Employee Interviewing: Do’s and Don’t For HR Professionals

The goal of the recruiting function is to recruit top talent to your organization. You want a set of questions that will help you avoid those problematic employees who don’t have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the job that you are hiring for.

Here are a sample of open-ended questions that you can use for your first interview with the job applicant. These types of questions are designed to determine job fit.

There are several different philosophies when it comes to the interview process. Depending on the position being filled, some employers will look more closely at specific technical skills, others will be concerned primarily with how this individual will fit in with the team, and some will focus on an applicant’s enthusiasm and desire for the position. The need to handle specific tasks, supervise others, meet with clients and/or work independently will factor into how you approach the interview process and make your assessment of the candidates.

Although you can get the answers to many questions from looking at a resume, it is important to hear each prospective employee respond so that he or she can provide greater insight into his or her previous employment and education.

Among the questions you will want to ask include:

What did you do at your last position?

What did you like about your last position?

Why did you leave your last position? Or why do you wish to leave your current position?

How would you describe your relationship with your co-workers? Supervisors? Clients or customers?

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

In which areas would you most like to improve?

What were your strengths and weaknesses?

You also want to find out about the applicant’s reasons for starting in the field and their future plans or goals. Questions you might ask include:

What made you pursue this field?

What courses in college and/or graduate school do you feel were most applicable to your work in the field?

What are your long-term goals or where do you see yourself in five or ten years from now?

When talking about the job in question, you will want to get a feel for how the individual will fit in and handle different situations. After explaining some of the basic tasks involved, you might ask questions such as:

Which past experiences do you feel will help you most in this position?

Would you be comfortable supervising x number of employees?

We use x computer software. Are you familiar with that system?

What other skills do you feel you can bring to this position?

This position may require you to put in x number of hours per week or some travel out of town, would that be a problem for you?

Look at other specifics aspects of the position you are looking to fill, such as phone calls, client contact, sales or marketing skills and ask candidates how comfortable they are in handling such specific tasks.

Along with the questions and answers, you will want to get a feeling for the comfort and character of the person sitting across from you. However, try not to read too much into body language, since typically most people are nervous on a job interview. It is more important that you get a feeling for what this person brings to the position from his or her past experience and his or her manner of presentation. Candidates should dress accordingly for an interview, depending on the formality of the position. You should explain the position and mention any benefits package that will be included. It is also helpful, although not essential, to give each applicant a little background information about the company.

You should end the interview by asking the applicant if he has any questions. Make sure you know the answers before responding or make it clear that you can find out the answers and let them know. You do not want to misrepresent yourself or your company by answering incorrectly. It is important that any statements you make about the company or about the position are accurate.

And finally, you should thank each applicant for coming in to the interview and shake his hand. You need to be polite and professional throughout the interview process.

Along with the interview questions you should ask, there are several questions you should not ask, including:

How old are you?

What is your religion?

What ethnicity are you?

What is your sexual preference?

Are you married?

Do you have children?

Are you planning to start a family?

Have you ever done drugs? (You cannot ask this question, but you can find this out in a pre-employment drug screen.)

Have you ever been arrested? (You can ask on an application whether they have been convicted of any crime. Then, as part of the pre-employment screening, conduct a criminal background check, especially if they are dealing with cash, personally indentifiable information of your customers, and dealing with children.

You may also want to ask questions about the applicant’s education, particularly with younger candidates who are more recently out of school and have less work experience. Internships have become more common in recent years and you should ask the applicant what she did and what she learned from any internships.

If the prospective employee has had large gaps in his or her employment history, you will want to inquire about what he or she was doing during those time periods.

Typically, you will ask what compensation the individual was receiving at the previous job and what he is seeking at this job. Sometimes this is saved for the second interview. In other situations, where you are limited to a certain salary or hourly wage, you might state that this job pays x or you might provide a salary range. This way you can determine early on in the process whether or not the applicant is interested at all.

Or any other questions that relate to personal information and are not pertinent to the job. In addition you should not touch an applicant, other than a handshake.

Typically, if an interview goes well, you will want to schedule a second interview with a strong candidate. It is at this time that you should get into describing the job more thoroughly and discussing salary. It is also at this point that you might introduce the candidate to the person who will be his or her immediate supervisor, should that be someone other than yourself. In many cases, the supervisor will conduct the follow up interview.

The applicants that you select to advance to the second interview will be subject to a more intense oral examination to assess their background knowledge.

The third interview, you should ask questions that are situational. These types of questions should consist of a situation that the job applicant is most likely to encounter if hired. To get these sample situations, you would observe and interview job incumbants as they are performing their jobs. Look at situations such as dealing with customers. How would this applicant handle customer service related issues?

No matter how much you may feel that someone is right for a job, it is in your best interest to ask for, and contact, references. You also want to ask the prospective employee to sign a form allowing you to do a background check. You should then take the time to do it. Check out past employers to make sure the applicant worked where they claim they did and, if possible, talk to a former supervisor. Also check that the applicant did attend the schools he listed on his resume or on your application.

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