NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

 PROFESSIONAL RECEPTIONISTS®

 
               Hiring Questions List for Employers

 

Experienced managers and recruiters worked on this list of hiring questions for employers. Most managers hire for skills, but fire for character. Because of the overwhelming problems associated with hiring employees who lack required character traits, more and more managers are asking character-discerning questions when interviewing employees. Legal penalties for negligent hiring are also propelling character-based hiring policies.  Some hiring questions are very clever, some are ok and a few are inappropriate. Nevertheless, this list of employee interview questions is very useful.  Before interviewing job applicants think of specific actions you require from employees in the position and then think of the root character trait of the action. Then create questions and scenarios to discern if the candidate regularly practices the trait and the action. This list of questions for interviewing employees isn't flawless, but managers consistently report it's quite effective.

TOP 15 QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWING EMPLOYEES

 

■ At your last job, how did you fill downtime?

 

■ Tell me about your last performance review. What was mentioned about how you could improve? Any re-occurring themes?

 

■ Which situations kept you from coming to work on time at your last job? How often did that occur?

 

■ Describe a recent problem you had with one of your manager's decisions. Listen and then ask, how did you handle it?

 

■ What about your character makes you a good candidate for this job?

 

■ Priorities often change suddenly throughout the day. If you are asked to quickly do another task, how does that affect your mood? What if it's the third time before noon?

 

■ What do you feel is an acceptable amount of days to be absent in a calendar year?

 

■ How do you handle situations that could cause you to be tardy or absent?

 

■ How have you responded in the past when you found another employee was stealing?

 

■ 24/7 operations are like relay races where you take the baton, run with it and then pass it on smoothly. How do you make seamless transitions on shift changes?

 

■ How have you responded in the past when your replacement calls in sick and a substitute will take over an hour to come in?

 

■ During the last year, when your replacement hasn’t shown up and your manager asked you to stay late, what percentage of the time have you stayed late?

 

■ Think about the last time your manager critiqued your work. How did you respond?

 

■ Give an example of when you did something without being asked. Can you give me another example?

 

■ Tell me about your most frustrating experience as a __________ (job title). Listen and then ask, how did you handle it?

Position: Any Position

 

Character quality: Dependability

 

Hiring Questions:

■ Everybody misses work sometimes. What are some legitimate reasons to miss work?

■ If we were to ask your previous supervisor, what would they say about your attendance and job performance?

■ The schedule shows 8, however only 6 coworkers showed up. How does that make you feel? What would you do?

■ Two hours before you are scheduled to arrive at work, you learn weather is going to be bad and traffic will be worse. How do you respond?

■ What outside situations could affect your dependability on the job?

■ How many scheduled days did you miss during the last three months you worked?

■ It's lunch time and a customer needs five minutes of your time. What do you do?

■ What would you do if your car doesn't start?

Position: Any Position

Character quality: Initiative

Hiring Questions:

■ If you had a problem and no supervisor was available at the time, how would you handle it?

■ What do you know about our company and products?

■ You are the first one to arrive in your department and you don't have any assigned tasks. What do you do?

■ Your shift ends in 10 min. and you accomplished all your duties. How have you utilized your remaining time in the past?

Position: Any

Character quality: Honesty

Hiring Questions:

■ What would you do if a delivery driver accidentally left double the number of an item that his company charges us a lot of money for?

■ What is the last thing of value you found? ... Then ask, Where?, ... What did you do with it? [Does the applicant take advantage of opportunities of the moment or do they have a heart to restore lost items to the owner?]

■ Have you ever suffered for doing what is right? Any regrets? Why were you willing to suffer loss for that?

■ What was the first thing you stole as a child? Did you get away with it? Have you ever made restitution for anything?

■ How have you responded in the past when you found another employee was stealing?

Interview questions for: Any Position

Character quality: Punctuality

■ Is there anything that will prohibit you from consistently coming to work on time, every day of the week, week after week and putting in a full day's work for full day's pay?

Interview questions for: Any Position

Character quality: Flexibility

■ Do you like to work in other positions or would you rather not be cross-trained?

■ How have you responded in the past when your replacement calls in sick and a substitute will take over an hour to make it in?

Interview questions for: Any Position

Character quality: Patience

■ How would you respond if you are orientating a new employee and had to show them something four times?

Position: Any Position

Character trait: Orderliness

Hiring Questions:

■ What is the difference between neatness and orderliness?

■ What problems are associated with a lack of orderliness?

■ How would you practice orderliness here?

■ What have you observed here that is lacking orderliness?

Interview questions for: Any Position

Character quality: Discretion

■ Did you ever find out that a fellow employee makes more money than you do? How did you respond? If says no, say: You just found out a fellow employee makes more money than you do. What would you do? Who would you tell?

Position: Any Position

Character quality: Endurance

Hiring Questions:

■ If a friend were to ask you for help in deciding whether to stay or quit a job that was hard work but meaningful work, what would you tell them and why?

■ When you have a lot of work to do and not enough time or assistance to get it all done, how do you handle it?

■ How do you keep from getting burnout?

■ What about your character would help you do this job day in and day out?

■ Would those who know you best say that you endure to the end or move on to other things?

Character quality: Dependability

Hiring Questions:

■ During the last year, when your replacement hasn’t shown up and your manager asked you to stay late, what percentage of the time have you stayed late?

■ Everybody misses work sometimes. What are some legitimate reasons to miss work?

■ Two hours before you are scheduled to arrive at work, you learn weather is going to be bad and traffic will be worse. How do you respond?

■ If your shift ends at 3 p.m. and your replacement hasn’t arrived by 3:15 p.m., what do you do?

■ The schedule shows 8, however only 5 showed up. How does that make you feel? What would you do?

■ How many scheduled days did you miss during the last three months you worked?

■ If we were to ask your previous supervisor, what would they say about your attendance and job performance?

 

By Integrity Training Institute
888-515-1776 Tel.

www.Integrity-Tr.com

 

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Last modified: 04/21/23

 

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