We know that you have seen them. The plethora of whitepapers, blogs, eBooks, and articles with advice about interviewing candidates. There are “how to’s”, “do’s”, and don’ts, and obviously, “best practice resources saturating online. Their titles indicate that the interview process must be simple, so long as you follow a predetermined number of “easy and quick steps.” Here, we are discussing the top 10 job interview screening questions.
Even seasoned recruiters and HR pros sometimes struggle with the interview process. To better screen the candidates before face-to-face interviews, several companies depend on phone interviews and video interview technology. Here is the list consisting of the top 10 job interview screening questions that are always asked in an interview.
Top 10 Job Interview Screening Questions
How Did you Find This Role? It is one of the first questions asked among the various job interview screening questions. There are mainly two reasons why people ask this question: Generally, they are curious, and they want to know why you applied for this job and how you ended up attending this interview. If you uniquely came across the job, like maybe through a personal connection, this can be important information that the interviewer must know.
Explain your strengths.
One of the common job interview screening questions asked is regarding the strengths. The employer asks this question to see what skills you can bring to the company. While answering this question, you must focus on your best achievements and skills, and ensure that they are relevant to the organization.
Can you take us through your resume?
By asking this question, the interviewer wants to connect the dots between you and the job position. It is one of the common job interview screening questions asked by most recruiters. Sometimes, the person who is taking the interview might not be the hiring manager but a recruiter or somebody in the HR department who has experience in this field. In that case, they may have zero context as to what makes your resume a right fit. And for those who have a diverse background and random jobs, it can be difficult for the person reading the resume to make connections.
What is an ideal job according to you?
Among the top 10 job interview screening questions, this one is quite common. This is an important question as it offers the potential employee a chance to open. You must pay attention to things they say they are looking forward to that you cannot offer as a company or in this role. If the potential employee says something your organization can offer, it offers you a chance to make a note for the face-to-face interview.
As a potential manager and an interviewer, it is significant to know what are the things that motivate and de-motivate applicants. Listen for the statements that seem to be blame-heavy and defensive. A contender who answers honestly and with self-awareness is probably a solid choice.
Why do you want to work in this organization?
This is the right opportunity to find out how much research the prospective applicant did prior. Another important tip: Compare this answer to their answer from the first question. The objective is not to screen applicants out but to find similarities between their perfect job and the current position.
Also, the objective is not to eliminate anyone from this question, but instead to get a sense of whether they have perfect expectations. A small architectural company with a few regional employees will have various pros and cons compared to its conglomerate counterparts. Even if the candidate is not aware of this, the pre-interview question serves to handle expectations that can differ by size, industry, management style, and region.
What is the reason behind leaving your last organization?
Another important one among the various job interview screening questions is asking about the reason why you left your last company. While it might sound like the interviewer is digging in, but there is a larger purpose to this question: Why did you leave your previous job can say a lot of things about your attitude and work ethic.
This should not stop you from being truthful if you were terminated for no matter what reason. Being laid off or fired is not something which you should be ashamed about, nor it is always your mistake. And overcoming it skillfully and proactively impresses an interviewer more.
What will be your contribution to the company?
Here is where you find out what your potential contender can bring to the table. What is the “important factor? How can this candidate differentiate your talent pool? Listen for certain details or examples of earlier-performed tasks. If you understand what the position requires and how to present candidates that can fit into the position, it will be simpler to fill your open position efficiently.
This offers an opportunity for a contender to connect the dots between their talent and skill and the position at hand. Look for someone who offers thoughtful replies and offers examples of the same work they achieved in the past.
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What are the attributes you are looking for in an employer/ team?
This is one of the important job interview screening questions that let you gauge how the candidate will fit in with not just the team but the whole company culture. Note the items that are significant to them that are associated with your work environment.
A perfect clue to see if the candidate is a perfect fit for your company is hidden within the things that they mention as desirable attributes. If the contender mentions many things that they want which are not a part of your culture, then you have identified a red flag.
With plenty of assessments and a range of personality tests, most of the candidates will have some idea of their strengths. Whether it is DiSC or an app-based assessment, if they consider professional development to be important, they will have discovered it. The answer will speak to self-awareness and interpersonal skills.
Why are you interested in this role? Or what are the things that you find great about this company?
Like some of the job interview screening questions discussed above, the interviewer asks this because they want to see if you have come after researching the company and know who they are and what they do. What most of the companies do not want to hear is “I require a job and this position seemed to be cool.”
Take a few minutes to go back and look at the company’s website or press releases or look at the job description again and be able to pull a couple of certain things to the company- something that can customize it for their recruiter a bit so that it is not extra generic. Then, connect that to your career path, goals, and experience.
What can you do best?
This is one of the realistic job interview screening questions among the top 10 job interview screening questions. This question is an improved version of a popular question, “What is your superpower?” “What can you do in the best way?” These questions are asked to find out the things are they are proud of, whether professional or personal. You might find a quality that could be combined in the workplace.
So, here is a list of common job interview screening questions that are asked in an interview along with some job interview tips. Next time, when you have an interview, keep these points in mind and rock it!