12 Good Interview Questions for Employers to Ask Job Candidates

By asking the right questions during a job interview, you can gain valuable insights into how well a candidate aligns with your company culture and position requirements, ultimately leading to a successful hire.

Whether you're a recruiter, HR specialist, or hiring manager, explore a range of interview questions designed to assess a candidate's motivation, mastery of essential criteria, and key workplace skills. Also, discover tips on preparing for and conducting a successful interview so you can objectively assess who the best candidate for the job is.

If you're a job candidate, read our guide: How to Prepare for an Interview

Questions to discover candidate motivation

As an employer, you should know what motivates the candidate. It’s best to understand what drew the candidate to this job, why they are a good fit for the role, and what kind of work ethic they’ll bring to the company. To assess motivation, try these questions: 

1. Why did you apply for this job?

This is a common first question that should give you an overview of the candidate’s background and skills. It also gives interviewees a chance to highlight the qualities they believe are the most important. Look for details that coincide with the job description they're interviewing for.  

2. Tell me about your current or previous position.

As applicants review their previous positions, you can judge their experience and passion for the job. The responsibilities they mention should overlap with the job they’re applying for, so you can assess their experience level. Look for applicants who frame their duties as a positive experience and highlight their key achievements.  

3. What are your greatest achievements?

This question requires applicants to audit their careers and provide their biggest achievements. Ideally, candidates provide a specific achievement; one with statistics is even better. For instance, a candidate might say their biggest achievement is lifting blog traffic by 150 percent in the last six months. If they do not add specifics, ask for them. 

4. What do you consider to be your weakness?

This is a good interview question because it tests a candidate’s ability to learn and grow. Applicants might discuss a workplace skill they struggle with or are working to improve.

Read more: Situational Interview Questions: Definition + How to Prepare

Questions to assess mastery of essential criteria

Good interview questions require a candidate to discuss the essential criteria needed to take on a new role. It’s a good idea to ask these questions at the beginning of the interview to ensure the candidate qualifies for the position. If you notice gaps in the candidate’s knowledge, you can end the interview sooner. 

5. What are your strongest areas of knowledge? 

This question immediately reviews a candidate’s strongest skill. The ideal candidate will mention the skills listed in the job description and support it with examples from a previous job. 

6. How did you acquire your skills and knowledge?

Candidates must review their most recent job experience or education to respond to this question properly. It’s a good way to check the validity of the candidate’s qualifications listed on their resume too. You can also assess if the candidate is a lifelong learner and values keeping their skills up to date, which can help your company remain competitive.

Read more: Phone Interview Questions: What to Expect

Questions to identify key skills

Workplace skills are often just as important as experience and education. It’s these skills that contribute to a productive, positive workplace. As a result, you should ask questions that reveal a candidate’s workplace skills. Here’s a look at questions you should ask to assess that skill.  

7. What’s your strongest workplace skill?

Your job opening likely needs a candidate with solid workplace skills, like communication and collaboration. Asking this question requires the candidate to exemplify their best skill, which might be adaptability or willingness to work in a team environment. Assess how the candidate's skills match your workplace environment and their potential job duties.

Read more: 21 Behavioral Interview Questions and How to Respond

8. Teamwork: Tell me about a time when you worked well as part of a team.

This question typically leads to a specific example of consistent teamwork that had a positive result. The candidate’s answer may help you gauge their willingness to collaborate with others. 

9. Communication: How would you go about explaining a complex issue to a colleague?

This question helps evaluate the candidate’s communication style. By asking how they explain something complex, the candidate must consider the steps necessary to break down an idea and communicate it understandably.  

10. Leadership: Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership skills. 

The answer to this question should be a specific situation. Look for the candidate to talk about delegating responsibility, leading by example, or empowering coworkers to do their best.

Read more: 11 Leadership Interview Questions to Help You Prepare

11. Problem-solving: Describe a time you identified and solved a problem before it became urgent.

You could tailor this question to a specific situation within your organization. When answered, the response should identify a problem and a solution, which should ideally be innovative. Addressing an issue without involving upper management is also a positive sign. 

12. Achieve deadlines: How do you work under the pressure of tight deadlines?

Candidates should show their ability to work effectively under pressure. To answer this question, potential employees should discuss a high-pressure event in which they could meet or exceed expectations. 

Read more: Second Interview Questions: What to Expect, What to Ask, and How to Prepare

Bonus question: Tell me about yourself.

"Tell me about yourself" is one of the most common questions to ask at the beginning of an interview. But should you ask it? Consider these benefits:

• Gets the conversation flowing and eases nervous candidates.

• Helps you gauge a candidate's communication style and clarity.

• Tends to uncover relevant experiences and skills.

• Helps you get a feel for the candidate's personality, interests, and work style.

• Identifies talking points that can lead to pertinent interview questions.

Tips for conducting an interview

Before interviewing a job candidate, make a list of interview questions and the order in which you plan to ask them. It's very helpful to create an interview scorecard that you’ll use to rank responses during each interview.  A scorecard is a rating system that helps you objectively assess how each job candidate meets your pre-determined criteria and competencies relevant to the position.

During the interview, introduce yourself and explain how the interview will work. Review the job description, discuss the criteria for the position, and go over the company culture and mission. The applicant will have a turn to ask questions at the end too. The process might conclude with an office tour, introductions to executives, or a casual lunch. 

• Job description: During an interview, you'll review the job description to ensure the candidate is aware of the position’s duties and responsibilities. The job description forms the foundation of suitable interview questions, so it’s helpful for both parties to review it.

• Essential criteria: During your meeting, list the job criteria. You might reference the applicant’s resume, noting qualifications that meet the necessary skills and responsibilities, and ask the candidate to expand on those qualifications. 

• Company culture and mission: Provide a brief overview of the company, its mission, purpose, and corporate culture. Skills and education are important, but you also want a candidate whose personality fits within the organization. 

• Listen carefully: Be sure to give the candidate enough time to answer your questions. Assess their facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, and body language, as well as their words. This can help you get a sense of their personality, professionalism, and how they would fit into your company culture.

• Competencies: Know the competencies you're looking for in an ideal employee and include them on your interview scorecard. These might include:

  • Education: What degree, certification, or training will the ideal candidate have?

  • Skills: What are the most essential technical and workplace skills a highly successful employee will possess?

  • Previous experience: A candidate whose previous work experience aligns with the duties of your job opening will likely be able to jump right into the position without a lot of training. Immediate productivity is good for your company. 

Read more: 10 Common Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Get started with Coursera

By investing time in crafting insightful interview questions, you can go beyond the resume to discover a candidate's true potential. This targeted approach ensures you hire individuals who are not only qualified but also motivated and the right fit for your company culture, setting the stage for long-term success.

While you take time to generate interview questions, you can also elevate your hiring skills. Consider the courses on Coursera, such as Recruiting, Hiring, and Onboarding Employees, offered by the University of Minnesota, or Hiring Practices, offered by the University of California Irvine, to get started.