Now that we’ve talked about preparing for the in-person round of candidate interviews, let’s take a look at the actual interview script, and a a subset of the questions contained within. In this post, I’ll walk you through the high-level topical questions that you’ll want to ask a candidate on an in-person interview. These questions should be asked in order, without skipping any of the questions. Remember - consistency is key when you’re setting a baseline for candidate assessment.
After everyone has been seated, you should open the interview with the following scripted intro:
“Thanks for setting aside this time to come in and visit with us about our open role. We’ve been impressed with what we’ve learned about you thus far, and I want you to know that you’re now a finalist for the [open position title] role here at [company name]. When we first met on the phone, I explained to you that we have a thorough interview process, and I want to again thank you for understanding how important choosing the right person for this job is to our company and its culture.
In this interview, we’re going to talk about more high-level topics, as opposed to the last interview where we primarily focused on specific job experience. I’d like for you to relax prepare yourself to think ‘big picture.’ Our goal here is to get a good sense of who you are, what motivates you, and how we can best help you to achieve your career goals should you join our firm. But before we begin, are there any questions that you have about this process thus far”
This article is based on the comprehensive, competency-based interview guide that I’ve used to successfully assess talent over the course of more than 2500 interviews, and it’s now available for your use. Our In-Depth Behavioral Interview Guide will dramatically improve your hiring results and pay for itself the first time you use it. Click here for more information.
We start by diving right in to the first questions, which pertain to the Quality of Work competency:
1. “Over the course of your career, what role has quality played in your overall performance?” This is a wide-open question designed to tell you whether or not this candidate understands the impact that quality has on job performance. Can they explain how quality - of product delivery, service delivery, or some other output - translates into their individual accomplishments?
2. “What standards and procedures for delivering work are/were in place in your current/most recent position?” This answer to this question will tell you whether or not this candidate’s accomplishments were a result of following process, or as a result of winging it. There is no wrong answer here. The answer must be evaluated in terms of your company’s internal workings. If you are uber process-oriented, and this candidate shows that, over their career, they were successful because of their ability to improvise, you may have a bad fit. If, on the other hand, your company has no documented processes (as is the case with 90% of all entrepreneurial firms I work with!), then someone who can succeed in a “just wing it!” environment may be the perfect fit.
Then we move to the Quantity of Work competency:
3. “What have you done on your last/present position to increase your organization’s top-line revenues?” Let’s find out if this candidate understands how their performance ties to revenue. It’s possible for each and every position in each and every company. Again, no wrong answers here. If your role requires someone who sees the big picture, then a detailed answer to this question is probably a must-have. On the other hand, if you’ve determined that you need a heads-down administrative resource, and the candidate tells you that they’re not sure how they tied into revenue generation, then it was probably a “nice to have” to begin with.
4. “How many hours a week do you find it necessary to work in order to get your job done?” This question will provide all sorts of opportunity for follow-ups. If 40 hours, what did they do that made them able to leave at 5:00 every day? Did they not have enough to do, or was it just that they were so organized? If 80 hours, does this person have an organization or prioritization problem? Are they a workaholic? Do they take on too much work?
5. “What kinds of deadlines did/do you deal with in your last/present job?” We want to get a sense of the time-driven pressure that this person has faced. Were they reasonable deadlines? What was the workload?
6. “Have you ever been asked to accept additional responsibilities or work at a time when you were already maxed out”? A lot of food for thought with this one.
The interview now moves to the Performance Factors competencies, starting with Job Knowledge and Technical Application:
7. “Describe to me the specific things you know and have experience with that enable you to succeed in your job?” Does this candidate truly understand what makes them successful in their role? Can they articulate it well?
8. “Tell me about the last professional training or education that you received?” Top professionals are self-motivated to learn. Let’s find out how often they took advantage of learning opportunities. If they didn’t have a chance to receive professional training, either through their employer or on their own….why?
9. “Give me an example of how you use current information about the industry to increase performance in your role.” Are they someone who takes new information and employs it to their advantage?
Now on to Organization and Planning:
10. “How organized a person are you?” Another “no right answer” question. Just something that you want to know in order to assess job and culture fit.
11. “I’d like for you to think about the last project or assignment that you worked on where you had tight deadlines and multiple milestones. Describe it to me.”
This article is based on the comprehensive, competency-based interview guide that I’ve used to successfully assess talent over the course of more than 2500 interviews, and it’s now available for your use. Our In-Depth Behavioral Interview Guide will dramatically improve your hiring results and pay for itself the first time you use it. Click here for more information.
Next up is Analytics and Problem Solving:
12. “Describe your process for analyzing a problem that needs to be solved.” Does this person approach a problem systematically, or do they just start hammering away at it? Neither one is bad, but you certainly want to know which approach they use!
13. “What was the last problem that you had to solve on the job?” Sure, they can talk about problem solving, but can they tell you about a specific problem that they actually solved?
14. “Tell me about a time when you anticipated a problem and prevented it from becoming a problem by taking preemptive action.” Again, more ’show me’ type questioning. Find out if they can walk the walk.
Judgement and Decision Making questions next:
15. “Describe the last time you had to make a decision between two courses of action, with significant consequences?” You may get a personal response to this one (with my interviews it happens 1 in 3 times I ask it). These answers can get pretty deep.
16. “Have you ever made a decision at work that turned out to be the wrong one?” We all make mistakes. Yes, even you.
17. “Describe your decision-making process.” Are they more “from the gut” or do they tend to gather information and analyze it first?
18. “What was the last mistake that you made?” Another questions that may elicit a personal answer. In one very memorable interview I a person tell me that getting married again was the last mistake they made. “When did you get married?” I asked. “Last week.” Ouch. Hey, it’s a legal question if they bring it up first.
We then transition to Self-Improvement and Initiative:
19. “What professional organizations are you involved with?” Do they participate in relevant professional organization or societies?
20. “How do you stay current with knowledge?”
21. “Describe the last constructive feedback that you received from your manager.” We’re trying to get a preview of what we’ll find in the reference check. The answer to this question will likely line up with a pattern of behavior that you will have observed over the last two interviews, and, not coincidentally, with the things that they’ve told us they don’t enjoy doing.
We’re now at Innovation and Creativity:
22. “Do you consider yourself a creative person?” You’ll be surprised how many people tell you, “not really.” It’s not a bad answer, unless you’re hiring a for a design role. In that case, this question may be a bit goofy to ask. Ask it anyway.
23. “Describe a time when you created a new way of doing things at work.”
24. “Have you ever spoken up about something you knew wasn’t working as well as it could?” This questions will give you a clue as to whether or not they actually tell people about their ideas when they have them. It’s also an indication of assertiveness, although that’s not the intent of the question.
25. “Are you more of a detail-oriented person or a big-picture person?” No wrong answers, only bad job fits. Don’t put a blue sky thinker into a role where they are pouring through data ten hours a day. But, you already know that. Right?
Finally, we arrive at the final batch of competencies, the Interpersonal Skills. Starting with Communication:
26. “Describe your communication style.” Ooh, this one’s a goodie. Are they more authoritarian or collaborative in approach?
27. “What kind of written documentation do you regularly produce for your last/present role?” I will say it again - don’t put someone who has never written detailed and frequent reports into a role that requires detailed and written report writing as a critical component of success.
28. “On a scale of 1-10, with ten being highest, how would you describe your ability to write articulately in English?” Are they a good speller? Do they like to write? I believe that a strong command of written English should be a prerequisite for any professional role, but that’s just me. Ever read an email that one of your employees has written to a customer and then winced because of the horrendous grammar? Better to find out now.
29. ” Describe your approach to dealing with internal and external clients.” Is it effective?
30. “Describe a time when you’ve had to modify your communication style to ‘get through’ to someone, either at work or with a customer.“ This is one of those questions that yield answers all over the map. The conflicts discussed will range from benign to full-blown mayhem.
31. “If we asked you to stand up and give an extemporaneous speech in front of hundreds of people, how comfortable would you be?” Here we’re tyring to determine their self-rated level of comfort with public speaking.
Next is Teamwork:
32. “Describe your current team.” You might even ask them to draw you an org chart.
33. “Have you ever been on a team where there is open conflict?” If yes, make sure it wasn’t your candidate who was the source of it? Think about the team that they’ll be joining at your firm, and decide what kind of person will likely succeed.
34. “Are you a ‘people person’?” Nearly everyone will say yes. Then ask, “given your choice, would you prefer to work with others or work solo?” There’s your real answer.
35. “Do you consider yourself to be a natural leader of people?”
36. “When was the last time that someone at work asked you for help?” Do co-workers see this candidate as a resource?
37. “When was the last time you asked for help at work?” Does this person ask for help when they need it?
Now we arrive at Supervision:
38. “Describe your previous/current manager.” Do they describe him/her in a positive light, or a negative one?
39. “How does your manager stay up-to-date on what you’re doing?” Is this person micromanaged, or allowed to roam free as a bird? How does that compare to your style?
40. “What’s your definition of micromanagement?” Is it a reasonable definition?
41. “Who’s the best boss you’ve ever had?” Great question. Find out which management style works best for them.
42. “Who’s the worst boss you’ve ever had?” Another great question! (ahem) Find out what doesn’t work with this candidate.
The last questions deal with what I call the “X-Factor.” You can’t really rate this stuff, but you need to know:
43. “Tell me about your greatest strength, and why it will benefit our company.”
44. “What one area do you really need to work on in your career to become more effective on a day-to-day basis?”
45. “What was the best job you ever had?”
46. “What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?”
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to ask, huh? This list is tailor-made for breaking into one-hour chunks and letting multiple interview teams handle them separately. It’s a great way for you to include other team members in the process (and for teaching great interviewing skills to your future leaders!) Or, plow through the whole thing in one sitting. It’s your choice.
This article is based on the comprehensive, competency-based interview guide that I’ve used to successfully assess talent over the course of more than 2500 interviews, and it’s now available for your use. Our In-Depth Behavioral Interview Guide will dramatically improve your hiring results and pay for itself the first time you use it. Click here for more information.
Happy hunting!
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series entitled, “Conducting In-Person Candidate Interviews.” To view part one of this series, click here. To view part two, click here.
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