Standout Jobs

For many people, interviews are unpleasant and scary. Interviewees want to make sure they answer each question perfectly, they’re worried about what the interviewer will ask, and they want to put their best foot forward. It can be nerve-wracking.

For interviewers, it’s less stressful, but no less important to hit a home run with the right questions. You want to make sure, at the end of the interview, that you have a great understanding of the person you’re speaking to. What makes them tick? Would they fit in well?

Interviewers should get a sense of whether a person is a good fit within the first few minutes of an interview — If there’s a connection, a positive first impression, a good “vibe” about the interviewee…

But it helps to have questions prepared and sorted in order. You want parts of the interview to be conversational in nature, but other parts to be faster paced, more direct.

Brian Libby offers up 7 interview questions you must ask. They’re all good options for questions; with a combination of job-specific, personality and behavioral options. I’ve used many of these interviews, although I don’t typically throw the “curveball” question…

I tend to ask a few more questions than Brian recommends, and I’d say most interviewers do. For example, I like to find out what influences a candidate in their personal and professional life — what blogs do they read, what people have influenced them, and why. You can tell quite a bit about a person based on what they envelop themselves in (if they do at all!)

For help in preparing interview questions (and appropriate answers) check out InterviewUp which is a user-generated content site for interview questions.