Questions to Ask in an Interview

Candidates often get nervous thinking about the questions that might be directed at them during an interview. Under such circumstances, making a list of job interview questions and answers certainly helps. Well, it's not just the candidates, even the interviewers also need to come up with intelligent, well thought-out questions that will help you assess the skills and abilities of the candidate. For hiring a perfect candidate for the job, you need to be ready with a set of questions to ask a potential employee in an interview. The way a candidate responds to these questions will surely help you understand the candidate's caliber. Besides the most common interview questions, asking situational interview questions is another strategy to assess the candidate's ability to handle difficult situations. If you happen to be the interviewer, you must prepare a list of questions to ask in an interview. Here's some information that may be of some help to you.

Common Questions to Ask a Candidate in an Interview

What are the types of questions that the employers should ask a candidate in an interview? Well, some of the questions should be regarding the candidate's understanding of the job he/she has applied for, and his/her expectations from the company. If the candidate has worked in another organization earlier, do ask the interviewee about his/her previous work history. Here are some questions to ask during an interview:

• Why do you want to work for our company?
• Why do you think we should hire you?
• What do you want to achieve by taking up this job?
• What are your short-term and long-term goals?
• How can you contribute to the growth of our company?
• What is your dream job?
• What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
• What are your strengths, weaknesses, and interests?
• In what ways have your college experiences prepared you for a career?
• In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?
• What criteria are you using to evaluate the organization for which you hope to work?
• In what capacity did you work in your last job?
• What were your expectations from your previous job and to what extent were they met?
• Did you face any problems or handle any difficult situations in that job?
• What was your biggest achievement in the last job?
• Why did you make a decision regarding leaving your last job?
• What are your expectations from our company?

Situational Questions

Besides the common HR interview questions, situational questions can also help in throwing light on the candidate's presence of mind and ability to handle difficult situations. How a candidate answers these situational interview questions will reveal his/her analytical and problem-solving skills. Check out these sample interview questions to ask during a job interview.

• Did you run into any difficult situations in your previous job? How did you handle that situation?
• Describe a time where you were required to perform a task that you did not know how to do, in your previous job. What was your response?
• Describe a situation in which you worked as part of a team. What role did you take on? What went well and what didn't?
• Describe a situation where you had to work with a very difficult person? How did you handle that situation?
• Was there an occasion when you disagreed with a supervisor's decision or company policy? Describe how you handled the situation.
• When faced with the task of meeting deadlines, how do you handle work pressure?
• If your team member has been making blunders which seem to be affecting your work, what would you do?
• What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort? Describe a situation in which you did so.

These were some sample questions that can be directed at the candidates during an interview. These should help the employer assess the candidate's caliber and help you select the right candidate. The candidate must also come prepared with a list of intelligent questions that will help him/her get an idea about the job requirements and the company's expectations from him/her.