5 Questions to Ask During Job Interviews to Make Foolproof Hiring Decisions

Some of the most important questions during a job interview are not for the candidate, but yourself. Finding and hiring new additions can be challenging. However, by asking yourself the right questions, you can determine whether you’re making a good hire or should keep looking. To ensure you employ the best people, ask yourself these five simple questions after every job interview.

IS THIS A GOOD PERSON?
When looking to hire, you want people who live by the golden rule, genuinely care about others, and want to give back to their communities. If everyone at the company is a good person, your teams will be better off.

It sounds simple enough, but you would be surprised how many people think about the job qualifications and not the person behind the resume. Therefore, ask yourself if this candidate is a good person. If you must contemplate the candidate’s character, then you know this isn’t the person to add to your team.

DOES THIS PERSON INCREASE OR DECREASE OTHERS’ ENERGY?
Look for people who give positive energy off instead of sapping it from others. Achieving success is all about energy, particularly the energy of the team and how they work together cohesively. The interview process is a great way to get a strong sense of a person's energy and how they will contribute accordingly.

Find people that you think will make the team excited to come into work each morning. Your teams will be more productive, efficient, and collaborative if they’re spreading good energy and not draining each other.

HAS THIS PERSON PRODUCED MEASURABLE RESULTS?
Not only is good character and good energy important, but someone also must have relevant achievements and skills that would be beneficial to the company. To ensure your candidate would be a valuable addition, use the rationalization test. This test will determine if you’re searching for a reason to hire your candidate. Your key argument for hiring someone should always be related to actual results.

For example, if you’re saying that you should hire someone because they’d be great for the company culture, that might not be the best choice. Although culture is important, if the candidate was really a good addition, you would say something more like, "This person has had significant impact in their [current and/or] previous roles. They have done [X, Y, and Z]." 

WOULD I FIGHT TO KEEP OR WIN OVER THIS PERSON?
Ask yourself, “If this person came to me tomorrow and told me they had a great offer from another company, would I fight to keep them?” This question helps you admit if a person isn’t excellent.

If you want your business and your teams to be better, the best thing you can do is bring in exceptional people who are going to help move the company forward. If you wouldn’t fight to keep this person, then this candidate isn’t the excellent addition that the team needs.

HOW WELL DO THEY EMBODY EACH OF THE COMPANY PRINCIPLES?
If you’re asking people to embody the company’s culture, it’s important to first define it. When hiring, illustrate what characteristics make up the culture and ask how that person embodies them. Whether your business is entrepreneurial, innovative, creative, tight-knit or serious, it’s imperative that employees fully understand and fit within the culture.

If entrepreneurial spirit is important, do they dream big, take chances and are not afraid of a challenge? Or if having a tight-knit community is critical, do they participate in office activities, collaborate and get along with others? From there, you can decide if the candidate meets your culture expectations.

Finding the right people to hire can be challenging but asking these five questions can help you identify people with esteemed character and relevant skills. Looking past the resume and first impressions can lead to more collaboration, enhanced culture, and an overall more productive business. These questions encourage you to use your intuition to look past all the distractions and employ the best people for the company.