8 Interview Questions to Help You Find the Right Candidate for your Organization.

Have you ever wondered what are the best ways to hone in on finding the right candidate for a position with your company during an interview? Afterall an interview is a very brief interaction with an individual to determine if they are the right fit for your organization and to determine if they will contribute positively or negatively to the company's growth.

What I have found is by asking some very specific questions and listening keenly to what the candidate says and also what they don't say will lead to follow up questions that will give great insight into the candidates character, intentions and ambitions.

Here are 8 probing questions to ask in an interview to make a good assessment of a potential candidate for your organization.

• 1. Do you have written goals you want to accomplish and if so, tell me about them? With this question you are looking for indications of maturity, focus, planning ability and desire for achievement.

• 2. Where would you like to see yourself in five years? This question will indicate if this person sees your organization as a short stop on their career path or a long-term commitment to the growth of themselves and the company.

• 3. What is one trait you look for in a manager? With this question you are attempting to gauge their expectations around management and leadership and ascertain their preferred management style.

• 4. Have you ever failed at something and if so, why did you fail and what did you learn from the experience? This question lends itself to a discussion on resiliency, personal responsibility and tendencies under pressure.

• 5. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses as employees. What are your strong points for this position? This question gives them the opportunity to tell you what assets they bring to the table and how they see themselves fitting into your organization.

• 6. What is the one thing you would improve about yourself? This question gives you an indication of his or her self- assessment capability.

• 7. Who has been the greatest influence in your life and why? The candidates answer will help to define their world view and why. It also helps to define what matters to them from a deep personal level. This will help to determine if your value systems are aligned.

• 8. If you were to fail in this business, what do you think the reason would be? Here you will learn if the candidate is introspective and recognizes their strength and weaknesses. Also important in the answer is whether the candidate has a plan for learning and self-improvement based on their answer. This speaks to their mindset around success and failure.

I hope these questions will help to open the doors to interviewing great candidates for your organization and eliminate poor hiring choices that are difficult to navigate.