Job Interview Questions to Ask

When the screening of the candidates is done, you will bring the top two or three in for an interview. What questions should you ask them? What answers should you be looking for? How will you know which one to hire? Whether you work for a large company with a Human Resources department and volumes of procedures or are a small business owner with a few employees, the types of questions you want to ask are the same.

The Questions to Ask

You want to ask the kind of questions that, in increasing order of importance, tell you 1) whether the person has the skills to do the job, 2) how they function under pressure, and 3) how well they will fit into the team.

Can They Do the Job

These are perhaps the easiest questions. You have seen the person's resume so you know they claim to have the necessary skills. Ask a few questions to verify what they claim.

• "I see you managed the payroll for three subsidiaries. What was the most difficult part of integrating all of them?"
• "When you were the Marketing Manager for ABC company what were the steps you took when planning the annual marketing budget?"
• "I see you program in (whatever language). How would you link an indexed field variable to display on mouseover?"

Notice these questions ask how or what. They can not be answered yes or no. Listen to the answer to see how quickly they answer, how complete/correct their answer is, and whether they actually answer what you asked or go off to something with which they are more familiar.

How Well Do They Function Under Pressure

This may be the area where most managers have trouble asking good questions, but they are more important than the job competency questions above. We are reluctant to be the "bad guy", to put someone under pressure. However, there are very few jobs, and certainly none that report to you, that don't place the employee under stress from time to time. Anybody can do well in calm times. You want people who can function well when things get confusing or difficult. To identify which candidate will perform best under pressure, ask tough, stressful questions.

• "What makes you think you are better for this job than all the other candidates?"
• "Tell me about a stressful situation that occurred repeatedly on your last job and how you handled it."
• "Which co-worker at your last job did you get along with least well? What did you do about it?"