you like least?
2. Tell me about a favorite project.
3. Why are you leaving your current job?

Work Style Questions

1. How would you describe your work ethic?
2. How do you handle stressful situations?
3. How do you stay organized on the job?
4. How do you prioritize tasks when you have multiple responsibilities?
5. Have you ever managed a long-term project, and if so, how did you keep it on track?
6. Describe your ideal work environment/company culture.
7. What management style do you respond best to?
8. What do you need most to succeed at your job?
9. Do you prefer to work as a team or individually?
10. Tell me about a time you saw a problem and took the initiative to solve it without being assigned.
11. Tell me about a time when you worked under either extremely close or hands-off supervision. How did you respond?

Teamwork Questions

1. What makes a great team?
2. Tell me about a time you had to work closely with someone who was very different from you or who you disliked.
3. Tell me about a time you had to rely on someone to get something done, and they weren’t responsive. What did you do?

Personality/Behavioral Questions

1. Tell me about a time you initially misjudged someone and how you learned differently.
2. Tell me about a time you made a mistake and what you did to correct it.
3. What are your greatest strengths?
4. What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
5. How do people describe you? (if the person is currently employed, you could change this to “How would your coworkers describe you?”)
6. Tell me about a time you were overwhelmed or under a lot of pressure at work. How did you handle it?
7. Tell me about a time when your company or team underwent significant change. What was that like for you, and how did you adapt?
8. What are you passionate about?
9. Tell me about a difficult situation (challenge, conflict) you encountered at a past job and how you handled it.
10. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision at work and how you responded.
11. What is your greatest professional achievement?
12. Tell me about a time you felt the greatest satisfaction at work.
13. What motivates you?
14. Where do you see yourself in five years?
15. How do you define success?

Leadership Questions

1. (For non-management and executive roles) Describe a time when you had to step into a leadership role.
2. (For managerial roles) How would you describe your management style?
3. (For managerial/supervisory roles) Have you ever needed to adapt your management style to fit specific employees? Was it successful?
4. (For leadership roles) How would you describe your leadership style?
5. How do you delegate responsibilities?

Client/Customer Service Questions

1. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.
2. Tell me about a time you didn’t meet a customer’s expectations. How did you handle the situation?
3. Describe a situation when you had to interact with a demanding customer. How did you handle it?
4. This job will require you to juggle multiple customer requests. How do you prioritize customer needs?

Closing Questions

1. Why should we hire you? What makes you uniquely qualified for this position? (Asking near the end will prompt the candidate to make a “final pitch.”)
2. Is there anything else you’d like us to know?
3. When would you be available to start?
4. Do you have any questions for me?

Need personalized help with your candidate search?

Summit Employment Professionals offers direct hire, evaluation-to-hire and temp staffing in Wichita, Kansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, plus executive search and HR solutions. Contact us today.