Oh, hey! Welcome to the community!

I’ve seen a lot of discussions recently asking for examples of interview questions. In a previous post, we discussed the benefits of conducting Empathy Interviews. If you’re interested in trying out this approach, or if you’re looking for inspiration to revamp your current set of questions, here are some ideas:

Tell me about yourself (a self-introduction).

This will give you details about the applicant’s emotional outlook and about their educational and professional experiences. It’s also a great way to build confidence.

What things or people inspire you?

This question will give you insight into the motivations and inspiration of the applicant. Additionally, you’ll often see the applicant light up and show genuine excitement when explaining why they are inspired.

How is your relationship with your colleagues from your last job? If the applicant hasn’t had a previous job, you could ask something about former team members on a group project.

This question will allow you to see the level of investment someone puts into their colleagues. Please note: the effectiveness of this question is limited by the type of employment your applicant had. It may be a more beneficial question to ask of returning staff members.

What factors do you have control of that will lead you to a successful career/be successful in this role?

This question forces your applicant to think about how their actions impact success. It forces the applicant to think about their skills and limitations but also about how their reactions to others and/or the decisions of others can impact their success.

Are you ambitious?

The ambiguity of this question leads to a diverse set of answers. There is no assumption of ambition, and candidates can feel comfortable answering no. This is a great question to follow up with a question like, “How did you realize this about yourself?”

How do you react when someone comes to you for some kind of help?

In Residence Life, when asked about their motivation for applying, we hear, “I want to help people.”  This question dives deeper and allows you to assess how prepared the applicant is to field those asks for help. It will also provide insight into how much thought the applicant has given to the kind of situations they may receive in the role.

How do you take criticism?

This one is important when you consider fit in building teams. It will tell you about self-awareness and the ability of the candidate to receive feedback. It also allows the candidate to be able to own their difficulties with receiving feedback and shed light on how they are working on that.

How does curiosity impact your outlook?

The goal of this question is to gain information about the inquisitive nature of your applicant. It also may provide insight into their respect for confidentiality and how they react when the “why” to a decision is not articulated (for example, a top-down decision the staff has to implement but doesn’t always agree with or understand).

Where do you feel most present?

This question is a win for everyone. It gives you information about the applicant, their personality, and their self-awareness. More importantly, there is no ‘right’ answer, so all applicants can be confident in their reply.

What should people think about you?

As with many empathy questions, this question shows a lot about self-awareness and ambition. It also will tell you what qualities the applicant values in themselves and how they fit into the community.

As mentioned in the previous post, you may need to ask follow-up questions to ensure you’re getting the quality of the answer you expect. Take a tip from a two-year-old and just ask, “Why?” It’s a great question to get someone to give you more information, and you can use it over and over again.

Whether you completely change your line of questioning or you just sprinkle a couple of empathy questions into your existing set of questions, I’m confident you’ll find out more about your applicants.  

Welcome to the community.  We’re glad you’re here.

Source: https://content.wisestep.com/top-empathy-interview-questions-answers/

Tags: empathy, interviews, student staff hiring