Career Advice By Randy

Interview Questions to Ask

So you work for one of the few companies hiring right now, and you have your pick of capable candidates to choose from. You’ve read the resumes and cover letters, weeded out the bad ones, threw out the ones with typos, declined the ones that weren’t a good fit, and now it’s time to interview. You know all the questions you can’t ask (HR has made sure of it), but how do you ask the questions that will get the best and most honest answers out of your interviewees—the questions that will separate the bad fits from the candidates that could become your future co-workers? Studying these questions can help your online MBA interview as well.

Well you have a good start by doing research in the first place. Many people skip this step entirely, thinking that they can just wing it, but you’re smarter than that. That being said, here are some great questions that can help you find the perfect person for the job. We hope you can really impress the HR department with these tips.

Tell me about a situation in which you had to overcome an obstacle and what the results were.

This one really gets them talking. While they’ll probably anticipate this question, it is always beneficial to hear the way people deal with problems, so you can predict how they might act in a similar situation at your company.

What interests you most about this company?

This question determines whether the candidate wants to work for your company enough to do their homework—always important.

If you were a vegetable, which one would you be and why?

Ok, you can replace the word “vegetable” with “cereal,” “candy bar,” or any other item you like. The point is that you throw them off of their rehearsed answers, get them thinking, and get to know them a little better.

Kudos to you for knowing this isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. Your day-to-day job happiness is determined by those you work with, so choosing a co-worker is an important task, one which has significant career implications for you as well. Hopefully these questions will serve as good conversation starters as well as a way to really separate the outstanding candidates from the rest, best of luck!