Operations: Top Interview Questions, and Why

Interviewing a prospect, whether it’s for a part-time internship or full-time position, can be a process. There are initial phone interviews to set up, in-person chats, follow-up calls, etc., which can take up a lot of your time as an operator.

That is why the questions you ask potential candidates during the interview process are so important. You want to get effective answers that help divulge a candidate’s true experience and personality.

After all, making a bad hire can have extremely negative consequences for your company. There is time lost training a new employee, that when they eventually leave or are let go, has to be invested into another new employee. There is the lack of productivity from that employee, or the distraction they caused while failing in their position.

In fact, a study conducted by CareerBuilder showed that hiring the wrong person can have even more serious implications for companies. According to the study, “More than half of employers in each of the 10 largest world economies said that a bad hire (someone who turned out not to be a good fit for the job or did not perform it well) has negatively impacted their business, pointing to a significant loss in revenue or productivity or challenges with employee morale and client relations.”

Recently, Club Solutions has been on the lookout for a Digital Intern, and has had to go through interview processes in attempt to find a great candidate. With things fresh in my mind, here is a list of some of my favorite interview questions to ask candidates that I think safeguard us from hiring the wrong person.

With your last job, what did you enjoy most about it? What did you dislike?

These two questions are important, as they help divulge if a candidate’s likes and dislikes are in line with the job description. For example, if they hated dealing with customer complaints at their last job, that would be a sign they’re not a good fit for your front desk. Of course, everyone has to do some things they don’t like to do, but the things they dislike shouldn’t take up a majority of their job, or they’ll be set up from the very get-go to fail.

Give me an example or a situation in which you faced a conflict or difficulty at work.

The answer to this question can be telling — if they shift blame to other people, that’s a sign they have issues with ownership. But if they talk about the nuances of the situation and describe good problem solving skills, this is a good indication they’d behave similarly at your company.

If you were starting a company tomorrow, what would be its top three values?

Part of the goal of a job interview is to discover not just a person’s skills, but their personality — who are they? How will they fit into your culture? That’s why I really like this question. If right off the bat a candidate answers this question with one or more of the values that you share as a company, that’s a good indication they’ll fit right in.

What skill or expertise do you feel like you’re still missing?

Finally, I like this question because all jobs should be a win-win. You benefit from hiring great candidates by earning an employee who is good at what they do, and helps your company grow. And the candidate benefits by having the opportunity to take ownership of a position, excel, and experience professional growth. By asking this question, you discover where exactly they’d like help growing, with an opportunity to act on that knowledge.

What are some of your top interview questions to ask, and why?