Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2018. It has since been reviewed and updated for relevancy. 

Here are 10 less-common interview questions to ask a candidate during an interview to get to know the person behind the resume. 

Key Takeaways 

  • Effective interviews are just as much about what an organization does before and after an interview as they are about the questions themselves.
  • Consider leveraging AI-powered tools to streamline manual processes like note-taking and summarizing group feedback to focus more on the candidate during the interview itself.
  • The best interviews should feel like conversations between the candidate and interviewers, with information flowing transparently in both directions.

Interviewing candidates is a process and an art that requires patience and nuance. There’s a good chance your TA team has carefully combed through hundreds — if not thousands — of resumes, all while paying special attention to the sometimes subtle clues that identify people with real potential. And that’s just the prep.

When you finally get face to face with a candidate, whether virtual or in person, it could be the last opportunity to dig deeper and understand the person behind the resume. And not to discount the classics, but there are more revealing questions out there than, “Tell me about yourself” and “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

“It's important to understand someone's past usage of skills, how they've approached work and how they’ve worked with others to inform how they might work in the future,” says Jeff Johnson, Director of Talent Intelligence for Indeed. “Asking a combination of questions around experience and soft skills is a good approach — I wouldn't index one over the other.”

Read on for fundamental tips on what to do — and say — to maximize your organization’s time and interactions with a candidate before, during and after the interview.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Interview Prep

First things first: prep work. When it comes to putting together the job description and conducting initial screener interviews, it’s important to be forthcoming with information about your organization from the start — especially when you expect a candidate to do the same. 

Ensure candidates are provided with a thorough review of the role ahead of time, in addition to a high-level look at the company’s culture and team dynamics. The best candidates will make sure their answers speak specifically to how they would contribute to the role and fit in with the team, Johnson says.

Additionally, remember that job interviews are a time investment — and not just for the candidate. Spend an appropriate amount of time reviewing the candidate’s resume before the interview, not during. All individuals who will be part of the interview process should also be involved in planning what questions to ask.

“Script them out ahead of time to make sure everyone involved can focus on different areas and ask different questions,” Johnson says. “This can also help ensure that every candidate you speak with is asked the same questions so you can consistently compare and evaluate answers across all candidates.”

It’s good to decide early on which answers are deal breakers, keeping in mind that most new employees will need a little extra training or support to get ramped up. Defining where that line is between “a little help getting started” and “isn’t going to work out here” will help standardize the process and ease the difficult hiring decisions teams must make along the way. 

Finally, consider testing AI-powered tools to help develop interview questions based on the specific job requirements of the role being filled. Using AI during the interview itself can also free up teams to focus less on note-taking and more on authentically engaging with candidates. 

What to Ask: A Few of the Overlooked Questions

How your organization structures its interview questions — using the STAR method, the WHO method or something else entirely — should ultimately depend on what type of role is being filled. While there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to interviewing, below are some examples of more strategic questions that can help organizations gauge candidates’ abilities beyond the standard line of questioning:

What do you know about our company? Has the candidate done their homework? Do they care enough about the job to learn as much as they can before the interview? This one will help you quickly identify whether the answer is yes or no.

Describe your career progression and the story it tells about you. This question focuses a spotlight on the reasons behind the different roles you might see on a resume and the goals and interests guiding them. Adding a time limit to this question can also provide an opportunity to assess a candidate’s ability to follow instructions.

Why do you want this job/think you can do this job? This is another question that probes whether the candidate took the time to learn about the business and genuinely believes they have something to offer. Do they want this job, or do they want any job?

What motivates you to do your best work? What holds you back? Understanding a candidate’s motivations can provide some insight into what kind of work environment the candidate thrives in — and whether your company culture can provide it.  

Give an example of an unsuccessful project you’ve worked on. Personal growth and self-awareness are important qualities in general. The gist of this question is to assess a person’s growth mindset and whether they possess that grit and accountability to learn, better themselves and try again.

When I talk to your former manager, what will they say your number one contribution to the team has been? A candidate’s past is a good indicator to inform the future. Asking a more focused question in this vein gives candidates an opportunity to provide a specific and potentially more honest answer. 

Tell me the percentage of time you spend using X skill/doing Y in your current role. These types of prompts require candidates to quantify how much time they have spent using specific skills in a way that can’t be gleaned from a resume review alone. This question is also a must when prioritizing skills-based hiring over education or experience. 

What questions do you have for me? Be sure to set aside ample time to answer a candidate’s questions. Not only can this reveal more about their level of interest and preparedness, but it can spark ideas for follow-up questions, as well. 

Don’t Forget the Follow-up Questions

When an applicant provides an answer that tickles your curiosity, ask them about it! Some good follow-up questions to ask: 

How did you do that? When talking about professional successes, the interviewee should be able to speak to everything that went into it — from the planning and innovation, to rounding up the necessary resources and the outcome. Having an answer to this question speaks to the ownership they took and — if they include others in their victory — their integrity.

What was the result? This question does more than test a candidate’s memory. Instead, it can be revealing: Does this person have the drive to see a project through and follow up on the impact it had? How invested in their own work is the candidate? How interested are they in learning from its success or failure to improve their work in the future?

After the Interview

Build in time after each interview to record observations and takeaways, along with any other revealing nuances or ideas that may have come up. Don’t delay — write it down, or leverage AI-powered tools to generate interview transcriptions, consolidate everyone’s notes and summarize interview highlights. 

Creating a list of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses can also help your team determine what that candidate might need to be successful in your organization. When it comes to skills-based hiring, separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves and consider a candidate’s growth potential in weighing those differences.

Ultimately, it’s also important to remember that interviewing for a job is hard. Be empathetic to how nerve-wracking an interview can be for an applicant and reframe any judgments or reservations about their interview performance through that lens.

Remember: An Interview Is a Conversation 

These questions are far from an exhaustive list, but they should help unlock some valuable insights on your way to extending an offer. While it’s important to work from the same list of questions for all candidates as much as possible, keep in mind that a great interview should be treated like a conversation, above all else.

“A great interview is a true back-and-forth and evolving conversation where you set up the candidate to give you a true representation of themselves,” Johnson says. “Yes, the candidate should talk more, but it shouldn't be linear. Go where the conversation takes you.”

For more interviewing insights and tactics, check out the Indeed Hiring Guide for more handy hiring tactics and tips. Happy hiring!