Questions for an employer to ask in an interview: The Top 15 Interview Questions to Ask Job Candidates

The Top 15 Interview Questions to Ask Job Candidates

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It’s time to fill that vacancy on your team, and the pressure is on to find a job candidate with all the skills and professional experience you need. But can you determine that — and more — from just an interview? It’s possible if you pose smart queries.

Whether you’re meeting virtually or in person, you need to prepare thoroughly as an interviewer. You should ask questions that will help you gauge an applicant’s interest in the job and company, enlighten you about their work history and career plans, shed light on their values and work habits, and reveal their strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and skills.

Of course, you’ll also want to ask questions specific to the role you’re looking to fill. There are also other types of interview questions that help you dig deeper, such as close-ended and open-ended interview questions.

But with these questions for an interview, you should be able to get a good sense of whether this potential employee could be a successful member of your team. So, let’s jump in with 15 of the best questions to ask an interviewee, and why.

1. What do you know about our company, and why do you want to work here?

You’d think with the easy access to information online today, most candidates would do their homework, but that’s not always the case. Some applicants may not even know what type of business the company engages in. Ask this interview question, and you’ll quickly discover who is sincerely interested in working for you — and who isn’t.

2. What skills and strengths can you bring to this position?

Did the interviewee blindly apply to your opening, or did they consider how they match your needs? This question can help you find out. Applicants should be able to think critically about how their abilities will benefit your unique team.

3. Can you tell me about your current job?

This is a great open-ended question to ask a potential employee that can help you evaluate communication skills while gaining insights into an individual’s background that goes beyond the resume.

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4. What could your current company do to be more successful?

This inquiry can give you a sense of whether interviewees see the big picture at their organizations. It may also reveal why they really want to leave their current jobs.

5. Can you tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with a boss or colleague and how you handled the situation?

This is one of the best questions to ask an interviewee because you’ll get a sense of their conflict resolution abilities. What tone does the person use when talking about the other people involved? Were they able to handle the situation described appropriately? Did they find common ground? Emotional intelligence is keenly needed in almost every job.

6. Do you work best alone or on a team?

What kind of work will the candidate perform if selected for the position? This question helps determine if they’re suited to the types of assignments they’ll receive. Regardless of whether they’ll work remotely or in the office, someone who enjoys solitary work and long stretches of uninterrupted time may not thrive in a position requiring collaboration or multitasking.

7. Why are you leaving your current job?

Does your job opportunity provide an alternative to the factors (lack of professional development, management problems, etc.) that made them unhappy in their current role? If so, showcase those benefits. But keep an eye out for candidates with unrealistic expectations.

8. How would your coworkers describe you?

This top question to ask an interviewee can help shed light on the candidate’s soft skills and how they might work with the other members of your team. Understand the strengths of your current staff members and be on the lookout for a candidate who will complement those.

9. How would your boss describe you?

This may give you a sense of the candidate’s relationship with previous managers. Reliable? Prompt? Efficient? Keep in mind, though, who you’re asking. The answer will be simply their opinion of what the boss might have said. That’s why it’s still critical to check references. Request a list of contacts and give former employers a call to hear how their impressions align with the candidate’s.

10. Where do you see yourself in five years?

A job candidate with professional drive can be a valuable asset to your organization. Look for someone engaged in their career with clear goals, and consider mentioning how your organization can help them achieve those objectives. Finding a prospect who is interested in career advancement and sees opportunity with your company increases the chances that they’ll be happy in the long run.

11. How do you manage deadline pressure?

Technology projects often have very tight deadlines. So, asking your potential hire how well they perform under pressure can be worthwhile. Try to dig a little deeper by encouraging the candidate to offer an example of what they have done in the past to ensure a project stayed on deadline when it looked like it might miss the mark. Or, if the candidate could not meet a critical deadline despite their best efforts, how did they handle it?

12. In your most recent role, was there a time when you had to overcome a significant challenge?

Use this question to get a sense of an interviewee’s critical thinking and analytical skills. You should also pay attention to how the candidate describes their behavior when faced with a challenge. Did they struggle, or did they devise an action plan and see it through?

13. What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on in a past position?

Ask this interview question to determine if the applicant would likely enjoy the work available at your company. Do the types of tasks they find fulfilling align with the job description for your position? Making sure employees find their work professionally satisfying is one of the most important factors in retention.

14. What’s one fact that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?

Here’s another open-ended question to ask an interviewee that can help you uncover some interesting insights. It could spark some conversation about a hobby outside of the candidate’s 9-to-5 life or even a compelling story that reveals more about their strengths and motivations. This question can help you understand not just what a job candidate has done, but why.

15. Do you have any questions for me?

This question typically wraps up the interview. The most serious candidates will likely have a few relevant questions prepared to ask a hiring manager. However, the candidate may have already asked their questions if the discussion was long and detailed. In a case like this, it’s OK if a candidate doesn’t have a list of questions at the end of the interview.

25 Top Questions To Ask An Interviewee (2023)

When conducting interviews to fill critical job vacancies it’s important to ask the right questions of the interviewee and reveal the best answers ensuring a more informed hiring decision.

These 25 interview questions for interviewees will help the interviewer get to know a candidate better before making a decision to bring them aboard their company.

1. What attracted you to apply for this position?

By asking this question you, as the interviewer, should be able to gauge if job seeker has an enthusiasm for the job opening or if they just applied blindly to the position.

You could also review the experience in their resume with the job opening and ask them how they would react to specific situations.

2. What steps do you take when making decisions?

This ice breaker question will give you insight into the interviewee’s critical thinking skills and organizational processes they apply to decision-making situations.

Is their process well thought out and organized or is it merely done on the fly?

3. What has your typical role on a team been?

This question will give you insight into how previous employers viewed the interviewee as well as how the candidate may interact with fellow employees.

Were they ever given charge of projects, or were they all ways in more of a supportive role?

4. How would your colleagues describe you?

Asking this will give you a better idea of how they view themselves in the eyes of others and should reveal clues on their ability to work within a team environment.

Are they known as the quiet one, the goofball, the communicator, the workaholic, or something else?

Make sure to develop and refer to your ideal candidate personas to see if the answer aligns with the favorable personality traits you are looking for.

5. What motivates you to work?

It is a simple question but requires the interviewee to exhibit a great amount of thought and often unlocks valuable discussions from a candidate looking internally for what truly motivates them.

If they only answer at the surface level with something like “I relish a challenge”, this can convey that they are a less-than exceptional candidate.

You may need to probe further do extract a deeper understanding of their motivations.

6. Name a work accomplishment that makes you proud?

With this line of interview questioning, you will learn about the job seeker in more depth and get a better idea of the types of work they have achieved from their previous and current company.

This also gives the interviewee an opportunity to showcase some of their strongest qualities and any leadership skills they may have.

7. Why are you a fit for this opportunity?

This interview question will help you get a feel on if the applicants have done serious preparation in getting to know your company.

You don’t want your organization to be a random job they applied for to get a paycheck, only to leave your company for a different opportunity in a few months.

8. Speak about some of your coworker relationships

Personalities on teams are different. This line of interview questioning sheds light on how they interact with others and will help you determine if the interviewee has the potential to be a happy productive member of your business.  

9. How do you define hard work in the workplace?

Organizations move at different speeds from one another.

If an interviewee is comfortable working in a laidback environment where hard deadlines are rare then they may not be a good fit for a position in which they have to constantly produce work in a fast-paced deadline-driven environment.

10. Do you like working with a team or working alone?

This really depends on what opening the job seekers are applying for. Is it a desk job that only requires them to be by themselves self or is it work that demands coordination and communication with others? 

If you analyze that the applicants are people who are flexible, willing to do multi-tasking, and wouldn’t be bothered if at times they work alone or with a team, these could be the best professionals to hire. 

This question has more importance at this time due to the current remote working environment.

11. What are some weak points you can work on?

All job applicants have weaknesses in their character or qualifications, and immediately admitting them during the interview can actually be a sign of strength. 

12. What are your greatest strengths to a company?

The ability of a candidate to talk about their strengths and still maintain their humility is a strong indicator of a winning personality. 

This also gives the interviewee a chance to explain and align their strengths with the position they are interviewing for demonstrating attributes that will contribute to the company’s goals.

13. Talk about a critical work situation you solved

It is often in the pressure-filled and stressful situations where professionals and real leaders emerge victoriously and experience their greatest growth gains.

14. When conflict arises at work how do you handle it?

By asking questions related to conflict you will get a better understanding of the interviewee’s interpersonal skills and personality.

The interviewee’s response may also give you a sense of their ability to resolve and deal with conflict at work.

15. Why do you plan on leaving your current employer?

Listen closely to how the candidates show their respect for their current boss and company.

Having this type of scrutiny will give you a better idea of how these candidates will treat their supervisors and colleagues if they are hired into your organization. 

16. Reveal something about yourself not on your resume

Sometimes there are quirks about prospective employees that you simply can’t see on a resume.

They may be a good fit on paper, but when you interview them, you may get a sense from their answers that hint at possible trouble for the organization down the road.

17. How do you deal with tight deadlines?

For interviewees, their most ideal answer should be a version of this: “I review a list of tasks and analyze what are the most urgent and critical matters. I put the most urgent ones on top of the list.

Next, I focus on each task with complete concentration until I finish it before moving on to the next urgent task. 

18. Describe your ideal workspace

Since this is an open-ended question and not answerable with yes or no, let the applicants take their time to describe to you how their ideal work environment would be and see if it matches your current office environment.

19. How would your current boss describe you?

This question will hopefully give you a better idea of how the interviewee interacts with their current and past managers.

20. Outline the process on how you set goals

Your best employees are generally driven and goal-oriented. This question will help ensure they have the ability to not only reach goals you would set for them but set their own goals to achieve as well.

The top candidates will be able to explain their goal-setting process in detail, how they set up their goals, break goals into smaller tasks, and measure their success once completing them.

21. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

An ambitious professional with a clear set of goals for the short, medium, and long term, is an invaluable asset to the company. This is true especially if they parallel their career growth with the company they are interviewing at. 

As they grow professionally and financially, the company grows and expands too.

During the interview, confident job seekers will discuss that they seek a company with upward mobility as they help the company prosper.

22. What do you want to do differently at a new job?

The type of answer here will let you know their line of thinking.

Do they launch into a negative conversation about their current or former boss? Or do they look towards the future excited about the potential in your company?

23. Have you applied for any other positions?

If the interviewee has been applying for other positions, is a good idea to see what types of positions they have applied for. Are the positions similar to your opening or totally different?

If you speak to a candidate who is applying for many different types of positions in many different fields it may give you an indication that the candidate does not really know what kind of job they want and are just seeing what’s out there.

24. Have you had any other interviews recently?

A great question if the interview has been going great and you want to know the type of competition your up against.

By probing for where the candidate has interviewed recently. You can establish better timeline on if you should act quickly and extend a job offer.

25. Do you have any questions for me?

If you pose this question to interviewees, the more interesting and more passionate ones will most likely have a wide variety of questions they wish to ask. 

The ones who are more thoughtful and are interested in the job will be the most likely ones to ask intelligent, informative questions which will enrich the interview process.

Interested in additional interview questions? Check our post link for a list of behavioral interview questions.

If you are about to have a second interview with a candidate, we list some significant questions you can ask during a second interview here

Strategic interview questions are also important when speaking with potential candidates.

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20 questions you might be asked at an interview

Some companies like to ask you what your ideal job is like. In others, why manhole covers are round and not square. Some employers consider standard interview questions useless and improvise, while others carefully consider each next step. We’ve put together 20 questions you’re likely to be asked during an interview.

Different questions serve different purposes. But most often, employers ask quite expected things related to the personality of the candidate, his professional level, career ambitions, understanding of the work mission, position fit.

1. “Tell me about yourself.”

You will be asked to do so, so be prepared to share the highlights of your work bio. Use the simple formula “present-past-future”. First, talk about who you are at the moment, what you do, what you can do. Then talk about what brought you to where you are today: a combination of skills and experience. At the end, talk about your plans and prospects.

2. “Name your strengths.”

It is important here not only to list your best qualities, but also to give an example of how they helped you achieve certain goals and success in your work.

3. “Name your weaknesses.”

Position your weaknesses as points of growth: tell us about how you plan to work on the shortcomings that you have already managed to fix.

4. “Why do you want to work with us?”

Here you can demonstrate the degree of preparation for the interview, the level of knowledge about the company, and interest in the job. If you can’t find enough information, feel free to ask your employer questions.

5. “Why did you leave your previous job?”

It is not necessary to be frank here. If your relationship with management did not go well or you just got bored, the employer will be wary.

Answer in a positive way

: You would like to see more variety in the work, or the ideal boss, in your opinion, does not bother you after hours.

6. “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

Do not try

be accurate in forecasts: here the employer is interested in your train of thought and direction of dreams.

7. “What are your

salary expectations

? Be prepared for the fact that after that you will be asked about the salary in the last place.

8. “What do you plan to do in the first month/quarter of your job if you get this job?”

It’s not scary that you don’t know the intricacies yet, the main thing is to demonstrate an active attitude, a willingness to join the process.

9. Tell us about your achievements in the previous place

.

10. Tell us about your biggest failure.

11. Do you have children?

12. How long have you been looking for a job? Are there other offers that interest you?

13. What exactly did you do at your previous job?

14. How do you feel about overtime?

15. What is your latest major project?

16. Why should we choose you for this job? How are you different from other candidates?

17. Why did you choose this major/university?

18. How do you spend your free time?

19. Do you have bad habits?

20. What problems do you most often have to solve in your work?

If you already know which company you want to work for, but do not find a suitable vacancy for you, send the employer a message “I want to work for you!”. It will fall into a special folder, and the employer will know about your candidacy.

I want to work for you!

Five questions you should definitely ask the employer at the interview

The interview is in full swing, and you have already managed to tell about your education, achievements and explain why you would like to work in this particular company. What to add to consolidate success and make the right career decision? It is very important to ask the right questions about future work. Moreover, their sequence (which question to ask first, and which one is better not to rush) also matters.

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Of course, during the interview, you have probably already discussed what your duties will be. In addition, this is usually described in the job advertisement. Therefore, in your question, you need to clarify what remained unclear in the functionality.

For example, you apply for a position as a PR manager in an already existing public relations department. Specify what exactly your role will be in establishing PR communications. What is more important for a specialist accepted into the team – to be a competent and creative writer of texts or a talented organizer?

Another example is an interview for a sales assistant in a perfume shop. You have already discussed that the duties will include advising customers, working with the cash register and displaying goods. Specify exactly how it is customary to advise customers on the trading floor – to wait for their questions or to present information about the assortment of the store yourself?

Questions about the functionality must be asked, even if everything seems clear and understandable to you: this will emphasize your high motivation and show the recruiter that he is a responsible and professional person.

Be sure to ask about the strategic objectives of your future work. What does the future employer expect from you, say, in an annual perspective? What are the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of your work?

For example, an applicant for a sales manager job might ask what the sales plan is for next year. Human Resources Inspector Candidate – Ask about anticipated headcount growth and therefore workload.

This will show that you can think strategically and plan your activities. In addition, a clear understanding of their tasks in the company is a real career engine. You will always be able to independently evaluate your work, applying the performance criteria agreed upon at the interview.

Be sure to ask what your first working days will be like. Is there an introductory briefing or training? Will you have a mentor to turn to for any question? What are the criteria by which the success of the probationary period will be assessed?

This question is especially important if the job will be something new to you. For example, if you used to work in a small company, and now you have come to an international corporation. Or if you were engaged in PR in the field of retail, and now in the restaurant business.

The answer to this question may give you food for thought. If the vacancy is new, then you will have to draw up a work schedule yourself and discuss in detail the responsibilities, as well as strategic goals with the head and HR manager. You will also have to think about the means to achieve these goals – after all, the vacancy is new, and this work has not been done before you.

If the position has existed in the company for a long time, pay attention to the reasons for the dismissal of the previous employee. Of course, they can be very different – the specialist found a more interesting job, failed to cope with his duties, went on parental leave, or was even fired for unethical behavior …

It’s not a fact that the recruiting manager will give you reliable information on such a delicate issue, but it’s still worth asking and thinking.