You've done the work to find and recruit the best candidates for your company and, now you're ready to begin interviewing. The interview process can be a painful one — both for employee candidates and for the company doing the hiring. It takes a lot of preparation and the potential that there won’t be a fit can be devastating. It can feel like both sides wasted their time, leaving them downtrodden and, sometimes, annoyed.

Many small business owners do the hiring themselves, but that isn’t always efficient. Some business owners know exactly how to run a business, but struggle to identify and interact with potential candidates. That is, after all, why so many companies invest in human resources and recruiting departments.

In any case, it is important to know how to interview a candidate for any open position you may have. Here are some things to keep in mind for your upcoming interviews, as well as some great questions that can really help you get to know your potential new employees.

Things To Avoid

Before you start the hiring process, you should know there are topics you need to avoid so that you aren’t discriminating. These include:

• Race or ethnicity

• Gender

• Sexual orientation

• Religion

• Age

• Disabilities

• Marital status

• Pregnancy status

These are all sensitive topics and you can’t legally use any of them to determine whether or not you will hire someone. It is best to avoid questions involving these topics, even if you have good intentions. Stick to questions about the job and prior experience, as well as skills and personality traits.

Worthwhile Questions

Now we can look at some of the best questions to ask your candidates. You don’t have to ask these verbatim and can customize them to better align with your company’s requirements and culture.

What are you looking for in a company?

This is a good way to find out what the candidate wants from their employer. Ultimately, they will be more productive if they are happy. This will also make it more likely that they will stay for the long-term. So, asking what would make them happy can help you get an idea of whether or not they will be a good fit for your organization. It can also help you weed out applicants who may be looking for an entirely different work culture or experience.

How is your experience/skillset relevant to the position?

This is a pretty straightforward question that could yield a wide range of responses. Perhaps they held the exact same position at a very similar company in the past. If that’s the case, you might learn about their processes and ability to handle the pressure of the job. On the other hand, this may be a brand-new position for them, but they might have transferable skills and personality traits that will make them a good fit.

What are your long-term goals?

“Long-term” is subjective, but you can follow up with questions about one-year, five-year and 10-year goals. This will help you evaluate whether or not the candidate seems to be in it for the long run. It will also help you assess whether or not the person has ambition and the ability to plan ahead — both traits that are likely to be important for your company.

Why are you looking to leave your current job? Why did you leave your last job?

There are many reasons someone may be looking to leave a certain position. They could be unhappy with the pay, they might feel there is no room for advancement or they may just not like the company. These are all valid reasons to seek out new employment.

However, this can also help you determine whether or not the person is simply looking for an easier job, or if they might be a problematic employee. If they answer by trashing their previous employer or complaining about the work, they may not be a good fit for your business.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

This is a much-maligned question, mostly because people really don’t like answering it. The “strengths” part is usually pretty easy, but people get caught up in the weaknesses. However, it is important that a candidate can be honest with both you and themselves. If they try to avoid being open about actual weaknesses, you might have someone you can’t trust.

Do you have any questions?

You should always end with this question to give the applicant a chance to learn anything that might not have been covered in the interview. It will also help you assess whether or not the candidate is truly interested in the position. Anybody who is interested in contributing will most likely want to know more about the company rather than simply talking about themselves. If they don’t have any questions for you, you might have someone that is simply going through the motions — and what does that say about the work they will do if you hire them?

Finally, after the interview with the candidate, it’s important to review the meeting, write yourself notes and ideally “score” the candidate. This is far easier if it happens after the interview, especially if you are interviewing multiple candidates back-to-back or over multiple days.
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Business Owners: Here's How To Interview Candidates Like A Pro