Other interview questions: Finding the 'fit' for a candidate

This is a bit more complex than our other articles on interview questions. There are a range of questions which are associated with making sure the candidate will fit the office culture and the role than skill related.

These aren't necessarily standard STAR questions, although some are. In recent times, employers like Google have been changing interview methods to find better fits to their culture. One of the questions asked in interviews was 'Do you own a dog?', which was a result of finding out that their better fitting staff were dog owners, past or current.

These questions are indicative of specific requirements for a fit into a job. You'll notice that some are closed or semi-closed questions, some are leading questions and others are hypothetical.

Closed questions

Can you work well without supervision?
Can you do overtime when required?
Do you like roles where you can use your independent judgment?
Do you prefer to work back to stay on top of your work?
Are you goal oriented?
Do you like complex working roles?
Can you work in multiple roles?

Semi closed questions

Do you like to experiment with new ideas, or prefer to use proven methods?
Are you happier working alone, in a team, or have no preferences?
Are you an early starter, or a late starter?
Are you detail focused, a big picture person, or a mix of both?
Do you like a variety of roles, or to work on a single stream?
Do you like small teams, or large groups?
Do you prefer a well structured work routine, or can you improvise when necessary?

Hypothetical questions

If you were a manager with a series of disciplinary problems with a staff member, where would you draw the line, and fire the person?
Imagine a situation where you're supposed to have a staff of five people, and you have three. How do you handle the workload?
You have to train twenty people in customer inquiries. How do you approach their training, making sure they all achieve good quality skills?
You're obliged to provide staff to other sections on a needs basis, but this does impact your own work. How do you deal with that situation?
You've just been given a schedule that means you won't be seeing your own work for a while, but there's nobody to fill in. What do you do?

Leading questions

What interpersonal skills do you bring to this job?
What makes you a high value employee?
What do you know about this company?
What do you do to relax?
What would you say are your greatest talents?
How do you go about learning new skills?

Considerations for your questions

Every job has a 'fit' issue. Each job naturally creates a requirement for a level of comfort for the employee, and you need to design your questions to address known factors in the position.

A high stress job, flat out all the time, for example, would generate these questions:

Closed questions:

Can you exercise independent judgment in high volume work?

Semi closed questions

Do you prefer a quiet working environment, or a busy one?

Hypothetical questions

You're extremely busy, and someone adds some extra work which will throw your schedule out completely, and make it impracticable to meet deadlines. What do you do?

Leading questions

How do you handle people who are under obvious stress?