What questions do I ask in an interview?

The questions you ask will vary based on the intention of the interview itself. For example, the questions in a screening interview will be different from the questions asked in a decision interview, simply because our goals for each round are very different.

That said, with structured interviewing, you will follow defined interview templates for each round that should be consistent across candidates. HireBest gives your organization standard templates, and you are free to duplicate these templates and modify them as you see fit, or to create new templates that better suit your needs. See What are Interview Templates?.

Our decision interview follows a defined structure that will enable you to obtain valuable data from the candidate. When followed consistently, you'll find that interviewing becomes both more fruitful and a lot easier!

At the core, our approach groups the questions you will ask into seven primary buckets. You ask them for each chapter of the candidate's career that the interview covers.

Origination of role

Questions

1. How come you took the job?

You'll learn

• Their motivation and fit for your role
• Overall thoughtfulness and goal orientation
• Endorsement by former bosses, peers and mentors

Definition of success

Questions

2. What was the mission you were hired to achieve?
3. What metrics were used to measure your performance?

You'll learn

• A sense of the size of the job. Does it align with the role they are applying for?
• Growth expectations

Performance on success criteria

Questions

4. How did you perform on those metrics?
5. What were your top 3 accomplishments in this role?

You'll learn

• Success at hitting targets and expectations
• The details of how they were successful
• What they see as their top strengths

Biggest mistakes

Questions

6. Going back in time, what would you redo if given the chance?
7. With 20/20 hindsight, what were the top 3 mistakes you made in this role?

You'll learn

• Self-awareness and critical reflection skills
• Ability to learn from mistakes and change behavior
• Tactical mistakes that may relate to this role

Managerial performance

Questions

8. What direct reports did you hire or fire in this role, and how would you rate each on a 1–10 scale?
9. What was your managerial approach on that team?

You'll learn

• Size and scope of their managerial responsibilities
• Strength in hiring, firing and developing employees
• Management style and followership

Predictive Reference Outcome (PRO)

Questions

10. Who was your direct manager in this role?
11. When we contact them, what will they praise about your performance and who you were back then?
12. Similarly, what will they critique about your performance?
13. Overall, how will they rate you on a 1–10 scale?

You'll learn

• Feedback they've gotten from bosses
• Insight into potential references
• Relationship with bosses

Reason for leaving

Questions

14. How come you left?
15. How did the company take it?

You'll learn

• Their motivation for leaving the role
• If it was their decision or if they were forced out
• Positive or negative reactions to their departure