The truth is, an interview session is not only daunting for the interviewee, but it is just as hard for the interviewer as well. As a hiring manager, you bear the responsibility to choose the right talent who will bring real contribution for the company’s betterment. An interview goes beyond merely giving questions or investigating candidate’s background, as you have to be able to assess their potentials during the conversation. There are many candidates who talk big and perform well in an interview, but only after hiring them, you find out that they have no dedication towards the organisation.

Interview is often considered as the most important step in a recruitment process, as this session will determine whether a candidate is a good fit for the position or not. That being said, you have to keep your eyes and ears wide open, such that your employment radar can detect prospective talents. If you need some help on how to assess candidate’s potentials within one or two hours of an interview session, check out 5 important questions you should ask below:

See also: Developing High-Potential Employees: Motivate Them These Ways

Tell me about yourself.

This might sound like a standard and simple question, but this is the most important one. This question is commonly used to let the candidates introduce themselves. What matters is how they answer this seemingly unassuming question, as you can gauge their communication skills by observing the way the candidates arrange their sentences and describe themselves. You can also see their level of confidence when answering this question. The one who gives more detail about himself, including the weakness, can be considered as person who has good integrity.

What was your greatest challenge at work and how did you handle it?

This kind of question is important to assess candidate’s capacity in facing challenges and tackling job-related pressures. You also need to consider the way they handle the stress as it will determine their self-control. Those who can demonstrate calmness and keep it professional when dealing with serious issues should be hired as your next employees. On the other hand, you should be careful towards candidates who demonstrate overdramatic attitude toward particular matter. If they cannot even handle their own emotions, how can they handle the task well?

What motivates you to apply for this job?

The candidate’s answer to this question will reveal their purposes of working for your company. The best candidate who deserve plus points would be the one who talk about his true passion instead of just material issues such as the salary and compensation. The ones that you should eliminate from your list are candidates who say that they apply for the job only to follow someone else’s order, because it shows that they do not have initiative and strong will.

Tell me your experience about working overtime.

Asking about candidate’s working overtime experience is not only used to check their working capacity, but also to check their willingness to go the extra miles and loyalty to the company. Instead of asking directly about their commitment to work overtime, you can draw a conclusion from their previous experience. However, while having employees who are ready to work overtime is a beneficial, choosing individuals who prefer working faster than working overtime is better as you do not have to allocate additional overtime pay.

What matters the most for you when working for a company?

You can discover a candidate’s work-style and tolerance through this question. You can see whether or not the candidates are suitable in your company by comparing their answers to the condition in your company. When you find that they love things that your company does not provide, but they dislike something that always happens in your company, then maybe you should rethink about the idea of hiring them.

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