Clever questions help employers to quickly find the right applicant in an interview. Experienced recruiters reveal which questions bosses should ask.

Anyone looking for new employees for a vacant position needs more than just a good gut feeling. It is important to learn as much as possible about a person – regardless of whether you want to hire a trainee or a manager. What can the applicant do? How does he work What drives him? Where does he want to go? How does he deal with customers and colleagues? To find out all of this, there is often little time in the interview.

In order to fill the position with the right applicant, who ideally does a good job for the company for years, employers above all need good preparation for the interview and instead of the classic questionnaire on weaknesses and competencies, a few clever questions that are more than worth asking for receives only standard answers. And they guarantee that the interview takes a pleasant course and is not like an interrogation. The following sample questions provide a discussion guide that ensures that the interview is successful from an employer perspective, ensures clarity and leads the right applicant to the dream job.

Questions that reveal something about the personality, working methods, and expectations of the applicant in the interview

“How did you prepare for the appointment today?”

“This is a question I would like to ask,” says Goran Barić, managing director of the personnel consultancy PageGroup Germany. “Because it shows how important this interview and the new job are to the applicant. Is he preparing systematically? The question is a good, pleasant transition from small talk to the factual level. Ideally, the applicant starts talking. ”

“Why do you want to change companies?”

“Convincing candidates develop a positive vision of their new job. Others, on the other hand, start to blaspheme about their old employer, ”says Barić. “This is not professional and says a lot about the applicant. In addition, the question then arises: Has he possibly pre-empted?

Such applicant questions are also a good opportunity for employers to then find out whether candidates would be willing to move for the new job, for example.

“How do you imagine the first three months here with us?”

“There is no wrong or right answer to this question. But in this way employers can find out in the job interview to what extent the applicant has already considered his future role in the company, ”says Barić. “Some applicants overwhelmed this question. It is interesting to see how the applicant deals with this uncertainty. Does it confuse the candidate or can he confidently explain that he has already set personal goals, such as: ‘In the first 100 days, I want to have lunch with all the people I work within the company.’ ”

“What is your current boss like?”

This question is particularly recommended when interviewing potential executives who are applying for important positions. “Anyone who leads must also be able to name the criteria of good or bad leadership,” says Barić. “Employers can expect a good applicant to address specific leadership principles. It also shows what help he expects from his manager and what annoys him – perhaps because the manager has identified a weakness. ”

“Who is your role model – and why?”

This application question gives employers a good personal impression of the candidate during the interview. “If someone calls an athlete, it means competition, ambition, and discipline,” says Barić. “If he calls someone from the family, social relationships and balance are particularly important to him.”

“Tell me about the good experiences you have had in your life!”

“This question enables employers to see what is really important to the applicant,” says Barić. “For example, does he attach particular importance to close and trusting friendships? Is he more an adventurous person? Does he also define success in terms of content and, above all, does the interviewee appreciate good experiences as such? ”

“Tell me about topics you failed on!”

“This question enables employers to find out whether someone is reflective enough to recognize their weaknesses and deal with setbacks constructively,” says Barić. “Is the interlocutor able to take responsibility for failure – and learn from it for the future?”

“Tell me what was the craziest thing you’ve ever done in your life!”

“This question is a good way to end the first phase of an interview,” says Personaler Barić. And much better than simply going through the stages of an applicant’s CV. “We are always happy to ask this application question, whether with a controller or a sales representative. The answer shows how open an applicant is, what he dares and dares to do – and where his own limits are. Here he can show personality. ”

“What would have to happen for you to regret your step to us?”

This tip does not come from Goran Barić, but from Stephanie Luftensteiner, senior recruiter at Adidas. “The answer to this question reveals so much about the motivation of the applicant,” the HR specialist told Business Insider. If someone said that they were dissatisfied if they did not get on with the team, it would indicate a team-oriented applicant. If someone regretted moving to the company because they were not promoted, employers would know that the applicant was career-oriented. Recognizing what would make a new employee unhappy helps with the selection – because it allows you to assess whether a company can meet these expectations at all.

Questions that reveal something about the applicant’s motivation and willingness to perform in the interview

“What does success mean to you?”

This application question tells employers what motivates them to work. The spectrum of answers can range from the “minimalist” to the success-oriented employee with healthy ambition to the self-centered careerist, who is at most materially motivated. Ask for concrete success stories to check whether the candidate’s answer is credible.

“What merit are you particularly proud of?”

Does the applicant respond with a reference to a job-specific achievement? Are the qualities that are of interest to your company and the vacancy? Do the answers match the requirements? The type of success and the skills required also give employers information about the motivation, the basic values ​​and the talents on whom the applicant trusts and which he appreciates in particular.

“What kind of failure do you find particularly difficult?”

This is not an easy question of the possible employer since the applicant inevitably has to open up here. But the conclusions about sensitivity, ambition, sensitivities, triggers, and issues for failure, the courage and the openness of the applicant provide very informative information. You can help him by relativizing the question and by having him answer with a simple example.

“Tell me about a difficult situation at your last job and how you dealt with it.”

The aim of the interview in the interview is to ensure that HR managers get to know the applicant better and learn how conflict-capable and resilient he is. Most of the time you can use the answer to infer future behavior. The difficult question reveals a lot, for example, what the applicant perceives as a difficult situation (from the canteen with bad coffee to an environment that allows little initiative or development in professional advancement). If a young professional is sitting in front of you, ask about difficult situations during your studies or training.

“What do you think that really motivates people to work: salary, flexible working hours, career, enthusiasm, ambition, calling or something else?”

The answer to this question is very interesting for employers because it reveals a lot about the candidate’s value system. Pay attention to the credibility and the ability to differentiate and ask the applicant to give a personal example or experience. Modify the question to get more detailed and individual information: ask about further education or career and career planning, for example.

“Why do you think you would like to do this work?”

The answer to this question tells employers how well the applicant has informed himself about the job profile and the job before the job interview and which tasks are the most interesting and motivating for him. You can also modify this question to obtain more detailed and individual information, for example about personal requirements or project goals.

“What do you think enables really good performance?”

This is an indirect question about motivation – on an objectified level. However, since the answer to this requires a capacity for abstraction, employers should only put it to applicants who are able to speak. You can also ask the question less openly: “What do you think are the prerequisites for above-average performance?”

“What are the decisive aspects for you in terms of the everyday work of the position that we offer?”

At first glance, this is a harmless and simple question. But still, one that tells employers a lot about whether the candidate has understood the essentials and knows what is important. Caution is advisable for employers when it comes to secondary matters, questionable priorities or completely irrelevant aspects. The term “aspects” is deliberately chosen to be non-specific, but you can also ask the question more specifically, for example with regard to challenges and interests, agreement with career goals, etc.

“What do you expect from your new task, what is most important to you?”

Are there challenges, the opportunities to learn new things, to get to know a new branch, to be able to apply what you have learned or to develop further in a dynamic branch? The focal points that the applicant mentions, the possible reasons, the underlying motives (career, challenge, learning new things, etc.) give you interesting tips. When answering this question, as a potential employer, pay particular attention to whether and to what extent you could meet the candidate’s expectations.

“How do you motivate yourself?”

This question is as short as it is difficult – and allows many answers. If the applicant falls back on concrete experiences, he convinces with credibility. Motivated applicants also express that they like to set themselves professional goals that they are working towards and are better able to deal with setbacks than unmotivated colleagues. A clever answer to such a question can be: “I am motivated by good work results and I am proud of success. If I have solved a task very well, I am immediately motivated for new challenges. For example, I took on an interesting project on the subject of process organization at my current employer after I had a good grip on the daily routine. ” Care should be taken with general answers to these questions, such as:

Questions that reveal something about the applicant’s soft skills in the interview

The following generally applies in this area: “Questions about soft skills are only effective if they relate to the past,” says Albrecht Müllerschön, consultant and coach for personnel and organizational development. “By contrast, questions about the future generally provoke socially desirable answers.”

So, for example, you shouldn’t ask a question like this: “ What would you do if your colleague made you bad?” Because: “In 90 percent of the cases, applicants answer memorized things like: ‘I would look for an open discussion'”, said the expert. “This answer is useless. Practice shows that many workers will also make colleagues bad. ”

This question would be better: “Have you been badly done by a colleague in the past? If so, how did you react and how was the conflict settled? Please give examples. ”

The following sections list relevant questions about specific soft skills:

Good interview questions about the resilience

• “Name past professional situations that were stressful or tiring for you! How did you deal with it? How did others react to it? And what was the result? “
• “What has been your last or biggest failure so far? How did you behave What was the result?”
• “Do you consider yourself resilient? And how do you fix that? “
• “Imagine you are a team leader in a very labor-intensive project in which different departments and colleagues work together. What tools do you bring with you to successfully structure the project and keep loads within limits? “

Through these questions, employers learn something about the resilience of the applicant – for example with regard to the extent to which he has learned to keep an overview and to deal with stress in a structured manner.

Good questions in the interview for customer orientation

• “What does customer orientation mean to you? Give examples from the past that show your strengths in this area! ”
• “What do you think: What do our customers expect from our company as the next step?”

This question helps HR managers in job interviews more than any list of qualifications to recognize whether an applicant really fits the company. “These questions focus on the candidate’s empathy and ability to change perspective. Does he know your target groups and can he put himself in the position of his potential employer? This question also shows whether the applicant has a realistic idea of ​​the new tasks, ”says personnel expert Goran Barić.

Good interview questions about care

• “Give examples from the past that required careful work!”
• “How did you ensure that you work reliably or without errors?”
• “Give an example in which you have neglected the care. What was the result? What have you learned from this? “
• “If you are pressed for time, what is more, important to you: keeping an appointment or taking care?”

Good questions in the interview about teamwork

• “If you had to decide today to work alone forever or with others in a team: What would you choose? And why?”
• “What is special about working with other people? Give an example from the past! “
• “What role do you usually play in groups? Give examples!”
• “What kind of people do you like to work with? Rather with calm, dominant, fun or structured colleagues? “
• “How would you describe people you would like to work with? What are their strengths or weaknesses? “
• “Who do you like to work with less? And why?”
• “From which departments would you involve colleagues for these projects – and how do you go about this?”

Good questions in the interview on your own initiative

• “In which situation have you proven that you have initiative? If you get stuck: what do you do? “
• “What independent jobs have you had in your professional past? Examples? “
• “What freedoms are important to you?”
• “How are colleagues or your current manager describing you in relation to your own initiative?”
• “What framework conditions can hinder or block your initiative?”

Good interview questions about critical faculties and self-reflection

• “Try to get out of yourself – and observe yourself from the outside: What do you like about yourself? What are you happy with? Which topics do you want to develop yourself? And what do you need tips from others for? ”

“There are people who find it difficult to question themselves critically and to accept criticism,” says Goran Barić. “But today this is a very important quality for a team player – especially for someone who wants to take on responsibility up to management tasks.”

What employers should leave in the interview

Do not cross-examine the application interview!

“The interview should not be cross-examination – so it should not be an interview with the aim of making the applicant small with questions or pushing them into the corner. These times are over, ”says Barić. “It is about treating mature applicants well and politely and, after greeting them, intelligently engaging in a conversation with good questions to find out something about the person. Remember that the nature of the questions also reveals a lot about the questioner. ”

In addition, clever questions enable good and open questions from the applicant at the end of the interview, which then also reveals a lot about him.

Do not ask any inadmissible questions in the interview.

“There are no stupid questions,” is the popular saying. This does not apply to interviews, there are even forbidden questions.

Do not ask nasty questions in the interview – and stress questions only in exceptional cases!

“It is tricky to lead someone onto the ice with questions,” says Müllerschön. “It is always done. If the requirement profile does not make it necessary, one should not ask trick questions that put applicants under unnecessary pressure. It’s just unfair. ”Only if the issue of resilience is an important point can one use such so-called stress questions or brain teasers. “Otherwise you should avoid that.”

Stress experts should also be asked a maximum of two to three minutes during the interview, the expert advice. It is also important to apologize afterward so that the applicants know that this was a test and that the company does not always deal with one another. “Then I say: ‘I just wanted to use this question to check how you react when you are under pressure.'”