The Best Interview Questions To Ask Any Candidate

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I will be discussing the four best types of questions to ask in aninterview, no matter what type of job it is that you are interviewing for andthen why you should ask those questions.

I consider these questions to be core questions that should be added to thebehavioral interview questions that you will be asking that are very specificto your job opening.

But one caveat that these questions that I am about to recommend may need tobe tweaked a bit to fit the type of job that you are interviewing for.

Heres number one of my best interview questions. The first question is:

We all make mistakes on the job, share with me two mistakes that youhave made in your current or past job. How did you resolve these mistakes andwhat did you learn from the mistake?

Now why ask this particular question? Well, even the best workers makemistakes. So the question requires the job applicant being interviewed to usespecific work related examples that highlight their ability to acknowledge thatthey have made mistakes.

It also demonstrates the applicants ability to problem solve, to fixmistakes, and to make decisions under stress.

In some circumstances, mistakes cannot be fixed, as we all know. But whetheror not a mistake is fixable or not, the question also gives you the opportunityto understand what they have learned from the mistake. Their answer shoulddemonstrate in some way that the mistake became a learning experience whichallowed the employee to do a better job when faced with a similar situation inthe future.

Best interview question number 2 is asking a hypothetical question. Here ismy example of a hypothetical interview question:

It has been two years since I hired you in (insert the title of yourrole in this section), when you look back on your job responsibilities, in whatways would you measure your success in this role?

Now why ask this question? This is a hypothetical question that you shouldask after you have clearly explained the job responsibilities and theexpectations to the person being interviewed.

The goal with this question is to determine how well the intervieweesunderstands your job requirements for their role and to get the job applicantsto share with you how they can specifically add value to your job based ontheir overall experience.

You will also gain some insight on the level of experience the job applicanthas based on his ability to apply concrete hypothetical accomplishments basedon your job requirements.

Best interview question number 3 is: If I were to contact your currentsupervisor today for reference, what would he or she say about your workperformance your attention to detail, and your commitment to thejob?

Why ask this particular question? Well, this question can give you a senseof how honest and how self aware the candidate is about their work experience.When I interview job candidates, I often use the candidates response to thisparticular question as part of my reference check.

For example, if the candidates response to this question is that my currentsupervisor will say that I am a dedicated worker who is always on time, who hasworked hard and excelled at all of my tasks.

When I actually call to check that reference, I will share the employeesfeedback with their supervisor and ask them to confirm the employeesassessment of their own skills.

This is also a good time to ask the reference to provide specific workrelated examples that support the applicants assessment of their job skills.

Best interview question number 4: Share with me three work relatedexamples that support your statement that you have strong customer serviceskills.

Now this is an example where you can tweak the question and replace strongcustomer service skills with any type of skill set or experience that you arelooking for.

Now why do I ask this question? Many applicants will tell you that they havestrong or excellent customer service skills using the customer service skillsas an example but the proof is really on the pudding as they say. Asking forvery specific work related examples that support their statement will give youa very clear sense of your potential hires interpersonal skills and how theyproceed and treat customers or clients.

I wish you luck in your hiring efforts!