Interview Questions I Use to Make People Think

If you're hiring for personality, these are important questions to ask. In no particular order...

  1. What are you looking to do next, and why?
  2. What type of people (team) do you want to be with and why?
  3. What would you like to learn?
  4. Where do you want to live and why?
  5. What are you an expert on? What are you the best at?
  6. What is the worst decision you ever made?
  7. Describe your most remarkable project/achievement.
  8. How did you move your last organization forward? What did you do to move those around you forward?
  9. Imagine you had your own business...what would you do to improve service, improve morale, improve the bottom line, etc.?
  10.  Describe a challenging problem you have helped solve.
  11. Describe a problem you foresaw, and how you helped avoid it.

I use these with all levels of jobs, from front line to senior management. As you can imagine, I receive all sorts of answers...none of them wrong. But, in the end, I know more about what makes a person tick, how they will fit in and whether or not they can help us move forward.

Hint...if you're submitting a cover letter/CV, do something remarkable and incorporate the answers into your presentation. You might just get noticed.

Let me know if you have some to add.