It’s not your experience but your character that makes you a better fit for the job. Most hiring managers understand this and try to carefully come up with interview questions that help them get to the heart of what makes up the best employee with the character to fit within your own unique corporate culture. Identifying personality traits that fit within your business is hard, but these questions will help you pin down the right fit for your next hire.

Best Questions to Understand the Candidate’s Personality

1. What was the last thing you learned and how did you learn it?
   This question will help you discern how the candidate likes to learn new things and potentially what interests them. It will also speak to their motivation to learn.
2. How did you get ready for today’s interview?
   You should be looking for candidates that are organized enough to prepare for the meeting in advance. They should have looked up your website at the very least as a way to gain more control over the interview process and to understand the job itself. Look for candidates that did more than that, however, such as looking up the interviewers on LinkedIn or doing some industry research.
3. How do you ask for help at work?
   Being self-aware enough to know you need help is the first step. Then having the courage to ask and admit what you perceive to be a weakness is step two. You want to see this in a candidate because it speaks to their ability to manage their stress. It also shows that they feel comfortable enough with their job performance to admit when they’re in over their heads. Too, it shows a trusting relationship with those around them, including their manager and coworkers.
4. Which is better: Delivering on time or delivering the perfect product?
   This is a tough one that anyone would struggle with. You don’t want a candidate so obsessed with perfection that they throw out all the deadlines. At the same time, you don’t want shoddy work. How the candidate logically works out their selection on this question will tell you just as much as what they choose.
5. What was the hardest decision you made this past year at work and how did you make it?
   This question could reveal the candidate’s methodology for their decision-making process. A follow-up question could be: Were you happy with your decision? What did you learn? All of these questions are excellent for discerning how candidates think and react to external pressures.
6. What was the last improvement suggestion you made at work? How was it handled by your manager and the company?
   This is a trick question in that it may lead the candidate down the path of bashing their former employer. It will also tell you how creative the candidate is and what new ideas they’ve had lately. Do they have the confidence to present new ideas to their team? Do they have the emotional maturity to handle it if the idea was shot down? How good was the idea itself?

At PrideStaff, our franchisees are proud to be in a business that puts people to work, helps companies to grow and prosper, and to build a business that is respected in their community. We have a culture that is truly unique in that whether you are looking at our Mission Statement or Core Values, they are so much more to us than slogans on a website. We have them, not because we feel like we have to, but rather because they serve as a guide for the decisions we make and direction we follow.

The focus is 100% on the client experience we provide on a day-to-day basis. What that has led to is consistently being recognized in the top 1% of the staffing industry in Client Loyalty and Talent (Candidate) Loyalty, which of course translates into repeat and referral business. We are a company with a fantastic culture and drive to meet and exceed our clients’ needs.

If you’re a manager in need of top talent, talk to our  team. We specialize in filling even the most difficult positions and can help you build your team.

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