How to Ensure That You Have Selected ‘The Best’ Talent

Studies show that a bad hire can cost your business upwards of six figures so it’s essential that you ask the right questions. You need to grasp a clear understanding of their experience and cultural fit for your team. You also want the candidate to have a positive experience – there is nothing worse than being asked boring questions that generate ‘scripted’ responses!

So next time your planning interviews, why not try asking some of the following questions:

What would your co-workers say about you?

Slightly more probing than ‘tell me about yourself’ this question should hopefully prompt your candidate to provide real life examples and thus give you an insight to their current behaviour at work.

What motivates you?

An interesting question that allows you to truly understand why the candidate wants to work for you – bonus points if they have researched your company’s culture and tailor their answer accordingly.

Describe a recent situation where you used your own initiative?

This may seem like a common interview question, but the best applicants will not only describe a time they used their initiative but also how this has benefited their business in the long run.

Why are you a good fit for the company?

This is a great test to see how interested in this position candidates really are – a great answer will demonstrate that they have researched your business and will reflect on how their skills and accomplishments will benefit you.

When have you improvised to achieve your goal?

This question often makes candidates think on their feet. The answers have the potential to be both personal or business orientated and will really allow you to understand the way they think and their personality.

These interview questions focus on the skills that you want candidates to have and the contributions that you most want the candidate to make—if hired. They help you assess the prospective employee’s work experience and his or her approach to problem-solving, as well as how the candidate interacts with people and the work environment.

At Stroud Resourcing we take pride in understanding the needs of our client’s vacancies, so we can make quality matches, we avoid blanket questions and tailor the interview structure to reflect the role competencies. We provide candidates with the confidence that, through our expertise and industry knowledge, we can match the right role to their skills and cultural fit.