Hiring is a costly process. It costs time and resources for an organization to bring in new employees. The process of posting a position, sorting through resumes, scheduling and coordinating interviews, and then taking time to bring candidates onsite is no small feat. Make the most out of the time used for hiring by asking questions that are deeper. Try asking these questions in your next interview to help decide which candidate is the right fit for your organization.

Learn about their experience

  • Tell me about your current job and responsibilities
  • What achievements are you proud of in your current or past role?
  • How have you grown your skillset in your current or past role?
  • Can you share a time that you had to make a difficult decision? What was the result?
  • How do you manage deadlines and pressure?
  • Can you tell me about a time when you had to overcome a significant challenge?
  • What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the past?
  • What skill do you want to learn or sharpen in your next role?
  • What would you have liked to do more of in your position? What has stopped you?
  • Why have you applied to this position?
  • How has your experience set you up to be successful in this position?
  • What are your short and long-term goals?
  • Where do you see yourself in your career in 5 years?
  • What areas would you like to grow or develop more? How do you plan to do so?
  • What would be your first 30, 60, 90 day plan in this role?

Personality and culture fit

  • How would your coworkers describe you?
  • How would your boss describe you?
  • What is a fact about you that your resume does not show?
  • Do you prefer to work alone or with a team?
  • Describe a time that you learned from a mistake. How did you move forward?
  • What values from our organization do you align with?
  • Tell me about a time when there was a disagreement in the workplace. How was the issue resolved?
  • How would you structure your day?
  • What motivates you?
  • If you were leading a project, how would you delegate responsibilities?
  • How do you handle receiving negative feedback?
  • How would you handle addressing underperformance in a direct report?
  • How do you set goals? How do you create a plan to accomplish them?
  • What is your leadership style?
  • How do you motivate your team?
  • What does success mean to you?

Understanding motivation

  • What makes you excited about this role?
  • Why do you want to leave your organization/ role?
  • What made you apply for this opportunity?
  • What do you know about our organization?
  • How does this opportunity align with your career goals?
  • What concerns do you have?
  • Why do you want to work for this company?
  • What questions do you have about the role or company?
  • Do you prefer a large or small company?
  • What is your ideal company culture?

One of the most important questions to ask: Do you have any questions? Remember, interviews are a two-way street. The organization is interviewing the candidate and the candidate is also interviewing the organization to make sure it is a good fit for them. Interviews should be productive conversations, not just one-sided questioning. A key to diving deeper will be opening the floor for the candidate to present their thoughts, ideas, and questions as well. Make the most of the time put into hiring by using questions to dive deeper into the candidate pool.

Are you looking for top talent in the Specialty Chemical, Advanced Materials, or Animal Health industry?

Contact us to discuss how we can bring top leadership talent to your team. Boaz Partners is a premier executive search firm focused on the direct recruitment of executives and professionals for specialty chemicals, advanced materials, and animal health spaces. We are your partner, and our focus is on custom recruiting solutions. Follow the link to learn more about how our specialty chemical recruiters can help you.