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5 Tips to ask better Interview questions as a Recruiter

22 Aug, 2022

Good interview questions are essential because they allow the interviewer to understand the candidate’s skills and personality. Interviews are a critical part of the hiring process. Employers need to ask relevant questions during the interview process as it helps them get a clear idea of the candidate’s potential and abilities which will contribute to efficient workforce management in your company.

Asking good interview questions is crucial to getting an honest response from your candidate.

Here are some tips on how to ask good interview questions.

1. Ask Open-ended Questions

Interviews are not just about asking questions to find out information about an applicant but also about how they will fit into the company culture.

The interviewer should ask open-ended questions that help them understand more about the applicant’s personality, skillset, and interests. They should frame these questions in a way that is more likely to prompt an honest answer rather than one that is memorized.

Open-ended questions are questions that do not have any pre-defined answers and instead require the candidate to provide his or her response based on his or her thoughts and feelings.

The best way to ask good interview questions is by asking open-ended questions that require a lot of thought. The following are some examples of relevant interview questions:

What do you like about your current job?
What are you most passionate about?
What motivates you?

2. Ask Uncomfortable Questions

When interviewing candidates, never be afraid to ask uncomfortable questions. These questions can help the interviewer understand how the candidate will act in a specific situation and how they would perform their duties.

Some of these questions include:

What are some of your weaknesses?
What are some things you have done that you wouldn’t do again?
How would you handle a difficult customer?
How have you addressed your mistakes in the past?

Good interviewing skills take time to master. The most successful people are those who have been able to be comfortable with asking tough questions. However, it is crucial to find the right balance since you want your candidate to open up.

The most important thing about interviewing is to ask thoughtful and relevant questions, which can be difficult because it requires the interviewee to share personal information. However, getting a clear picture of their honesty and humility is necessary.

3. Ask Engaging Questions

In an interview, asking questions that get your candidate thinking is essential. You can ask your candidate questions unrelated to the training on the job or by asking them brain teasers. Their response to these questions can be pretty revealing. Some of the best questions to ask during an interview include:

What would you do if you were in charge of the project?
How would this job fit into your career goals and interests?
If I gave you $1 million, what would you do with it?
What is the next word in the following sequence?

Brain teasers are a great way of getting your candidate to think outside the box and test their cognitive ability. They also help you learn about the person’s personality and skillset. Asking questions that get your candidate thinking in an interview, tests their ability to think on their feet.

It also helps you gauge how the candidate thinks and what they believe. These kinds of questions motivate candidates to solve problems they otherwise wouldn’t be able to solve without thinking critically. They can provide valuable insights into how well a candidate thinks on their feet and how creative they are when solving problems.

4. Ask Light-hearted or Less Serious Questions

Interviews can be stressful and uncomfortable. However, asking light-hearted or less serious questions can make the conversation more comfortable and enjoyable for everyone involved.

When interviewing someone, asking light-hearted questions is a great way to break the ice and make the candidate feel more comfortable. Besides, these questions can help you better understand the person and get an idea of their personality.

Some examples of light-hearted questions are:

What is your favourite colour?
What was the last book you read?
What does your dream vacation look like?

Recruiters often ask questions that test the candidate’s knowledge or skills. However, they can also ask less serious questions to get a sense of how the candidate will fit in with the team and culture of the company.

Questions like these also help interviewers better understand how candidates think, feel, and react in different situations.

5. Ask Questions About Specific Habits and Practices

One of the essential practices in an interview is asking questions about the candidate’s habits and practices. It helps the interviewer understand and learn more about their strengths, weaknesses, and how they work.

It helps the interviewer better understand the candidate’s skills, personality, and motivations. Examples of good questions about specific habits and practices are:

What are your strengths?
What’s your motivation for working at this job?
What are your long-term goals?
How do you handle stress?

These questions can help you determine whether the candidate is a good fit for the job or not. To understand what a candidate needs from your company, you need to know their specific needs.

For example, if they mention that they are looking for a job where they can develop their writing skills daily, you need to ask them why this is important for them. Answering these questions will help the interviewer better understand the job candidate and their potential for success in the position.

Final Thoughts

Interviewing is an integral part of a recruiter’s job, and it can be hard to know what to ask without the help of a good interview questions list. Good interview questions are important for a recruiter because it helps them find out whether the candidate has the skills and personality they need for their company.

It also helps them understand how they would fit into their company culture. However, many recruiters aren’t asking good questions despite the importance of interviews, which can disqualify candidates before they even get a chance to show what they can do in an interview. Even if they possess the desired calibre, you can think of giving them training on the job to hone their skills.