Job Interview Questions: 10 Excellent Options (And What to Look for in Their Answers)

When it comes to hiring new team members, you have to go outside the box - after all, queries like "What is your biggest weakness?" only go so far. "Are you a team player?" and "Are you really a team player?" disclose a lot about your candidates.

And what are the ideal interview thing to consider in order to learn more about a candidate's skills, limitations, and interests?

Here are some of the finest job interview questions to ask, as well as solid responses to each topic, to offer you some ideas for the next time you meet with a prospective candidate.

👉 Best Interview Questions and Answers.

1. What is the single project or job that you regard to be your most significant professional achievement to date?

A decent response to this question would be:

The replies will reveal information about the candidates' previous accomplishments and sense of ownership. A fantastic response demonstrates that they are confident in their job and professional decisions while remaining humble enough to care about the company’s success. For example, if a candidate is particularly proud of a sales or marketing campaign, listen for them to explain how the firm profited from it. Did it assist the organisation in securing a significant client?

2. Is being excellent and late comparable to being good and on time?

A decent response to this question would be:

"Good and on time" is the correct response for most businesses. It’s critical to allow something to be completed when it’s great enough. Let’s face it: every blog post, email, book, video, and other piece of content can always be better. You’ve got to ship it at some point. Most bosses don’t want someone who is paralysed by perfection and can’t meet deadlines.

However, try to appear impartial until they figure out what they’re going to say. They may not be able to relate to work that is judged solely on the basis of quality and timeliness, but it is critical that they be able to communicate how they prioritise their jobs.

3. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake.

A decent response to this question would be:

Accept responsibility for a genuine blunder. To avoid appearing weak, applicants will frequently disguise a mistake with a self-compliment or an excuse. "I was so focused on X that I forgot about Y," for example. Good replies, on the other hand, will only show that they miscalculated.

Describe what they took away from it. It’s one thing to make a mistake; it’s quite another to use that mistake as a chance to grow. Great firms learn more from failure than success, and candidates who share this mindset are exactly what you need to advance.

4. Tell me about a time when you established a challenging goal for yourself.

A decent response to this question would be:

A excellent response to this interview question demonstrates that they recognize what difficult goals are and that they work hard to achieve them while keeping a high level of job quality. Listen for responses that describe a lofty aim and explain why it differed from their usual targets. Despite a lack of success, responses that confess the candidate fell short of this aim can reflect self-awareness and confidence.

5. "What would you do with $40,000 to start your own business?"

A decent response to this question would be:

The best answers to this question will get specific: They’ll offer an overview of the business and get into the logistics of where that money would go, whom they’d hire first, and so on.

6. What does "hard effort" mean to you?

A decent response to this question would be:

A good answer doesn't want to show evidence of hard work; instead, it should tell whether your applicant has what it takes to complete a task and solve the issues it was created to address.

Answers that emphasise working hard while also working smart are also excellent. Always keep an ear out for this - putting in the effort to figure out the best approach to do a task is frequently just as valuable as the task itself.

7. Who do you consider to be the smartest person you know? Why?

A decent response to this question would be:

Excellent responses vary, but may contain particular examples of the individual they’ve chosen’s ability to plan ahead and accomplish multiple stages. They might also inquire about the person’s decision-making abilities, ability to connect, desire to learn, or application of what they’ve learned.

8. What has been the most difficult decision you’ve had to make in the last 12 months? What was the significance of its size?

A decent response to this question would be:

Candidates' responses could be professional or personal. An successful response to this interview question would demonstrate how the candidate was able to prioritise what was most important when each feasible alternative had its own set of advantages and downsides, in addition to displaying their thought process as indicated above.

If your prospect had hiring authority in a previous role, for example, it’s possible that they struggled to choose between two job hopefuls. A favourable response can indicate that they saw one candidate’s current ability but the other’s long-term potential. Despite the fact that both people possessed useful skills, your applicant chose the second since he or she provided the greatest return on investment.

9. Tell me about your interactions with the persons you’ve worked with. What adjectives would you use to characterise the finest ones? Worst case scenario?

A decent response to this question would be:

Answers to this question don’t have to be limited to professional aspects of a working relationship; they can also be related to corporate culture. Perhaps the candidate admired their coworker’s optimism or believed their demeanour was demoralising. However, good reactions aren’t always one-sided. Look for replies that describe how their colleague’s work style complemented (or clashed) with their own, rather than just what they did that benefited or upset them.

Many applicants are afraid to criticise their coworkers and superiors, so it’ll be fascinating to hear how they respond to a question about their most difficult working relationships.

10. Could you describe anything to me that is complicated but that you are familiar with in five minutes?

A decent response to this question would be:

This "everything" doesn’t have to be work-related; it may be a pastime, a sports team, a technical skill, or anything else. Good responses will reveal how well your applicant understands complex subjects and how well they can explain them to someone who is unfamiliar with them.