OK, let's see how it usually looks: first your departmental head riddled out the candidate with all sorts of "tell me about you and your career path" questions. Then the CV was forwarded to your HR responsible who further squeezed out the same person in hiring process like a sponge, interrogating every single detail from biography, plus a couple of standard questions like "Are you a team player?", "Why did you leave your previous job?", "What is your career objective?" or even some direct and confusing questions like "Why should I hire you?"etc.

Yes, it IS important to have all these information, but make it simple - you need to find out if the candidate has the attributes you need to grow your business and adapt to constant change. It's better strategy to ask something that reveals his/her unconscious level so that he/she cannot simulate the answer. The question should also not reveal the value that lies behind it. To some employers it might have the positive, to some other the negative connotation. Let's start:

1. What was the last time you were curious? Explain the situation. This is a great question if you want to get to know if the person is actively engaged in the world around him/her, if he/she thinks about the things happening inside and outside, or if the candidate questions new and different situations, estimates people, ponders about unpredicted and unusual things… sure you want to have someone in the office who is ready to take place of an active participant, interested in his/her job in company, but as well ready to assit a colleague, learn useful tasks different from routine in his department etc.

2. Which company leader you would like to have dinner with? Why? This is a great question to find out what type of manager or leader your employee-to-be estimates and admires. Is it close to the role model in your enterprise? If so, there are better chances he/she will understand his/her job and general commands, listen carefully and obey the authority, even be motivated to work harder if he/she aims later at higher position next to the top management.

3. If you were a USB, what design would you have? It’s not only about a creativity, it is also about showing practical skills, following trends, having a strong sense of sensibility and visibility. It is also about reacting quickly and being able to bring decisions, since this is not a type of question that will not surprise a candidate at least a little and engage his senses to react ad-hoc. In describing you will also see his talent about talking clearly and precisely about things – the answer should not be too long and should also contain the explanation why he/she chose exactly that model. Does that tell something about candidate’s personal traits?

4. If you were an empty box, how would you sell yourself? It is not only intended to the potential sellers – every market-oriented company has as one of main goals (but the most important): to SELL and increase profit. Selling includes everything – starting from company and its visual image, culture – and stretches to its products and services. If you cannot sell yourself properly, how will you be able to sell what is required? You will also be competent to judge in what degree the person believes in his/hers values and how much confidance he/she conveys in relation with the environment.

5. How do you imagine a world in 2020? Great question for future leaders. Being able to have a clear mid-term vision is extremely important in unpredictable and changeable environment. Having a broad and detailed vision of the future things sends message that the person is potentially a good strategy planner who can formulate goals and lead the company forward. Having more than 2 scenarios is also a good sign, because it means the person is ready to adopt its strategy according to the conditions.

Use these questions either you are selecting people from your company or from outside. Sometimes it is better to ask them in a form of written test – in that way the person should have more time to organize his/her thoughts and you will also spare time from the oral interview.

The new generation recruitment & talent management software like Team+ can help you in conducting these short interview – questionnaires online. If you want to implement this, visit the page www.teamplus.co or https://www.facebook.com/teamplus.hr?ref=bookmarks .

Bon appetit with your recruitment process!