To make the right hiring decisions, you need to ask the right questions. Good interview questions are usually unexpected. Therefore, it’s difficult for applicants to rehearse scripted answers. If you are looking forward to hiring a productive and high-performing team, you’ve come to the right place. A team is made up of individuals. Therefore, to have a strong team, you need to choose strong individuals. When every team member performs their duties and responsibilities well, the team will naturally move forward. Here are seven insightful interview questions that you should ask every team member to make the right hiring decisions.

Tell us your process for (the job in question)

The first question that you should ask your candidates should be related to the job that they’ve applied for. For instance, if you are interviewing a prospective email marketer, you can ask, “Tell us about your process of building email lists.” This question will help you figure out how the candidate will tackle problems that come up every day at work. You’ll also get to know more about the applicant’s experience as they explain how they’ll tackle different problems. The most effective interview questions provoke the thought process and help you figure out how the candidate thinks through problems. While there are no wrong answers, you’ll get to identify the red flags about the experience that the candidate has.

As a question about a time you took a huge risk and failed

We all take risks. However, you want to hire someone willing to take a risk knowing that they won’t succeed every time. You also want to know the lessons that they learned and how they’ve helped them grow their careers. While no candidate will want to talk about their failures, nobody is perfect. This question will help you understand how the applicant handles failures and whether they admit their mistakes. The applicant should be honest and avoid spinning a negative into a positive.

Which accomplishment are you proud of and why

Strong teams are made up of individuals who bring a wide range of experiences to the table. Every team member should have the drive to succeed. Asking this question will enable you to identify what your candidate considers as success. It’s okay if the applicant talks about something that’s not related to work. You should also avoid vague questions that are not related to the role that they are applying for. Stick to the interview questions that allow candidates to share work-related experiences. Asking this question will help you discover more important things about the candidate. Do they solve problems without a plan? Do they solve problems methodically? Their answers will help you know their values and whether they align with the role.

Can you explain to me the most complex thing you know in five minutes?

For a team to function, communication is vital. You need employees who can explain complex ideas in a blink of an eye. This is one of the unusual questions in an interview. Therefore, it’s difficult for applicants to prepare or rehearse. By asking this question, you’ll get authentic answers and help you discover how they communicate. This is a great way to evaluate their communication skills instead of asking whether they are excellent communicators. By asking this question, the candidate will be excited to share their expertise. You also want to see if the candidate can summarize complex ideas without getting distracted by the details. A good response should be more like a conversation and not a vague overview.

If we hire you, how will you impact our team?

This question will help in providing useful information about how the candidate perceives their role and themselves. You’ll also find out how they fit into your structure and whether they have excellent ideas that they can contribute to the team. This question will help you discover whether the candidate researched extensively about the organization. They should know what the organization does, its mission and how they can contribute to it.

Tell us about an unstructured environment you’ve worked in

Since the work environment that you are providing is structured, you want to know if you are hiring a confident individual. The best way to find a self-starter is to see what they do when left with no instructions. Instead of putting candidates into the position and looking at what they are doing, you can use their work experience. This question will help you find out if the candidate is a confident self-directing person.

What do you want me to know about you that I don’t know?

This is the time to get to know more about the candidate. Allow them to share their best qualities. This question allows candidates to sell themselves. You’ll be surprised with the number of things you never knew about the individual.

Conclusion

These are some of the best interview questions to ask when hiring a team. Instead of asking common interview questions, you should ask these to increase your chances of making the right hiring decisions.