8 Interview Questions That You Need to

Know to Up Your Recruiting Game

Kalibrr for Business| 8 Interview Questions to Up Your Recruiting Game

While job interviews are supposed to focus on a candidate's professional skills, some recruiters
and hiring managers today have taken to some extent to ask unconventional questions to
identify talent and see someone who will fit well in the company.

Big tech companies like Google and Microsoft, just to name a few, has made interview
questions as odd and puzzling as it could get.

Digging deep to determine a candidate's knowledge and skills, cultural fit, and intelligence, or
to just get a sense of what kind of person they are, go and be a little creative in the interview.
We put together a little cheat sheet of interview questions that will show you whether
that candidate is really worth hiring.

After asking the basic and introductory questions on your list, next is to try and challenge them
and make them think. Thought provoking questions will encourage candidates to think hard,
and will also make you see how their mind work when difficult circumstances come up.

1. Explain to me something that's complicated but you know well.

A test of intelligence and a way to gauge passion. It doesn't necessarily have to do anything
with work, in fact, it's better if it isn't. Here, you encourage the candidate to explain and break
down a complex idea and the way they articulate it to someone who doesn't quite understand
it.

You'd be surprised what responses come out of their heads.

2. Tell me about a time you failed.

This one is popular question. Because no one is perfect, this question is a great way to test a
person's humility and self-awareness. The important thing is what happens next.

How does the candidate recover from that failure? What valuable lesson did they get from it?
And how did they use it as a motivation for self-improvement? Watch out though when they
start dropping names and pointing fingers to blame other colleagues. That's a major red flag
right there. The answer to this question should show whether a person is willing to take
ownership of their work or will be quick to shirk responsibility when the going gets tough.

Kalibrr for Business| 8 Interview Questions to Up Your Recruiting Game

3. What’s the biggest decision you’ve made over the past year. Why was it
such a big deal?

No, this isn't a way for you to find out if they've recently broken up with their significant other.
Instead, it is designed to show you how they approach the decision making process.

Do they choose impulsively, or do they conduct research, and figure out a plan and then
decide? Did they make the plan on their own, or did they consulted with mentors and
friends? Their answers to this question will make you see their style of decision-making and if
their thought process fits the way you do things at your company.

4. What’s your definition of hard work?

Each company moves at different paces, what could be a week's worth of project in a
corporate company may be expected in a few days’ time at a growing startup.

This question is a great way of telling you whether a candidate can keep pace with your team
and fit in with your company’s definition of hard work.

Determining if a candidate has the relevant skills and experience is only half the battle. The
other half is to see if they're a good fit for the company.

5. What excites you to get up and come to work at your last job?

Let's be honest, a lot of people dislike their jobs. So for companies that want to grow and want
to have the best culture and employer brand, it's important for them to let their employees be
emotionally invested in coming to work.

Find out why candidates found their last role exciting and what motivated them to keep
digging deep when the going got tough. If they didn’t find their last role stimulating, find out
why.

Kalibrr for Business| 8 Interview Questions to Up Your Recruiting Game

6. What’s your favorite non-professional activity?

It’s always important to try and understand what kind of person you're about to hire is, and
how they are outside of work is the best way to do it.

While it may not impact their work at all, it can help you understand someone’s character.
These kind of questions help to relax candidates and encourage them to open up. Who knows,
maybe you might have something in common an become work best friends!

7. What would your former colleagues say about you if you weren’t in the
room?

We all want nice things to be said about us, but if a candidate has significant drive and
ambition, it's highly possible that not everyone would talk well of him/her in their last company.

Some candidates would probably answer this awkwardly. It's pretty uncomfortable, honestly,
but hopefully their responses would be balanced.

8. Tell me about a bad professional relationship you’ve had. Why didn’t it

work?

Offices, especially corporate ones, are high pressure environments, and emotions can just blow
the lid off the thermos. Everybody has had that experience with a terrible boss, or a colleague
that just irritated us to the bones, so this question will help you understand the root cause of
the relationship and how they overcame the situation.

Most candidates are hesitant to badmouth their bosses and colleagues, so this question always
prompts a few interesting answers. Look out for those candidates that cite problems like
blaming bad relationships for a failed project. These kinds of people is something you
probably don't want in your organization.

Kalibrr for Business| 8 Interview Questions to Up Your Recruiting Game