A sample list of questions asked during a job interview. Step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a job interview

This review will discuss not only what should be asked at an interview, but also for what purpose it should be done, what personal and professional competencies this helps to reveal what details you should pay attention to when conducting a job interview, sample questions. Recall that questions are a tool that in capable hands, with a clearly defined task and correct interpretation of the results, applied in a correctly constructed atmosphere can give good result. As well as not giving anything if we just have smart questions.

The first thing you need to remember when organizing a proper job interview is to create a favorable atmosphere during the interview. Usually candidates are a little nervous in front of him. The recruiter’s task is to defuse the situation; the more the candidate relaxes, the greater the likelihood that the reliability of his answers will be as truthful as possible and you will get an objective picture of the person. To do this, you need to ask a couple of questions about the weather, whether it was easy for the candidate to find the company office, offer tea/coffee/water, and indicate a place where they can leave outerwear. Behave in a friendly and polite manner.

1. Please tell us about yourself (as a professional who can cope with this work).

Purpose of the question- assess the candidate’s self-presentation skills, understand motivation/priorities and determine what motivates the candidate - focus on results or process. From the point of view of the structure of the presentation, you can see how the presentation is structured, what emphasis is made, and whether there is logic. As for the focus on results, which is so important in sales departments, is the candidate’s attention paid to the formal, process side - was, walked, studied, did or is there a focus on results - achieved, brought out, received, achieved.

When the interview begins, this is the first question that is asked. I usually add the clarification indicated in brackets to candidates who are being interviewed for a position where it is very important to have developed self-presentation skills (sales managers, top executives). Here you need to pay attention to how a person constructs his story, whether there are numbers and data confirming his professional skills and achievements. Pay attention to gestures, so that you can then compare them with those that will appear when answering other questions. Pace and intonation of speech also matter; if a candidate speaks too quickly, this may be an indication that he is nervous. Then you deliberately make the pace of your speech slower - this will help relieve the candidate’s nervousness.

2. Tell us about your responsibilities at previous jobs.

Purpose of the question: on the one hand, compare the information in the resume and clarify key functions, on the other hand, again assess the candidate’s focus and priorities, what was especially important for him, what level he set for himself, how he saw the technology for solving these problems. And, of course, indirectly assess the candidate’s attitude - which of the above brings him joy, and which rather stresses him out. After all, this side ensures attention to work and, in the presence of difficulties, movement towards the goal without a decrease in enthusiasm.

If this aspect is spelled out in detail in the candidate’s resume, then the question can be structured as follows: you indicated in your resume that..., please tell us exactly how you did it. When the candidate answers, it would be advisable to ask clarifying questions: how did you manage to achieve this, how did you carry out this process, how did you identify problems when completing this task, how were your ideas implemented, etc. The answer to this question will help to compare how job responsibilities The tasks performed by the candidate coincide with those required by the position in your company, and depending on this, how many new functions he will have to master at the new place of work.

3. Please tell us what achievements you are especially proud of?

Purpose of the question: assess the candidate’s motivation structure, understand his “bar” in work, the level of demands on himself (depending on the position, this may be important - these were some natural events or breakthroughs made at the candidate’s suggestion, for example, for the position of a manager). And of course, to understand whether there were achievements, whether they can be clearly defined and in what terms, whether they are comparable to the level of the new position or not. The key thing in terms of the structure of motivation is to understand what exactly in the job attracts the candidate, because this is exactly what he will talk about, in exactly this language. Does the result or process matter to him, achieving heights or avoiding failures, does he value teamwork or only his own contribution, etc.

4. Give an example especially difficult task, which you managed to solve. Describe the situation.

Purpose of the question: determine the candidate’s attitude towards obstacles and typical mechanisms of self-regulation - how he copes with the workload, how he makes decisions, how he interacts with others and, most importantly, the locus of control. Does he take responsibility for himself or is he inclined to take on the role of a “victim” to whom events happen. Also, the level of difficulties and their type are important here - it is important to compare these data with the situation in the new place, since with a low position this factor can be decisive. If there are many new and unfamiliar difficulties, the environment is flexible, there are no adaptation systems or training opportunities, there is no control, the level of independence of the position is high - then they may become dissonant with the candidate’s profile, up to and including dismissal of their own free will.

Also, an interesting point for evaluation and comparison here is the actual selected episode. Many people come up with situations and/or their exploits in it, and a good test question here would be to ask for the contacts of those who could tell the role of the candidate in the situation. By the emotional reaction to the question, you can determine how seriously the candidate took the case.

5. For what reason did you leave your previous job?

Purpose of the question: firstly, the ability to constructively evaluate negative and difficult events, and secondly, to test the intelligence and general maturity of the candidate, because this issue is a hundred years old and the principle of its assessment has long been clear to everyone. A mature candidate will certainly be ready for it, and the ready answer should be correct and constructive. If this is not the case, this is a serious indicator that indicates to us either the candidate’s low culture or low motivation to get any job.

An alarming indicator is if a candidate voices a conflict with the team or company management as the reason for leaving. This usually indicates high level conflict of the candidate. As well as the fact that he speaks negatively about his manager, colleagues or companies where he worked. Of course, perhaps everything was bad there in reality, but we must remember that only the candidate’s point of view was voiced, and we do not have an objective picture of what actually happened. A negative assessment- There is. And this is already a certain indicator. The information you receive from a candidate is valuable if you are willing to check it against what the company says.

6. What would your former boss/colleagues/subordinates say about you?

Purpose of the question: to obtain data for comparison - on the one hand, on the other - this is a good projective question that allows you to obtain information about what the candidate thinks about himself, how he evaluates himself and what is important to him in the assessment itself, for which he respects himself or not loves himself.

Second important aspect- in what terms the candidate will talk, in what terms emotional state he will. Will he be inspired, since he has something to be proud of and, remembering his former colleagues, will he be pleased to talk about himself on their behalf, or will he rather be depressed, which will show the ambiguity of the situation in the previous company. This question is quite complex and ambiguous when presented at a job interview, and is not recommended for new recruiters.

7. Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses. You can strengthen the question like this - what do you especially respect yourself for?

Purpose of the question: helps reveal both the mental and emotional maturity of the candidate. Everyone understands that ideal employees, like ideal people, do not exist and the main task of this question is to discover how self-critical he is and how sincere he can be. Since many sources offer help to candidates in preparing for an interview and teach them how to correctly answer these types of questions, here you can also test how creatively he can interpret information received from different sources.

The important point is whether what appears to be a strong candidate matches the competencies that are important to perform the job for which you are considering him. It is clear that the first layer of the received answer may be quite formal. A good clarifying question might be - tell us about a situation in which this manifested itself in in the best possible way, worked for you. Who took part in it, what preceded it. It is questions like these that allow you to return spontaneity to the dialogue and evaluate the candidate’s sincere attitude and assessment of himself and the situation.

8. What is your attitude towards life?

Purpose of the question: clarify the attitude to life again through the prism of “activity-passivity”, “process-result”, “self-others”, “achievement-avoidance”. This philosophical question will most accurately demonstrate the candidate’s life position. This is especially important when interviewing for leadership positions.

A person with an active life position will definitely say that life is not only full of pleasures, and there are also quite a lot of difficulties in it, but it is important to be able to cope with them and continue on your way. Of course, the wording will be different, but the main message should be like this. If a person complains when answering, expresses dissatisfaction, then most likely life position Such a person is passive; even before the start of action, he already expects defeat and failure. Pay attention to nonverbal cues that will be present when the candidate responds. They will tell you how truthful and prepared the answer is.

An additional question is also interesting here - tell me, what three important rules do you follow in life? Or - what is your formula for success? These additional questions are also good for interviews when hiring managers, as they allow you to see in more detail the candidate’s position in relation to the business, to the environment, to success, to one’s own abilities, and to the resource that is put at the forefront. Again, not only the answers themselves are important, but their design and terminology. Their level of preparedness. Has the candidate thought about this before? Are there ready answers?

9. What is success/failure in your understanding?

Purpose of the question: This question is very effective to use to identify the candidate’s motivation and how his life goals coincide with the goals for this position. Ask the candidate to give an example of their biggest success and failure. Here it will be important to assess the degree of influence of the candidate on both situations and how he himself assesses this degree of influence. In such matters, the locus of control and the ability to take responsibility are clearly visible. Could it have been different in the case of defeat? Why did it happen this way?

In the case of a major success, is the contribution of the candidate himself great, is there any? Does he value self-effort situations or is he more interested in freebies? This is also important for assessing candidates for positions with an important resulting vector.

10. Why do you think you are suitable for this position? What is your advantage over other candidates?

Purpose of the question: most right moment for the candidate to demonstrate his strengths, as well as his ability to persuade and his self-presentation skills. The fact that the candidate is not confident in his abilities will indicate weak arguments, generalized answers, formal and autobiographical data.

Here important point- how well the candidate understood the position profile and what competitive advantages the company itself expects from the candidate. How ready is he to refract this information for himself and build his strengths in accordance with them? Can he highlight the main thing that will be required of him in this position? How does he understand the word "advantage"? What exactly does he consider his advantage? How maturely can he construct an answer to this question, given that he does not know which candidates you have already seen and how strong they are. Depending on what you want to see, this question can provide rich food for thought.

11. How do you imagine yourself in 3-5 years?

Purpose of the question: assess planning skills, their realism, attitude towards planning, again, locus of control and willingness to take responsibility for one’s life. It is a well-known fact that only a person who knows how to set goals for himself and plan his future is able to achieve the desired results and is ready to take the initiative. Therefore, if a person clearly understands his professional career, then he is used to planning and follows what is planned in order to achieve the goal.

Good follow-up questions to prepare for the basic question - what do you use for planning? What tools? How often do you plan? How do you do it? How do you choose goals and prioritize? What helps you in this process?

12. Think and name the difficulties that you may encounter in your new job. What tasks will you set for yourself and solve during the first month of work in our company?

Purpose of the question: determine the candidate’s idea of the job and difficult moments for him based on his past experience. It would also be appropriate to give realistically existing problem for this position in your company and invite the candidate to solve it. For this, it is important to first outline points for solving this problem yourself; if you cannot do this yourself, consult with the head of the department where you are looking for an employee.

Here it is important to compare the logic of the decision and the logic of using resources, which is familiar to the candidate and which is accepted in your company. For example, a candidate is accustomed to having instructions for any situation; if this is not the case in your company, this may be a problem for the candidate. Or are you looking for a manager who will be a player-coach in a team and will travel to key clients and solve operational issues, but the candidate is only used to managing. Immersion in the typical problems of the company will allow you to find out how the candidate is used to acting and whether this model suits you and whether it is successful in your company.

13. Tell us about your plans for this position in our company.

Purpose of the question: good employee always plans his activities, defining tasks is the first item on his list of tasks when starting work on a new project. In addition, the answer to this question will help determine the candidate’s strategic thinking skills. When assessing the answer to this question, one should focus on what main components of his strategy he has identified, what goals he initially set, who he will ask for advice on achieving the goals he has set for himself, how he will establish communication within the team, by what indicators he will determine the success of tasks.

14. Describe five qualities of your ideal leader.

Purpose of the question: clarify the candidate’s motivation, what is important to him in assessing his performance, how he sees himself being managed, what he accepts and does not accept, and how suitable it is for you. This question also shows well the intelligence and correctness of the candidate. Will he be restrained in his assessments and comparisons with past experience, will he be constructive.

An important point - what will be the priority? Why this? If the candidate does not highlight something most important himself, ask a clarifying question. What previous experience is associated with this particular prioritization, etc.

15. How do you think your profession and field of activity as a whole will develop ( good question when selecting engineers, IT specialists or other workers in high-tech industries).

Purpose of the question: understand awareness and degree of interest in the work. When answering this question, a highly qualified specialist will name at least 5 development paths in the next 3-5 years, depending on the processes that will take place in the business environment. It is important to take into account how familiar the candidate is with new trends in this area; you can even ask him to name a few and ask what he personally needs to work on to comply with them. This will greatly help you prepare for an effective job interview.

It is also important how the candidate handles the data - whether accuracy is important to him, whether he is careful in his assessments or approximate, whether the forecast is positive or negative - all this makes it possible to clarify his interests in this profession and his methods of assessing certain difficulties that he faces and will be encountered at work every day.

16. What do you do to maintain your professional knowledge and skills? How do you develop yourself professionally? What are you planning to do for your professional growth in the near future? What will you do if you need to adapt to changes in your field?

Purpose of the question: assess not only how committed the candidate is to his professional growth, but also how inclined he is to learning and development. Does he see the value in this, does he understand the directions of development, does he identify any important stages of growth for himself. Does he make his professional development dependent on the employing company or does he see this as his responsibility?

A professional will be able to evaluate the content side of how valuable the development plan is in itself. The recruiter can see the logic and motivation behind this question.

17. Have you ever worked with those who are unpleasant to you?

Purpose of the question: assess the candidate’s conflict tolerance, categoricalness/flexibility, his maturity in assessments, culture and methods of interaction, contact. Indirectly, we will understand what the candidate does not like about himself. After all, people who are similar to us are annoying and unpleasant to us. Firstly, it is important to understand how the candidate will evaluate the very formulation of the question. In fact, all people cannot be pleasant and a normal person admits that one way or another one has to deal with unpleasant people. Next is categoricalness. Will the candidate try to defend his right to have unpleasant people by arguing that their flaws are really very strong? Will he try to get the recruiter on his side?

18. Describe the ideal company to work for.

Purpose of the question: After analyzing the answer, you will have a set of those motivators that are the most important for him. Based on them, you can compare them with whether he can satisfy his needs in your company.

It would be good to check how socially desirable the candidate's answer will be, whether he will tell you what you want to hear. This can be done by clarifying how everything is structured and works in this company and why it is this way. Who will be unhappy with this situation in the first place? and who is happy? In this question you can see a real projection of the candidate’s real motivators.

Purpose of the question: checking references. Be sure to record the name, phone number and position of the recommender. Checking references will help you not only verify the candidate’s professionalism, but also his level of conflict. The fact that the candidate cannot provide his recommendations from his last places of work should alert you.

See if there are any reservations and conditions. Who will be handed over to you first? Will there be top officials and company owners there, or only line managers and colleagues?

20. What do you know about our company?

Purpose of the question: assess the candidate's interest in the vacancy. An interested candidate will definitely look at the information about the company before the interview and pay attention to the features corporate culture, the length of time the company has been on the market, how it differs from others in its sector.

21. What attracts you specifically to working in our company?

Purpose of the question: recheck the candidate's motivation.

A good question to double-check the candidate’s motivation, especially when selecting managers, and his general awareness of his future place of work, as well as how much he wants to work for you. Ask them to arrange them in descending order of priority. Clarify what is most important to the candidate.

22. Describe a time when you were unable to figure out a problem the first time.

Purpose of the question: evaluate the ability to be open, calmly discuss difficulties that have arisen, without hiding one’s small mistakes, and be able to show oneself, nevertheless, as a capable and worthy candidate.

The chosen situation is also interesting to evaluate. What exactly was the problem? Does the candidate correctly diagnose what exactly happened? Why did the crash occur? Who is guilty? What should have been done differently? If a similar situation were to happen again, what would the candidate do?

23. What were the three most recent books in your field that had the greatest influence on you?

Purpose of the question: indirect verification of the candidate’s motivation for self-education. Important understand whether the candidate reads or is interested in information/news about his field of activity. Which one? What conclusions does it draw? What interests you from what you read? Does the candidate read a lot?

An important question when assessing managers in dynamically developing sectors, or areas where legislation is changing rapidly, for example, in accounting. Perhaps these were not books, but magazines or articles - discuss what interested the candidate.

24. What life experiences have had the greatest impact on you?

Purpose of the question: assessment of the candidate's values. What is really important to him, what important conclusions he is ready to formulate at the interview.

The projective side is also important. What kind of situation had an impact? Negative or positive? What role did the candidate play? What strategies did you choose? Which strategies have been most successful? How did the situation end? Why did this particular situation have the greatest impact?

25. How do you make important decisions? Describe the technology

Purpose of the question: evaluation of the decision-making system. How complex it is, whether there are false restrictions in it, whether the candidate is prone to risk or caution, overestimating his capabilities or underestimating himself. All this is especially important for assessing managers, who often make important decisions related to the activities of departments and the company as a whole.

Ask the candidate to give a number of examples when he made difficult decisions and highlight a number of stages in this process and name them. This question also reveals the candidate's general inclination/attitude towards planning and analysis, and the quality of these processes.

26. Do you have any questions?

Purpose of the question: an additional opportunity to find out what the candidate really cares about. If there are no questions, it’s not very good good sign, which tells us about disinterest in work and a rather formal approach. An interested candidate will definitely present you with their questions. After all, it is important for him to collect all possible information to make an informed decision.

If a candidate asks only about formal issues, deadlines for paying salaries and bonuses, duration of vacation, lunch breaks - this shows the level of his involvement in work, formal, unfortunately. When hiring for a leadership position, good candidates should, in theory, ask you more questions on the essence of the activity itself, on the strategy and principles of management of the unit.

In conclusion, I would like to add that many people believe that some questions are already morally outdated and should not be used in an interview. But I adhere to a different point of view, an interview, even when applying for a job, comes from the word conversation, to talk. Therefore, initially, even too often repeated questions will most likely create a general background for the conversation, show the level of good manners, tolerance of the candidate, and his resistance to stress. Replies: oh, it’s the same thing at every interview, indicating the candidate’s basic disrespect for your work and his bad manners. If it is a personal meeting, I conduct a formal interview for 10 minutes and say goodbye to the candidate. You need to respect the work of others and there is no point in reinventing the wheel where everything is already debugged and working.

In most cases, a job interview is the most important stage for the employer when selecting potential employees. It is at this stage that both the professional and personal qualities of the applicant can be assessed as fully as possible, and the correct approach to conducting the interview will play an important role in this matter.

Regulatory framework for job interviews

Labor legislation does not establish the mandatory requirement of questionnaires and interviews when hiring employees, however, when recruiting personnel, an employer needs to know some of the provisions of the Law:

Article 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes inviolability of private life, protection of honor and dignity, the right to personal and family secret each person, that is, regardless of the job interview methodology (standard interview, questionnaire, stress test, etc.), the employer does not have the right to touch on these issues.
The employer does not have the right to collect and use personal data; for this, in accordance with Article 9 of the Federal Law “On Personal Data”, it is necessary to obtain from the applicant written agreement to process this information.
For violation of the confidentiality of information about an applicant, Article 90 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the employer (that is, the person responsible for the illegal disclosure of data) may be brought to disciplinary, material, civil, administrative and even criminal liability. The amount of punishment is established by the relevant provisions of law in each area.
Article 64 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes that an applicant cannot be unreasonably refused to conclude an employment contract, that is, based on the results of the interview, the employer is obliged to provide detailed information about the reasons for the refusal to hire.
Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation establishes administrative liability for insulting honor and dignity in an indecent form. That is, the employer does not have the right to touch on these issues, even if the questions for the job interview and the interview itself take place in the form of a stress test.
Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes criminal liability for violation of privacy. And although judicial practice has virtually no examples of proceedings under this article due to the unlawful conduct of an interview or questionnaire, questions must be selected extremely carefully.

Documents required for a job interview

When filling out a questionnaire for a job interview, as well as directly at the interview itself, the law does not establish mandatory conditions regarding the need for certain documents, however, the employer can use Article 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes a list of documents required when signing an employment contract, so that the employer can fully familiarize himself with the data about the applicant for the position at the verification stage. The main documents required for employment include:

Passport or other identification document;
SNILS (insurance certificate);
Military ID or other military registration document for persons liable for military service and persons subject to military conscription;
A diploma or other document confirming the employee’s qualifications - if the vacant position requires special knowledge;
Employment history.

A work book and an insurance policy are not required in cases where an employee gets a job for the first time (in this case, the documents are prepared by the employer), as well as when an employee gets a part-time job.

Job interview questionnaire

As shown modern practice, the employer asks the potential employee to fill out a questionnaire before the actual interview. The questionnaire in this case is the employer’s primary opportunity to get to know the applicant, since in the submitted resumes the person usually indicates information that is beneficial only to him, and the questionnaire contains questions the answers to which are of more interest to the personnel officer.

The interview questionnaire in general should consist of two blocks of questions. The first block contains general questions, such as the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, Family status, contact information and more.

The employer is most interested in the second category of questions. Here you need to write down specialized questions, the answers to which will allow you to get to know the applicant better in the context of the chosen job. Such issues include the following topics:

Education. Here you can set columns not only regarding the knowledge required specifically for the position held, but also other achievements of the applicant in the educational field. For example, in our time, employees who have PC skills or know foreign languages regardless of the chosen profession.
Previous places of work. This is a fairly standard item on an interview questionnaire, but it allows the employer to understand in advance where the applicant worked and, based on the information received, to construct interview questions.
Vacant position. Most of the questions regarding the position for which the applicant is applying are asked during the interview, but the questionnaire can include general topics, for example, regarding preferences for the position held, work schedule, etc.

Types and techniques of job interviews

After resolving questions regarding the questionnaire, you can proceed directly to the interview itself. At the same time, it should be approached not only from the point of view of the company’s specialization, but also take into account the psychological factors of the job interview.

Thus, there are several generally accepted classifications of interview techniques:

The first classification divides interviews into one-on-one dialogue and group communication.

A one-on-one interview allows you to get to know the future employee more closely, as he will feel more confident in such an environment, and it will be easier for the employer to carry the conversation in the direction he needs. However, on the other hand, such a dialogue has an obvious drawback, which is the lack of objectivity of the assessment.

The fact is that regardless of who conducts the dialogue, be it the head of the company, a representative of the HR department or the immediate head of the future employee’s department, human factor always has its place, plus, for example, HR may not know all the intricacies of the work of, say, a mechanic at a factory and, as a result, will not be able to identify necessary qualities from a specific applicant.

A group interview allows you to analyze the future employee more deeply, and, as a result, give a more accurate assessment. Also this method allows you to distribute a list of questions that interest each of those present. And finally, this method subconsciously makes a strong impression on the applicant about the potential employer.

But, as in the first case, a group survey has its disadvantages, of which we can highlight the following:

A more tense atmosphere for the employee, and, as a result, more restrained behavior in answering the questions posed, due to which some points may not be fully disclosed.

Difficulty in the distribution of “roles”. One of the interviewers may be less prepared, as a result of which all points in a particular area will not be clarified during the interview.

In addition to the types of interviews based on the number of people, interview methods are distinguished based on the form of conducting:
- Structured. The employer draws up a list of questions in advance for an interview when hiring a new employee and conducts a dialogue using a prepared form.
- Situational or role-playing. In this interview, the potential employee is asked to play out certain work moments, which allows him to get to know his professional qualities as accurately as possible.
- Stressful. An employer can prepare a list of questions in advance, but more often than not, improvisation is key. The applicant needs to be taken out of his comfort zone by asking tricky questions that require a quick answer without hesitation.

When conducting stressful interviews, it is very important not to move on to purely personal questions, which may subsequently result in liability before the law.

IN Lately In addition to the traditional face-to-face meeting, the method of online interviews is becoming popular. It has several advantages:

The ability to more accurately formulate a list of questions;
Requires less preparation time;
Opportunity to conduct a dialogue with applicants from other cities.

However, the obvious disadvantage of a Skype interview is the inability to evaluate the applicant on certain qualities, such as neatness appearance, punctuality and so on.

Job Interview Questions

When preparing a list of questions, you need to pay attention not only to their meaning, but also to their sequence. So, the interview should begin with general issues, gradually moving on to the specifics of interest. At the same time, you should not ask too many questions with obvious answers, especially if most of information is already included in the application form.

When writing questions for a job interview, you need to highlight the following categories that you should ask the applicant about:

Previous employment. It is necessary to find out not only where and what the future employee was doing, but also what the reasons for dismissal were. In this case, you need to observe the defendant’s reaction - he is required to provide laconic answers. A bad sign would be excessive full story about their responsibilities, former colleagues and reasons for dismissal - this may indicate that the applicant is conflict-ridden or has a tendency to divulge trade secrets.

Regardless of the answers regarding the reasons for dismissal, it is highly recommended to personally, without the knowledge of the applicant, request this information from his former employer.

Education and work skills. Having a diploma is not a deciding factor for most employers, but may be required in some situations. The greatest attention in this category of issues should be paid to professional skills. Therefore, it will be better if the questions are composed immediate supervisor department or the direct supervisor of the future employee.
Information about the applicant's plans for a new job. For this category, the list of questions can be quite lengthy. So, Special attention should focus on:
- Expected salary. A good answer will be when the applicant names “his” real cost plus 20-30%. This suggests that he knows what he is really capable of and how much his services cost.
- Job responsibilities. A professional in his category will accurately name what he is obliged to do under the terms of the Employment Agreement and what he is not. An insecure person will not give a laconic answer or will take on too many responsibilities.
- Career growth. The question “Where do you see yourself in N years” remains a trivial, but still relevant, question. A good answer would be about career growth and professional development. If the applicant talks about a possible change of profession, obtaining an education not related to the current profession, or about family well-being, then such an applicant should be treated with extreme caution.

In addition to professional issues, you should also focus on personal qualities and hobbies. This will allow you to evaluate the future employee from a different perspective, to understand whether the team will work with him, as well as the manager himself.

Indirect factors during a job interview

In addition to preparing questions, during the interview with the applicant it is necessary to pay attention to indirect, but by no means secondary factors, since even without asking questions it is already possible to determine from them whether or not the future employee is suitable for the vacant position. These factors include:

Punctuality. If an applicant is late for an interview, then often such a person will be late for work, no matter how plausible his excuses may be.
Appearance. This factor is less important for production workers, but you should pay attention to it when selecting office personnel.
Intelligence. When selecting employees for high positions, this factor is almost a priority. And, on the other hand, reception at simple work An experienced and educated employee can cause serious dissatisfaction over time, which will result in staff turnover.
Behavior and gestures. There are entire psychological treatises on this factor, but any manager will give preference to an applicant who can firmly, clearly and concisely answer all the questions posed and who will behave boldly, but not at all defiantly, in front of his superiors.

When hiring, you need to clearly know what level of specialist is required, for what purposes, and what his work result should be. To do this, you need to decide on the selection criteria, publish the text of the vacancy and study the submitted resumes. This way, you can reduce the number of meetings you have with applicants by focusing only on the best candidates for the job.

Conducting a proper interview is:

introduction and short story from the employer about the vacancy;
self-presentation of the applicant;
questions to the candidate about his experience, education, skills;
applicant's answers and additional questions;
correct conclusion of the conversation.

The clearer the purpose of the interview, the more accurate the result will be. Questions should be constructive, serious, sometimes even tricky or provocative. If you need to get a specialist who will respond quickly and easily withstand stressful situations, then the nature of the questions must be appropriate. To test reaction speed, as well as logical thinking, they are also often used. psychological tests or verbal "traps".

When conducting a conversation, it is important to maintain a friendly tone and not get personal. The interview should not be stressful for the applicant even if he does not end up getting the expected job.

Important! The purpose of the interview is to find out the candidate's main strengths and achievements, and to determine whether he is suitable for the job offered to him or not.

You can learn more about how to conduct a job interview.

Where to begin?

In order for the interview to be successful, you need to be well prepared. First, compose the text of the vacancy announcement or a set of requirements for applicants, if you are asking for help from a recruitment agency. If written recommendations from previous jobs are required, then mention this in the job posting and spend time studying them.

To prepare for the interview you need:

select the resumes of the candidates you like and find out information about them;
assign selected candidates a date and place of interview;
think over the interview plan and the main questions for the interlocutor;
prepare questionnaires, tests, Mind games for conversation (if required);
choose the method of conducting the conversation (regular interview, stressful, situational, etc.)

If external data is important for work, then you also need to decide on filters (age, weight and other criteria). It is best to voice your requirements at the stage of publishing the ad. to immediately eliminate unsuitable candidates.

If the work ahead is stressful or involves frequent travel, then it is also advisable to immediately inform about this in the vacancy announcement. The more important information about the vacant position, workplace and job features is included in the ad, the greater the chance that truly valuable professionals will contact you.

If you do not want to publish the expected wages, then you don’t have to do this, but the basic requirements for candidates (work experience, level of education, type of payment, shift work or regular work) must be clearly formulated. If you have already compiled the text of the vacancy announcement and formulated all the selection criteria, then it’s time to start drawing up questions and a conversation plan.

Questions for the candidate

A standard interview usually includes at least 5-10 questions. You should not ask your interlocutor about what is already known from his CV. If something is unclear or in doubt, then clarify and move on to the main thing. You need to find out:

What is the actual work experience of the applicant; what he can do, what he can’t do, whether he has already performed the duties that he will have to do in your company.
In the event that work may require additional skills (knowledge in English, defined computer program), then it is necessary to clarify how ready the applicant is for this.
Be sure to also ask how the person feels about overtime, business trips, presentations, and public speaking. Not all applicants are delighted with frequent travel or the need to work as the “face of the company.”
Standard question: where do you see yourself in 3-5 years? Usually it is answered with homework, so it is best to change it and ask the candidate whether he is interested in the position of head of a department, which may or may not be vacant in a few years. This will help to find out what ambitions the applicant has and will form a positive opinion about the employer.
Any interview is completed with questions of a personal nature: about family, hobbies, life goals and principles. Don't neglect this part of the conversation. The answers will show you the candidate’s career goals, his attitude towards life and work, as well as his willingness to build normal relationships with people. All this is irreplaceable information, especially if we are talking about a company with a small staff, where everyone knows each other.

Event plan

Depending on the complexity of the future work, position and practices adopted in the company, a plan (scheme) for conducting interviews is drawn up. The interview may be:

preliminary (including via Skype);
directly with the company management or department head.

The purpose of the preliminary conversation: to cut off unnecessary candidates and select 2-3 people for an interview with management. During the preliminary interview, tests, games (for example, an offer to sell a pen, etc.), paradoxical questions, and much more can be practiced.

In the end, the conversation is usually built on a different principle: the manager evaluates the candidate and makes a decision. Before this, the boss receives a printout of the candidate’s resume, his recommendations, test results (if there was one), as well as an oral or written report from the HR specialist who conducted the first interview.

Methods

How to competently organize an interview with a candidate?

Once the questions have been written and you have decided on a plan and method for conducting the conversation, you need to think about where you will hold the meeting. In special cases when work requires specialized knowledge(accounting, legislation, etc.), to help the candidate can be sent by e-mail and a meeting program with a description of the range of topics on which his professional “baggage” will be tested.

Choice of time and place

It is best to conduct the interview in work time and in separate room (conference room, meeting room). Interviews in restaurants during a business lunch are also practiced, especially if the applicant is well known or the company usually holds meetings in an informal setting.

The interlocutor should feel comfortable and comfortable during the conversation. He should not be distracted by others or try to hear your question. Sometimes, if the candidate is still working in another company, you can ask him to meet, for example, after 18.00. This will save him from having to take time off from work.

Program

Typically, the interview program is practiced in universities for graduate students. But recently, employers have also begun to practice it. For example, if an applicant is applying for the position of head of the legal department, then before the conversation he may be sent a program listing the codes and regulations, and the topics that he will be asked about.

This means that the matter will not be limited to an ordinary conversation about work experience and career plans. The interlocutor will be examined on specific topics, which is warned about in advance.

Step-by-step algorithm

Any the interview has a certain order of preparation and conduct. Let's consider step by step the most typical option for conducting a conversation with a candidate.

Starting a conversation

The conversation usually begins with introductions, exchange of business cards and short story employer about the vacancy, as well as about the company. Literally five to ten minutes is enough for this.

Monologue of the candidate

During the applicant’s self-presentation, you can and should ask additional questions, but preferably in pauses, without interrupting him.

We talked in detail about how to successfully pass an interview for an applicant.

Employer Questions

You should not start a conversation with direct questions, for example, with a cold one: how can you be useful to us? or are you planning to go on maternity leave this year? It is important to maintain a friendly tone and put your interlocutor at ease so that he can open up better. It is also not advisable to criticize his place of work (for example, if it is a competing company), his boss and the results of his overall work.

Be sure to ask about what skills the candidate has, what he can be proud of, what his weak spots and what are his career plans. If the candidate interests you from the first words, then the conversation can be recorded on a voice recorder, especially if this is a preliminary interview and you will need to make a conclusion for the authorities. In the future, the most important points from the interview text can be presented to management along with the candidate’s resume.

Completion

The interview ends at least after half an hour, when the main questions have been asked and answers received. The results of the conversation should not be discussed immediately, although this option is also practiced. It is very important how you end the interview, and here The best way- is to thank the interlocutor for interesting conversation and promise to call him back, for example, within 1-2 days.

What to look for?

During the interview, pay attention to how the interlocutor behaves, how confident he is, and how he feels about his victories and failures. It is important to immediately evaluate:

leadership qualities or lack thereof;
readiness for serious work and career growth or vice versa;
indifference to career and studies.

If a candidate constantly evades answers or aggressively answers a question with a question, then this is another reason to think about how comfortable it will be to work with him in the future.

Option

Each interview is individual. But in most cases, the candidate is asked to talk about the results of his work, explain why he wants to change the company, what he expects from the vacancy offered to him. For example, when interviewing an applicant for the position of advertising manager, they will definitely ask:

How much advertising did he sell each month, how did he cope with the plan, how much did he earn and where does he see himself in five years?
He may be asked to sell a product directly during an interview or, for example, to explain the advantages of advertising on TV in comparison with radio advertising.
Tricky questions may also be asked about what he will do if he is offered to sell a company secret or lose a client.

All this is necessary to understand how successful a person is as a seller, what kind of life principles and career expectations.

Results report

If the interview was preliminary, then a report or conclusion is usually drawn up based on its results. It states:

basic skills of the applicant;
his work experience;
brief psychological portrait;
as well as your conclusion about why the company might need it.

After reading the report, the manager should receive comprehensive information about the person in order to easily conduct the final interview and make a choice.

Video

Watch a video on how to conduct an interview correctly and effectively:

The success of the enterprise depends on which employees work in the team. Read our materials about what it is and how it is carried out, and also if the vacancy does not suit you.

Conclusion

Conducting an interview is a special science. In order for the conversation to be useful and interesting, you need to carefully prepare and draw up a plan, as well as a list of questions. It’s also a good idea to make inquiries about the candidate, or at least check his activity on social networks. For many vacancies, it is worth preparing psychological tests, an interview program, as well as tricky questions to test the candidates’ skills.

An HR employee must know exactly what questions he should ask each specific candidate and what to ask the applicant during an interview.

For example, if you are hiring a call center operator, you need to find out whether he is able to easily cope with stressful situations.

And also, is he able to successfully establish contact with conflicting people? professional activity this may be needed.

Pay attention to his social qualities, and the qualification component may fade into the background.

If you are interviewing teachers, of course social skills may be very important, but the most important thing is that the candidate has vocational education and special knowledge.

Types and purposes of questions

The main goal of the interview is to understand what a possible employee of the company is like. Exists a large number of types of questions that can be used to build a conversation during an interview.

It is not surprising that many are interested in: what is asked most often during an interview? Job interview questions can be divided into several categories.

Open. Questions that involve extensive reasoning. By asking open-ended questions, you give the candidate the initiative and allow him to talk about himself as a person.

Are common. Questions for which the answer will be a short “yes” or “no”. Designed to get a simple answer to the question posed.

Projective. By answering these questions, the candidate compares his experience with the actions of other people. Through the prism of opinions fictional characters allows you to find out the candidate’s personal attitude towards the person being considered.

Reflexive. They help you take the initiative. For example, if the applicant gets carried away with the answer, you can politely interrupt him with a question: “Okay, now we can move on to the next question, right?” A similar technique can also liberate a nervous applicant and encourage him to trust the recruiter.

Behavioral. Aimed at identifying the characteristics of the candidate’s character and the nuances of his behavior.

Suggestive. When the main part of the information is clarified, you can clarify some details with the help of leading questions. For example, you can tell that the company actively cooperates with branches in other cities, and at the same time ask how the applicant feels about long business trips.

Psychological. Strange questions that cause confusion among candidates. They allow you to analyze a person’s ability to switch from one to another and react quickly. This section also includes questions on intelligence.

It is necessary to win over the interlocutor for the conversation, to do everything possible so that he remains good impression about the conversation, because during the conversation not only the candidate, but also the company that invited him receives an assessment.

And now, more about what is asked during a job interview or 10 questions that you may be asked.

Standard questions

Please tell us about yourself.
Why did you leave your last job?
What does motivation mean to you?
When work activity gives you the most pleasure?
Where do you see yourself in a few years?
What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
What didn't suit you at your last job?
What are your advantages over other candidates?
Do you know anything about our company?
Maybe you have questions for the company?

The following question often arises during an interview: where do you see yourself in 5 years or why do you want to work with us? It is better to think through the answers to them in advance.

Behavioral issues

Tell me about a time when you weren't able to achieve the results you wanted. How did you cope with the task?
Tell us about a successful project you led.
If you do something wrong, how do you explain it to your boss?
Tell us about yourself difficult decision that you had to take during your working life.

Projective

What usually attracts people to work?
Good worker. Describe it.
What makes people work more efficiently?
Why can you fire an employee?
What guides people when they choose a specialty?
Why do people want to have a successful career?
To communicate effectively with people, what character qualities does a person need?

Biographical

Tell us about your dreams.
What grades did you get at school and university?
Tell us about those professional victories that make you proud.
In what cities did you live and conduct your professional activities?
What is the most important thing you learned at university?

Tricky and insidious

Why shouldn't we hire you to work with us?
What did you have for dinner yesterday?
How would you explain yellow to a blind person?
How do you feel about social networks, how much time do you spend on them?
If you were a superhero, what power would you have?
What would you do if you were the only survivor of a plane crash?

Strange

These questions can be categorized as: awkward questions.

These include such things as why we need an employee of this company, why we should hire you and others.

On logic, associations

Why does the manhole cover have round shape? Answer: so that it cannot fail during installation, the rectangular one will easily fit into the hatch body diagonally.
How should you throw a tennis ball so that it comes back? Answer: up.
How many times a day do the clock hands coincide? Answer: 22 times.
If it's raining at 12, can you expect that the sun will come out exactly 72 hours later? Answer: No, it will be midnight again at this time.

About career and work in the company

How would you like to develop your career?
When would you be able to take on your new responsibilities?
If you get the position, what goal will you set for yourself?
Have you communicated with employers in other organizations?
If we asked your previous boss what you need to learn, what would he say?
What is your typical work day like?

About money

What salary do you expect?
What was your salary before?
How much money do you expect to earn by the end of your first year with our firm?
And in the third year of work?

Now you know what questions are asked during a job interview. And the recruiter should make a list of questions for a job interview. It may contain both standard questions and specialized ones.

What questions are required?

In this part, we’ll talk about what questions to ask a candidate during an interview in any case. Let's consider those questions during a job interview that will be asked without fail.

Be sure to ask about the applicant’s education and work experience. Ask why he is interested in your company.

Ask about the candidate's hobbies, ask a few tricky questions to test his reaction.

Pay attention more attention future applicant, do not focus on his past work. What does he expect, what plans is he making?

It is better to resort to strange questions to defuse the situation, and tricky ones to test the candidate’s reaction in stressful situations.

Be sure to ask the candidate if they have any questions. It is necessary not only to listen to his answers, but also to tell him what interests him.

What should you not ask a candidate?

Refrain from asking too uncomfortable questions.

Don't ask about personal life, religion, nationality - such topics can scare off a candidate or turn him against you.

Don't ask questions directly. For example, the phrase: “Are you worried?” will make the applicant nervous, uncomfortable, and his anxiety will only increase.

Your goal is to create a friendly environment for a confidential conversation.

You need to communicate correctly and politely. Only in such an atmosphere will you be able to objectively assess the candidate’s capabilities.

Read about what unexpected and even tricky questions an employer can ask during an interview.

How to evaluate answers?

Each recruiter has its own system for evaluating applicant responses. For any question, there is already a standard answer that the HR employee is used to hearing.

It is best to give preference not to the applicant who gives the correct answers, but to the one who shows confidence, thinks outside the box and is not afraid of his future employer, and the conversation with him is pleasant and unobtrusive.

The key to a successful interview is a competent assessment of the candidate’s answers to the vacancy.

Pay attention to his behavior: how does he reason, gesture, does he react to provocation, does he get confused in his words and does he make decisions quickly?

The answer to the question itself is not as important as the process of thinking and reasoning about it. Questions asked during a job interview are very often aimed at finding out what the applicant is like as a person. Therefore, while it is important what to ask an employee during an interview, what may be more important is how he behaves.

The tips described in the article, as well as sample job interview questions, will help you properly develop an interview plan with the applicant. Use them and you will quickly find your ideal employee. Well, potential candidates now have sample job interview questions.

To paraphrase a well-known aphorism, we can say: whoever controls the information controls the interview situation.

Before you go to the office, find out:

with whom you will talk: with the boss, the head of the HR department or his ordinary employee;
interview format (group or individual, question-answer or self-presentation);
dress code and things you need to have with you (documents, gadgets, etc.);
how to get there (being late is unacceptable).

The company website or a call to the office will help you find out.

Map out answers to common questions

Interviews when applying for a job are of the same type and at the same time not similar to each other. Many people have heard about stressful interviews, where they can suddenly start shouting at the applicant in order to unsettle him. There are also so-called case interviews: the applicant is placed in certain circumstances (for example, a conversation with a dissatisfied client) and observed how he solves the problem.

It is not always possible to find out what type of interview is preferred in a particular company, so you need to be prepared for anything.

To do this, make a card with answers to typical questions and requests (they are asked in 99.9% of cases):

top 5 of your main advantages;
what are you good at?
strategic directions of self-development;
proposals for the company's work;
your life and work philosophy;
your short and long term goals;
unusual problems that you had to solve.

You should also prepare in advance a list of topics that you would like to discuss with the HR manager.

Interpret the employer's questions

"A" doesn't always mean "A", and two and two don't always mean four. Recruiters sometimes ask insidious questions, where behind a simple wording lies a cunning plan - to force the applicant to say more than he should.

A simple question: “What salary would you like to receive?” But the answer helps the interviewer understand your motivation: money, social security, work schedule, etc. If you are asked whether you have had conflicts with management and how you resolved them, then most likely the HR manager wants to know whether you are inclined to take responsibility or are accustomed to shifting it to others.

There are many tricky questions. You need to be able to see the “double bottom” (without fanaticism!).

Think about your nonverbal behavior

HR managers are people, not automatons. They, like everyone else, pay attention to non-verbal signs: appearance, facial expressions, gait, gestures, etc. An experienced professional may be rejected only because he behaved incorrectly.

Think about your body language in advance. If you habitually jerk your leg out of excitement, then sit cross-legged. If you tap your fingers on the table, try using something to occupy your hands, such as a ballpoint pen.

HR managers are people, not automatons. They understand that you are worried. But naturalness in non-verbal communication will increase your credibility.

Set taboos on certain topics

“Tell me about yourself,” asks the interviewer. “I was born on April 2, 1980 (according to the horoscope Taurus). In his youth he played football and was captain of the city team. Then he graduated from the institute…” - if the applicant’s story is something like this, he won’t see the position like his ears.

There are things that are absolutely uninteresting to an employer and that in no way characterize you as a professional. In the example given, this is the year of birth (this can be read in the resume), zodiac sign and sporting achievements.

There are topics that you need to taboo for yourself:

summary summary;
personal life goals (buy a house, have children, etc.);
reputation of the company and its employees;
skills and experience unrelated to future work(I cook well, understand plumbing, etc.);
failures that demonstrate incompetence.

Just as you made a plan of what you will talk about, write down and remember the topics to ignore. Also think about how to answer correctly if you are asked about it.

Contemplate to calm down

An interview is a nerve-wracking affair. You can forget your name, not to mention demonstrating your business skills.

To calm down, look around. Inspect the office, equipment, employees. The details will tell you a lot about the company where you are going to work, and their analysis will help normalize your nervous system.

Looking critically at the firm and future colleagues can increase your sense of self-importance. Remember: the company needs good worker as much as you are in a good job.

Take the initiative

In an interview, as a rule, there comes a moment when the interviewer and interviewee change places and the applicant has the opportunity to ask questions that interest him.

Don’t waste time on useless “Will you call me or should I call you back?”, “Why is this position open?” and so on. Show yourself as a proactive employee. Ask:

Does the company have a pressing problem? How do you think I can help you?
Could you describe what you envision as an ideal candidate for this position?
What advice would you give to someone starting to work at your company?

There are also a number of questions that are not recommended to be asked. You can tell which ones by clicking on the button below.

Following these tips will prepare you for your interview and increase your chances of getting hired.

Any extras? Write them in the comments.