Ten probing interview questions

TEN PROBING INTERVIEW QUESTIOIN

A job candidate’s well-rehearsed replies to the usual interview questions can disguise their true personality. Four top call centre recruitment specialists share the questions they use to probe a little deeper.

1. “Hypothetically, if after this interview I made a call to your husband/wife/partner/best friend (select as seems appropriate) and asked them what, when you get home in the evening, is your biggest moan about your current role, what would they tell me?”

I ask this later on in an interview. Candidates’ responses typically tell me far more about frustrations in their current position and reasons for wanting to move on than any ‘seeking a new challenge‘ answer they have given me earlier in the interview.

As they are focused on what somebody else’s opinion would be and not their own, I often get a more honest picture about what they dislike in their job and what has brought them to an interview – from dissatisfaction with long working hours through to difficulties in working relationships, poor company policies, lack of real promotional opportunities, unhappiness with their remuneration or just outright boredom.

2. “You have been given the opportunity to set up a greenfield contact centre offering similar services to your current operation and you can take 100% of your current staff with you. What percentage would you actually take?”

I don’t want to be told that someone considers themselves a ‘firm but fair manager’ – what I do want to know is more about the realities of their relationship with their staff, what kind of teams they’ve recruited, trained and built and what faith they have in them. If a candidate is only going to take 25% of their staff with them then alarm bells go off.

3. “Beyond the new role and the next five years, what is the bigger career plan?”

I ask this to give me an idea of their longer-term ambitions – whether they want to sit on a board or run a B&B, how far they feel they’ve come in terms of their personal aspirations and how long they see themselves working in the industry for.

4. “If you could go back in time and offer the younger you leaving school/college/university (select as appropriate) one piece of career advice, what would it be?”

This gives me a clearer picture of what they personally feel they’ve had to overcome – from poor career choices through to lack of confidence and areas they perceive to have been a struggle.

5. “When have you felt the most acute pressure to compromise your integrity and how did you deal with it?”

A good interview isn’t about a killer set of questions; it’s more about the approach you take with the candidate. It’s about probing deeper, once the initial answer has been given, and asking behavioural questions showing motivation and attitude.

For example, this question could be followed by “What were you thinking/feeling at the time?” and “What options did you consider and why did you choose the path you did?”

It is important to keep strong eye contact throughout. Without being a body language expert you can assess the candidate’s confidence and conviction in their answer and read signals to indicate when you should ask more. The mention of following up these specific points during referencing works too!

6. “What are the major lessons you learned from your last role?”

While you’re probably already asking candidates why they left their last role, it’s a good idea to have them evaluate what they got out of it in a way that they won’t have already put on their CV.

Asking them to discuss the lessons they’ve learned gives them the opportunity to show the way their last role has enabled them to grow – although a negative answer will give you a good idea of whether they’ve got the right personality and attitude to learning for your business.

7. “What are the three to five areas you need or want to continue developing or are weak in?”

Candidates will always rehearse the positive answers to interview questions – but asking them about their weaknesses gives you the opportunity to see how well they can evaluate their skills.

Obviously, there will be opportunities for those candidates who say “I’m perfect – I don’t have any weaknesses,” but it’s likely that you’re looking for someone who can look at things a little more objectively.

If they can see the aspects of themselves that require improvement, it’s likely that they can view your business with a similar level of objectivity; and their drive towards improvement will serve both you and the candidate well in the long term.

8. “What is the highest level job you expect to hold in your career?”

This is a great question for identifying the go-getters among your candidates. While helping them to demonstrate their drive and ambition, it also gives you a better idea of how long you can retain them in the role they’re applying for.

If you’re looking for an employee who’ll stay with you for the long term, then the candidate who sees themselves as the future CEO might be better off on The Apprentice; however, if you’re seeking a driven individual who strives for success, the candidate who sees this job as their ultimate goal might not be the one for you.

9. “How do you think those changes would have affected the outcome?”

No one has a crystal ball as to how a customer or staff member may react if the situation were different, but the ability to look to the future, make a decision or predict an outcome before making it happen is essential.

Understanding this can also help deliver insight into what truly matters to the potential applicant and what they take into consideration before they make these decisions.

10. “What were the wider implications of you handling this issue in that way?”

It is important in the customer contact industry for your new member of staff to understand that their actions do not affect just them.  This question can help you ascertain how much of a team player or customer/business advocate they really are.