10 Interview Questions CEO's Love
If you are a CEO and run your own company, juggling time, projects, and deadlines efficiently is essential. The same applies to interviewing your senior staff. You won’t have time to luxuriate over lunch and chitchat about world affairs. With experience, most CEOs will have mastered the art of interviewing potential candidates quickly and proficiently to seek out key character traits and fundamental skills. Here are ten examples of questions you may want to incorporate into hiring your senior team members.
1. Describe a day when you've just had the most incredible working day. What was it about that working day that made you so happy?
It's well-known that when people do what they love, they perform at a higher level than others. You'll ask this question to uncover and evaluate the candidate's passion, motivation and how they enjoy their work. It will give you the opportunity to learn about their work ethics, integrity and appreciation of company culture.
2. Describe yourself in one word
Candidates will likely expect this question and, given much consideration to find one word that reflects their abilities. They'll focus on finding one strong character trait that sets them apart from others. The 'one' word should reflect the candidate's Curriculum Vitae and the job description so it is relevant to the role. You can ask the candidate in detail why they chose that word to understand the relevance to the role you are interviewing for. It's a great way to discover how the candidate defines themself.
3. So (** candidate **), what's your story?
There is no correct answer to this question. But it demands a creative answer. Storytelling in today’s world is essential, by encouraging candidates to talk about their experiences will allow you to see how they’ve grown, what they are working on and where they are heading. It will give you an insight and an understanding of their values, strengths and life mission. You’ll acquire information about their imagination, inventiveness and character.
4. What is the last thing you've learned at work?
You may want to hire a candidate with a love of learning. By asking, 'what is the last thing you’ve learned on the job?’, you’ll be able to quickly assess and measure a candidate’s curiosity and passion for learning new and challenging tasks. The best candidates strive to acquire new skills, even when they don't have to. This shows that they go above and beyond what is expected in the role.
5. What haven't you included on your resume?
Whilst a good Curriculum Vitae is important, it’s essential to dig deeper to really explore the candidate’s fervours and what makes them tick. The candidate will be able to talk about subjective assets like personal qualities, work ethics and loyalty, which are difficult to include in a Curriculum Vitae. It will help you understand the real person behind their work history, whether they are a good match for your organisation and will fit well in your current team and corporate culture.
6. Tell me something you believe to be true, that many would disagree with you on
This is an excellent test for confidence and originality, which are valuable traits in many companies. It will help you understand their unique worldview and show that the candidate thinks differently, is open-minded and brave enough to discuss unpopular opinions. Often these candidates are more suited to smaller, fast-moving companies rather than large, slower-paced organisations without fear of judgement.
7. What percentage of your daily life do you control?
A healthy work-life balance often entails prioritising completing projects at work whilst maintaining interests outside office hours. Not only does this question allow you to understand the candidate's true work-life balance, but it will also show you whether they are changemakers or just allow things to happen. It will help you appreciate how the candidate feels about the world around them.
8. How long are you willing to fail before you succeed in this job?
Any question about failure will put the candidate on the spot. A good candidate will express how important it is to stick at the job for as long as it takes to succeed. It’s unnatural to acknowledge any weaknesses, so by asking this question, you’ll understand each candidate's dedication, how they pick themselves up and carry on to the point of success, and how far they are willing to push themselves through failure and become a better employee.
9. What makes you unique? If you were penning 500 words about yourself, what would you write?
When you ask a candidate to talk about themselves, you are looking to see how their qualities and characteristics align with the skills that they believe are required to succeed in a role. Take the time to sit back, listen, and learn about their natural strengths. You'll want to know if they have the right qualities, such as traits that can’t be taught, including EQ, integrity, energy, ambition and drive.
10. What’s in the newspaper today?
Whilst this may sound irrelevant, it’s an important tool to understand how someone thinks and if they are up-to-date on worldly news. It allows the candidate to express their thoughts through a discussion so that you can assess how effective they might be in the workplace and how involved and interested they are in everyday happenings.
Ultimately, it's not just about asking varied interview questions; it's about how you listen to and interpret a candidate's response to see if they are the right fit for your company. This list is here for you to pick and choose what works best for your team and business to allow prospective new hires to shine during the interview.
