Crafting Interview Questions to Assess Candidates
It is quite difficult to make a list of the best questions for an interview. First, this requires determining the qualities that potential employees should possess. Research shows that 25% of applicants at the interview mislead potential employers, embellishing and exaggerating their successes, merits, personal qualities, or experience (Ilies & Judge, 2003). Expressing questions to assess personality, values, and attitudes regarding worker satisfaction will help look at the applicant from a new perspective, revealing whether they are positive or non-authoritative employees.
Personality, Values, and Attitudes in Employee Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is closely related to the staff’s loyalty, employees’ dedication to their organization, and their desire to make every effort in its interests to share its values and goals. It is possible to identify such elements or indicators of job satisfaction as the work’s content and nature, including its intensity, significance, and results (Griffin et al., 2020). In addition, career and personal development, professional development prospects, environment, and the psychological climate in the team are important.
Applicant Evaluation Survey
- Do you often find yourself getting along well with colleagues?
- How do you satisfy the need for new knowledge in the professional field?
- What kind of relationships with colleagues did you have at your previous job?
- What do you like most about your profession?
- What can you teach us?
- How likely would you recommend this organization to friends or colleagues as a great workplace?
- How committed are you to achieving the goals and objectives of this organization?
- The manager has assigned you a job, the performance of which is not included in your job responsibilities. What will you do?
- Do you expect to receive any support or other benefits from the company?
- Are you satisfied with the company?
Justification of Questions
Getting Along with Colleagues
The first question allows us to identify the fundamental quality, namely, teamwork. It is unreasonable to hire a person who constantly creates conflicts and who cannot be controlled (Saari & Judge, 2004). The ability to work in a team can be evidenced by a friendly attitude to others, the ability to compromise, and optimism shown by the candidate when choosing the preferred conflict resolution method.
Pursuing Professional Knowledge
The second question evaluates how flexible the candidate is and whether they are striving for new knowledge (Saari & Judge, 2004). Confirmation that they require new professional knowledge speaks to the ability to adapt, which is important for any company.
Past Workplace Relationships
The third question helps assess whether the candidate can choose the right words and show tact. In addition, the question of relationships with colleagues can also reveal leadership qualities (Saari & Judge, 2004). The answer demonstrates whether the applicant is inclined to lead colleagues or whether they prefer to work independently.
Favorite Aspects of the Profession
The fourth question aims to evaluate the candidate’s enthusiasm for their work and how interested they are in it.
Skills to Share
The fifth question shows the basics of the applicant’s skills and their strengths. Open-ended questions of this type give the candidate the opportunity to answer freely and demonstrate their advantages (Griffin et al., 2020). One individual expresses their ability to provide instruction on working with MS Excel. At the same time, another person states their capability to teach the appreciation of aesthetics or foster unity among people. This helps to find out the candidate’s way of thinking and how much it is implemented within the framework of the position.
Recommending the Organization
The answers to the sixth question can help us understand what principles a person is guided by in life and whether they coincide with the principles of the company. For example, if a person answers that they worked for competitors and are ready to share commercial information, this may indicate a discrepancy in values (Griffin et al., 2020).
Commitment to Organizational Goals
The seventh question reveals whether the candidate is satisfied and loyal to the organization. A higher likelihood of recommendation suggests a more positive employee experience.
Handling Extra Responsibilities
This eighth question assesses the employee’s level of dedication to an agreement with the aims and objectives of the company. By evaluating their dedication, one can determine how motivated, enthusiastic, and willing they are to put up the time and effort necessary to contribute to the organization’s success (Saari & Judge, 2004).
Expectations of Company Support
The ninth question identifies a person’s expectations from the company and the main thing for them in the organization.
Satisfaction with the Company
The answer to the final tenth question will allow us to assess the employee’s psychological state and how satisfied they are with various aspects of their work, including the corporate atmosphere, workplace organization, and salary level (Griffin et al., 2020). Measuring the degree of satisfaction with work in general and from different points of view allows one to identify weaknesses and find ways to increase the team’s productivity.
If the team works without pleasure, the work will be mediocre. Each individual employee will make every effort to develop the product, the project, and the company as a whole only if they are satisfied with the company’s interaction. That is why assessing staff satisfaction in the context of positive or negative metrics is so important.
References
Griffin, G. W., Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2020). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations (13th ed.). Cengage. ISBN: 9780357042502.
Ilies, R., & Judge, T. (2003). On the heritability of job satisfaction: The mediating role of personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(4), pp. 750–759. Web.
Saari, L., & Judge, T. (2004). Employee attitudes and job satisfaction. Human Resource Management, 43(4), pp. 395–407. Web.