Five Must-Ask Interview Questions

The key to any great organization is the people who work there, which means hiring great people to work there. Which means identifying them out of larger-than-ever candidate pools. Which means discovering them during the interview process.

So how do you do that? Ask great interview questions that will clearly separate great candidates from also-rans. But what are the best interview questions to ask? Don’t worry. We have a list.

Without further ado, here are five great interview questions you should ask in any interview:

We have to give credit to Lou Adler, a recruiting guru, for this one. He spent 10 years trying to find the perfect interview question and this is what he came up with, so we are going to trust him on it.

Adler recommends spending 20 minutes going through this to really figure out the candidate’s thought process and how they deal with problems. If the person can’t spend 20 minutes talking about their greatest accomplishment, perhaps it isn’t so impressive, according to Adler.

If you hire a great employee, but they only stay for a year, are they really a great employee? The goal should be getting someone who wants to stick around.

That’s not to say that someone who has had a lot of jobs won’t stick around, although it certainly is worth discussing. Conversely, just because someone had a job for a long time doesn’t mean they are loyal. Perhaps they were tied to the job for a specific reason or it was a perfect match. Either way, this question gives some insight into what motivates the candidate to seek a new job and if they are going to stick around at your company.

This question is multifold. First, it gives some insight on if the candidate has done any research on your company, as that will become obvious in the way they answer the question. And second, it gives a good indication of their strengths, as that is probably what they’ll mention.

This is another multifold query. First, it gives you some indication on how a person works with others. If they seem obviously resentful or angry when recounting directives from their employers, they could be a tough person to manage. You’ll also see how well they work collaboratively with their boss. Second, what they mention will give a good indication of what they value and what they’ll bring to the company.

I know, this one is no fun. And for some jobs, you don’t have to deal with it because the salary is posted for the position. Yet it has tremendous value and often can give you a better deal than if you do post the salary.

First off, in any negotiation, it is always better to have the other person give the number first. This provides a starting point and gives you some negotiating power. Conversely, if you give a number, many employees will ask for more and drive up the cost. It is smart to have them give a number and if it is truly below what you would have offered, if you give them some more, they’ll be thrilled.

It also obviously eliminates some candidates. If they give a higher number than you were planning on, do not offer them the job at a reduced salary. They might take it, but they will feel undervalued and they either will grow resentful and not work as hard or they will just search for a new position. So, while asking about salary is never fun, it is very valuable – quite literally – to ask.