3 interview questions to help you hire the right people

Most entrepreneurs will agree that the most valuable asset to any business is its people. In most industries, successfully growing your business without hiring the right people is extremely difficult, if not impossible. The best leaders know that an organization is only as good as the people who work there. Top tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft know this—that’s why they spend millions of dollars every year just on recruiting.

Hiring people is easy. Hiring the right people is one of the most difficult tasks facing business leaders. In my years of experience founding and launching ventures in multiple industries, I’ve learned that deepening interviews with in-depth, thought-provoking questions is the first step to hiring the right people. To help you find the best people for your company, I’m going to share three of the most powerful interview questions I’ve used in building my teams.

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1. What research did you do before applying to us? What do you know about this position and our company?

At first glance, this question may seem like a softball. But asking it serves as a way to weed out applicants who are unmotivated or unqualified. Using the opportunity to learn everything they can about their potential employer and role shows gives me insight into the candidate’s ability to take initiative. A dynamic leader understands that team members will have gaps in their knowledge. They also know that candidates who demonstrate research ability will fill those gaps when the need arises.

Whether you’re hiring a programmer, accountant, or marketing professional, the ability and willingness to do accurate research cannot be overstated. If a potential employee can’t take a moment to research our company and the position they’re applying for, they’re probably not someone I want on my team.

2. What would be your personal goals in this position and what do you need from me as a potential employer to achieve them?

It is important to learn why someone applied for your position beyond the obvious reason of simply needing a job. As entrepreneurs, we need to be aware of the fact that not everyone has the same drive as us. There are many extremely talented people whose only aspirations are to find a comfortable role that allows them to make a living using their professional skills. Not everyone is destined to run a company or even be a manager. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The last thing you want to do is turn away a talented person because they feel pressured to take on more responsibility than they’re comfortable with.

Interviews are a two-way street. A significant part of assessing a candidate’s fit with your company is self-assessing your ability to fit into their ideal professional environment. Talking with a candidate about the individual goals they have for a position will help you better understand how their personal aspirations can be translated into success for your organization. Effective leadership requires empowering your team members to achieve their professional goals under your guidance.

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3. What do you think I should be most concerned about as a person hiring you?

We’ve all heard the classic interview question, “Tell me about your biggest weakness.” It’s an easy way to make a candidate squirm, but the answers this question elicits are usually of no value to the hiring manager. No candidate who wants the job will give a thoughtful answer to this question.

To get a more helpful answer here, I want to ask candidates what I should be worried about as the person hiring them. In my experience, this question forces the interviewee to reflect on situations where they have failed in the past despite their best efforts. The question also makes candidates imagine that they are already working in the role and visualize a situation where they might disappoint me. Getting an honest, thoughtful response here can provide the interviewer with valuable insight into the applicant’s ability to self-assess and their potential for personal development.

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Final thoughts

I’m sure you already have a handful of well-crafted questions that you use in every interview. But ask yourself, “Are these questions really giving me the information I need to hire the best people. Or am I asking them out of habit? ” If you answered anything other than yes, I encourage you to try my questions and see if you like the results.