Interview Questions That Make a Difference

“What are your strengths and weaknesses?”

“What interests you about this job?”

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Heard these interview questions before? So have your candidates.

In fact, studies have shown that most interviewers ask essentially the same questions. Applicants have often been to numerous interviews before they arrive at your office, so they’ve already heard the same questions over and over.

Plus, job websites like Monster.com provide instructions on how to answer the most common interview questions, so applicants are often better prepared than you are.

As an employer, you know that an interview is your (very) limited opportunity to get to know an applicant well enough to make an informed, accurate decision as to whether to hire the person or not. All too often, employers tell us that applicants “looked great on paper” and said all the right things in the interview, but when they got on the job, it was a different story.

If this has ever happened to you, then you understand the importance of conducting an in-depth interview.

The questions we provide for you in the Hire Success Sample Interview Questions Report will be questions your candidate has probably never heard in an interview before, because they’re based solely on how he or she responded during the test(s).

Multi-tiered interviews

One problem companies often discover with multi-tiered interviews is that the more interviews an applicant has, the more he or she learns about exactly what your company is looking for. By the time the candidate makes it to the final interview — usually with top management — he or she knows just what you want to hear.

This is why we strongly suggest that you test everyone who qualifies for an interview. If it’s worth bringing them in at all, it’s worth testing them and using our tools to help you conduct a better, more in-depth interview up front

Some companies only want to test final candidates, rather than purchasing tests for every applicant who applies. However, we urge you to test every qualified applicant who applies.

By using the Hire Success baseline features, you can quickly identify those candidates who have personality characteristics and traits that are most like the best employees currently doing that job in your company. Put those applicants on a “fast track” for an interview so you don’t lose the opportunity to hire them (in case they’re offered another position before you can get around to interviews!).

Many top prospects get missed, either because they weren’t identified quickly enough up front or because they took a job offer with another company before they completed the interview process at yours. Having the ability to quickly and accurately identify the best candidates can be critical.

Personality testing pays you to test every applicant

The cost of a “bad hire” can far exceed the money you spend on ads, training, wages and benefits. Lost opportunity costs can be immeasurable! However, the “hard” costs of a bad hire often exceed $10,000-$15,000. If using our Online Personality Profile helps you prevent even one bad hire in a year, all the tests you purchase will easily pay for themselves.

You have everything to gain by using our online testing, and a lot to lose by doing nothing!

The Sample Interview Questions Report

Both the Hire Success Personality Profile Report and our Integrity Survey Report provide a Sample Interview Questions section. Sample questions are developed based on how each applicant answers the test questions.

For the Personality Profile Report, there are several criteria that will trigger questions. One of the most common is when the system determines there’s a high probability that certain personality traits may be situational. The ability to identify potentially situational traits is unique to the Hire Success System.

For example, each Trait Scale provides a range between two mutually exclusive traits, such as “introverted” vs. “extroverted.” If an applicant answers the test questions in a way that indicates he/she has reasonably strong characteristics of both a very introverted and a very extroverted person, then interview questions are generated to help you learn why the person responded that way on the test.

In most cases, you’ll find the traits on that scale will appear based on the situation or environment he or she is in. The key for you, as an employer, is to present some reasonable scenarios for the job and learn how the person might react in those situations.

In many cases, the responses can help you determine whether or not this is the person you’re looking for.

Another reason why a person may have answered the questions inconsistently is that he or she may have been trying to sway the test results. Although this is less common, seeing reactions to the sample questions in these cases can help tell you if the candidate was being truthful on the test or not.