At one eighty recruitment, we have a finesse for filtering through the candidate rich market pool to find the perfect fit for your role. In order to help you do the same, we have put together the best questions to ask when conducting an interview to help you secure your ideal candidate. 

1.What is your current situation?

Determining where a candidate is at in their recruitment process can give you an indication as to their circumstances. If they have a high skill set and vast experience but are still tied to their employment or a specific geographical location, they may not be the right applicant to pursue. However, you can also use this question to determine how willing and able they are to fill your role. 

2. Why are you looking to leave your role (or why have you left)

Understanding candidates motivation for leaving their current roles can provide you with insight into what their barriers to fulfilment and success were in previous positions. If it were a matter of reaching their former employers ‘glass ceiling’, the opportunity you have may mean they are able to grow dynamically and contribute meaningfully to the role. If they have a skill set that may be out-dated, understand their willingness to learn and adopt new strategies within your business. 

3. What is your ideal role?

When conducting an interview, it is important that you consider your company's growth strategy over the next 3-5 years. Is this candidate someone who you could see growing with the role or organisation as you progress? Or is it likely that their ideal role may not be part of your strategic plan? Ensuring that someone is the right fit for your company's future as well as for the current position will reduce the long term need for ongoing recruitment. 

4. What are your strengths?

A confident and professional candidate should be able to articulate their strengths. Depending on the role you are looking to fill, take note of where they feel their strength lie. A candidate interviewing for a marketing role, for example, should indicate strengths around communication, teamwork and creativity, whereas a candidate interested in coding or engineering design may have more technical based or mathematical skills. 

Understanding ones weaknesses provides a sound knowledge of who a candidate is as a person. If they are able to communicate these, and also provide insight into how their awareness may be shifting towards action steps to implement change, they demonstrate the ability to grow on a personal level. This is a vital trait and one that can serve your organisation. 

Understanding what a candidate enjoyed in their previous role will give you further insight into whether they are a good fit for your position. This question, being open-ended, will allow a candidate to speak on a more personal level, but also provides an opportunity to articulate professional strengths and areas which they were able to thrive in previous roles. It allows for greater insight into their unique abilities and knowledge base, and how well aligned they may be for your role. 

Recruitment of candidates in an evolving and saturated market is difficult. Finding the right fit for your role will mean that you can focus on what is important to your business. If you would like to understand more or require further assistance, please feel free to get in touch with our skilled team of recruiters today.