Strategic interview questions to ask candidates

In this era of resume-first hiring, interviewers typically ask their questions from the candidate pool. Asking a unique question can differentiate your Company and help you make the most appropriate hire. The best way to find out what you are looking for is to have a list of good questions that can be used during an interview or in an application process.

This article will give you a few strategic interview questions to ask candidates and some intimidating yet elusive strategic ones. It will get your candidates talking about themselves and their experience with your Company and industry.

Also visit: 6 Job Interview Mistakes to Avoid

Strategic Interview Questions To Ask Candidates

• What Is Something About You That Isn’t On Your Resume?

This question is a bit more challenging for the candidates as it doesn’t give them many answers. It also serves as a good ice breaker since they may not expect it.

One of the first things you must decide is whether or not you want to ask this question at all. It can go both ways depending on how you ask it and how candid your candidates are willing to go in their response.

• What Are Your Strengths?

One of the more difficult questions for candidates to answer without contradicting themselves. Engage them in a discussion about their strengths by first getting a sense of what they consider a strength. You can ask them to list or describe 3-5 things that are important to them.

In keeping with the STAR method—situation, task, action, result—ask them if they can identify what they did well during these situations and then ask if they can describe how they dealt with each problem. They will immediately start talking about their strengths and abilities based on the examples you give in response.

• How Do You Work With Strong Mentalities?

This is a challenging question to assess your candidate’s ability to work with people and their behavioral traits. You can ask them what type of people they are most comfortable working with, then get a sense of their self-confidence and desire for leadership by asking them if they see themselves as someone who will serve in a supporting or leading role within the team.

• How Did You End Up In Your Current Role?

This is a great question to ask at the end of an interview or a candidate’s application process. When you ask this question, you will get an idea of what the Company means to them, their long-term goals, and their thoughts on where they see themselves fitting into the organization.

• What Do You Want To Learn From This Job?

This is a great way to get a feel for how your candidates understand the real job experience and how they envision themselves in that role. A response like “I want to learn everything I can about working in your industry” tells you that they are very focused on learning everything they can as fast as possible.

 

Final Words

In ending your interview with a graceful thanks to your candidate and an appreciation for their time, you have just opened the door for them to ask their questions. Try to answer their questions so you can get a sense of their interview style. This can help you better determine what type of personality and approach they will bring to your team.