The Best Of: Great Questions for Advisors to Ask During an Interview
We’ve all been there – rushing from one appointment to the next when suddenly you’re reminded that there’s an interviewee coming in just a few minutes. “What’s their name? Where did I put their resume? Do we have their resume? Can someone please find the resume?!” You haven’t had time to prep, let alone reflect on a few questions to help you better get to know the candidate. Nevermind, you’ll just wing it. That’ll be just as good, right? Wrong.
When interviewing candidates to join your team, the questions you ask are crucial in gauging whether or not you would like to move forward with the hiring process. Try to focus on the skills you want the perfect candidate to have and the contributions that you want them to make.
By having the questions ready to go, it will help you to calmly assess the candidate’s work experience and their approach to problem solving. You will also be able to understand how the candidate interacts with people rather than being preoccupied with what your next question should be.
Thankfully, there are a handful of questions that are ideal for almost every position. We’ve compiled a short list of what we think are the “best of” in a face-to-face interview. Hopefully it’ll save you time and energy the next time you find yourself with no time and an important position to fill.
Best Questions for Advisors to ask During an Interview
- Tell me a little about yourself?
- What do you know about our business?
- Why are you wanting to leave your current employer?
- In your previous position, what are three roles you played that you feel you could bring to our office?
- What are skills that allow you to be successful?
- How do you alleviate stress?
- How much paperwork was there at your last job? Describe how you kept it organized?
- How do you complete your planned activities when you are interrupted?
- Tell me about the relationships you’ve had with people you’ve worked with. How would you describe the best ones? The worst?
- Is it better to be perfect and late, or good and on time?
- If I were to poll everyone you worked with, what percent would not be a fan of yours? Then, if I were to interview these people, what words would they use to describe you?
- What did you not enjoy about your last position?
- What is your definition of “Hard Work”?
- What is the biggest decision you’ve had to make in the past year? Why was it so big?
- What are your short and long term goals?
- Any questions for me?
Always remember to watch their body language, how they speak and if they decide to “bash” their former coworkers, boss etc. – this should be a red flag. At the end of the day, you want someone who can not only positively impact your business, but also your team culture.