Four Interview Questions You Should Be Asking

Conducting interviews for open positions can be taxing. Of course, you want to be engaged and ready to assess whether or not a candidate is suitable for your team and their potential role, but when's the last time you updated the set of questions you ask during the process? While you want to broach the obvious topics, there are some lesser-thought of territories to explore. To ensure you're bringing quality team members aboard, consider asking these four important questions.

1. "Tell me about a time you were proud of yourself."
A candidate's response to this question, which can be tailored to be specifically work related or not, offers a glimpse inside their views on work and purpose—a relationship Millennials and Gen Z professionals especially value. By learning the ways in which they view their work and how it makes a difference, you can quickly assess whether the same type of fulfillment could be found for them at your business.

2. "Describe a situation you feel you should have handled differently."
Humility: We all try to have it. Your candidate's response will show you how willing they are to admit they were wrong or could have approached a scenario in a better way for everyone involved. If they won't own up to ever being wrong ... Well, you know what to do.

3. "If you could choose one book or publication for everyone on the team to read, what would it be—and why?"
In terms of gauging creativity, their response could show you quite a bit. You may even be scratching your head at their initial answer. But once they explain, you may gain a new perspective on something your team hasn't thought of—and boom! You're now in a brainstorm session. If they can't come up with a single idea, consider it a red flag and briskly walk the other way.

4. "What are the first three things you would do if a client comes to you with a problem?"
While nobody likes dealing with angry or upset clients, it's a reality we all face at one point or another. By asking this question, you could determine what type of problem solver your candidate is. Do they say they'd immediately apologize to the client? Do they say they'd go get someone else to handle it? Or do they demonstrate their emotional intelligence and offer to sit down with the customer and make it right?

If planned intentionally, the questions you ask in an interview can reveal more than just surface level information about a candidate, and in turn be incredibly helpful in snagging a quality team member who's going to stick around.

Written by Sarah Suydam, Managing Editor for Groups Today.