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QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWING PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES by M.D.Smith, IV June 18, 1984 PAGE 2 NOTE TO INTERVIEWER The following questions are obviously designed to let you find out as much meaningful information about a prospective employee as possible, before you make your final choice. It is an attempt to standardize the questions you ask all em- ployees and let you evaluate the types and nature of their answers. You should not appear to be reading each question and any notes you take should look very casual. In this manner, you will hopefully not make the applicant too ner- vous or aware of the kind of answers they are giving. This phase should sound very "chatty" and informal and should give you easy, off-the-cuff kinds of true and meaningful answers as opposed to the candidate trying to give you the "right kind" of answers. You might want to circle certain questions that apply more to the position you are trying to fill. Asking questions that would apply to a salesman would not be very meaningful for a maintenance engineer. You might want to design your own set of questions for different kinds of jobs. Before you even get to this stage, however, you should have fully qualified the candidate as to experience, abilities, references and generally have done "your homework." This in- terview is to really "tell you what this person is about," what makes them "tick," what their real attitudes are, how they will fit in with the rest of the staff, what things are the positives and/or negatives in their lives and thinking. You, the manager, must determine what these answers mean to you and the position you are filling. PAGE 3 Finally, you should make your own notes and comments as to what would be the best and worst answers to each of the questions you intend to ask. You may have to probe a bit to get to the meat of the answer, but be CAREFUL NOT TO LEAD the applicant to the answer you want to hear. Talk as lit- tle as possible and listen a lot. Especially, do not fill in the silent periods too quickly since some of the best answers will come after this time. Encourage the applicant to talk freely and try not to write very much. After they have left, make extensive notes around each question while the interview is fresh in your mind. PAGE 4 QUESTIONS FOR APPLICANT 1. Tell me about yourself...your background...your inter- ests in life in the past as well as now. 2. What do you do for recreation and entertainment off the job? What kind of books and magazines do you read? (Probe for many answers) (This will tell you about personal inter- ests). 3. What was the thing you liked best about your last job? 4. What was the thing you liked least about your last job? 5. Think of something you have accomplished in your life that you are especially proud of....what was it and how did you go about accomplishing that thing? 6. Does it bother you to make a mistake? How do you feel about mistakes? What is your feeling when others make a mistake? How about when others make a lot of mistakes? 7. What do you know about this company and this job that interests you? 8. What is it about yourself that makes you believe you could do a good and effective job in the position we are discussing? PAGE 5 9. Why did you leave your last two jobs? What would your immediate supervisor say about you and your work at those two companies?(You should already know what the supervisors said, but if you don't, find out and compare the answers.) 10. Are you currently involved in club or community activi- ties? Please tell me about them. (Too much or too little might be a problem area. You can also discover what is im- portant in this person's life and what motivates him/her to do things that he/she doesn't HAVE to do.) ll. If you were to leave your present job, how long would it take to replace you? Why? (Does this person keep all important work to themselves and not delegate or build sup- port people? The "loner," good as he is, may not be what you are looking for. On the other hand, a "loner" who will have to accomplish much virtually on their own in an isolat- ed environment may be just what you are looking for.) 12. What is the single hardest job you've ever had to do? How did you do it? 13. If you are working with another employee and you are doing the bulk of the work and they are "goofing-off" but still getting half the credit, how would you handle it? What would you do about it? 14. How do you handle criticism? (Probe, don't settle for the short, quick answer like, "I welcome it." We are not likely looking for someone who ignores it, nor are we likely to want someone who seems to like regular abuse with whips and chains either.) 15. How do you feel about emotional outbursts on the job? When others do it, do you feel sympathy, anger, or ignore it? 16. (VERY IMPORTANT) What questions do you have about this company, the job in particular, company policies, benefits, and opportunities? (Look for questions about advancement policies, latitude to try new things and ideas, freedom to grow INSTEAD OF questions about retirement, vacation poli- cies, sick leave, insurance and other pure benefit pro- grams.) PAGE 6 17. (If person is from out-of-town, ask this one.) What do you like best and least about where you live now? What do you think you will like best and least about moving to _______? (Some people or their families never adjust to a drastic change in location. You must decide if this might be a problem for this person. Also, the things they did not like about their old town, they may find even more of a problem here...i.e. "unfriendly people.") 18. If you don't get this job, how will you feel? (This question can tell you a lot about the applicant's personali- ty if you know how to read between the lines of what they say. Do they cover real feelings? Do they try to impress you with their answer? What's really going on as they reply to this one?) 19. What else can you tell me that would further your chances in getting hired for this position with this company? (This is a catch-all, but probe for personal qual- ities and attitude since they are more likely to respond with training and experience in past jobs.) 20. (This is not a question, but is material for the inter- viewer to observe that is just as important as what you ask. You should have been noting all along: How the applicant was dressed How they sat Do they maintain good eye contact Personal grooming Sincerity Manners Are they out-going or shy or loud and noisy. Do they have that "gleam-in-the-eye" that tells you they want the oppor- tunity to perform rather than "just a job for the income they need." Are you sure it is a "gleam in the eye" or is it more of a "burned-out" look? Will this person fit in well with fellow employees and is this person a significant cut above the person who had this job previously? PAGE 7 FINAL NOTE: Perhaps the overall best use of the personal inter- view is your "gut-reaction." If something is "just not right" about the person, even if you can't put your finger on it, better to pass them up. It is probably that they responded to some of the above questions with something you can't prove is wrong or untrue, but you just don't have a "good" feeling about how or what they said. You get a "false" feeling. This kind or person may be devious and un- trustworthy... so go with your feelings, and pass them up. However, don't confuse the above with someone who doesn't fit your personal lifestyle (neat, order, choice of music, etc.) when making this decision.