As a provider of interview transcription services, we know that interviews are an important part of business and an effective step in the process of recruiting. It helps business managers choose the right person for the right job. The interview is the best chance for an employer to obtain the required personal and professional information from a candidate. You need to know about a candidate’s job skills, and also whether he/she is suitable for the job as well as the culture of your organization.
To get the most from the candidate, it is important for employers to prepare properly for the job interview. So, here are some questions that the interview team can ask the candidates.
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- Questions about values: Asking questions about the candidates’ values helps identify their priorities. Questions can be shaped around what they are looking for in a company/what kind of organization they want to work in; or you can ask them about their career aspirations and how they would contribute to the organization.
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- Questions about interests: Ask questions about their passions and interests and what work they would like to do. Find out their motivations, personal interests, and success stories.
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- Questions about their greatest achievement at work: This would help identify the individual values of the candidate as well as what he/she considers to be an achievement.
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- Questions regarding the kind of interaction and oversight they expect from an ideal boss: This is to find out how self-directed the candidate is. If yours is a company that emphasizes empowerment, a candidate who needs constant direction would be a misfit.
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- What are the first three things they would do on the job if hired for the position: The answer they give will help you gain an understanding of what the applicant considers important, their understanding of the requirements of the job, and how they approach a new situation. You will also get to know whether the candidate takes the time to understand the job environment and necessary interactions.
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- How their co-workers at their current job would describe their interaction with them and their overall work performance: This is to understand how the applicant thinks that his/her workers view their interaction, and also to evaluate how co-workers like working with the candidate.
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- How their current boss would describe their work and contribution to the organization: You want to understand how the candidate views the support and opinion of his/her current employer, and also about the candidate’s interaction with the current boss. The answer will also help understand how the candidate accepts criticism and feedback.
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- Questions about the future: Ask questions like where they see themselves in five years, what some anticipated changes on their radar are, how they are preparing for them, and how they plan to achieve their goals.
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- Questions about past work experience: Find out about your applicants’ background, dedication and expertise. Learn more about their previous work experience by asking questions like why they left their earlier job, what they have learnt from their previous job and how it has helped them grow.
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- Find out their challenges and intentions: Do not be afraid to ask about the challenges and obstacles they have faced. Ask them to talk about some of the challenges they have faced, any conflict during their professional journey, mistakes they have committed, and whether they have ever fallen short of achieving goals.Finding the right people for the right jobs is a daunting task and therefore interviews should to be conducted efficiently. Here are some tips that could help you conduct a successful interview.
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- Set aside some time: Make sure to dedicate some time for conducting the interview. This will help you to concentrate and give a good impression about the company.
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- Go through the resume: Carefully read the resume of job applicants and keep a copy of each candidate’s resume when meeting them. This will help you to be more focused and ask the candidate relevant questions.
- Write down some specific questions: Prepare some specific questions that you can ask your candidate because this will help you save time and you can compare the answers later to pick the right one.
Job interviews are conducted in both small and large organizations and these can be transcribed with interview transcription services. Readily available transcripts can be distributed among the interview team, which would make the selection process easier and quicker. The important consideration is to be well prepared with the right questions. You cannot afford to lose the valuable opportunity an interview offers to onboard the right people for your organization. Moreover, if you are not well-prepared, it would be a waste of valuable time as well as effort for the entire team.
Read our blog on what questions employers should not ask in an interview.
