The 5 interview questions to find your next superstar employee

No matter the size of the business, the business’ success is highly dependent on making sure you have the best quality employees running the show– superstar employees. The interview process is intended to find exactly that: the candidates that shine.

You might argue that, more than anything else, hiring superstar talent is the most important factor to ensure the continual growth and success of your business. At the end of the day, your business its trajectory is entirely up to them. Hire employees that can rally behind your vision, and work to make that vision a reality.

Unfortunately, if you’ve been in the hiring game for a while, chances are you’ve hired someone that hasn’t quite met your expectations. Even if that person looked great on paper (say, an attractive resume), it’s possible to misstep in the interview process.

So, you’ve found a few prospects that you think might be your superstars. What can you ask them to find out?

Asking them situational questions will be really helpful for you to get a sense of what they feel is an appropriate reaction to key happenings in the office.

Here are some situations you’ll want to gauge their reaction to

1- Tell me about a time where you felt a lot of pressure in the workplace due to deadlines. How did you manage it?

Depending on the position you are hiring for, it may not be a bad thing if they missed a deadline in order to meet another. You will want to pay close attention to their thought process here.

2- Tell me about a time when you had a coworker that you did not agree with or like. What did you do to deal with it?

Of course, maintaining good morale in the workplace should be a priority. Positive work culture is extremely valuable in keeping your current employees performing at their best. Make sure your candidate will work well with your existing team.

3- Tell me about a time in which you had a hard time making a decision. What was your thought process in deciding what to do?

How a candidate organizes their work and prioritizes their tasks is a key indicator to how they will perform on the job. This is the time to make sure your candidate has the same workflow values as you. A superstar employee has superstar problem solving skills.

Here are some straightforward questions you’ll want to ask:

4- Name a professional accomplishment you recently achieved that you are proud of.

Finding out how your candidate defines success will be paramount in understanding if you align. High achieving superstars will describe particularly impressive milestones. Prepare to be wowed here. If you aren’t, maybe this isn’t your superstar.

5- What do you like about what we’re doing? What would you change?

It may come as a surprise to know how many people walk into an interview without doing much research on the company. If they trip up here, it’s a huge red flag. They should have a good understand of your business’ vision. Next, finding out what they would change will give you a good indication of how they react to things they don’t like.

Beyond a simple Q&A, do not ignore your intuition during the meeting. More often than not, you will have a gut feeling when someone isn’t a great fit for the position you’re hiring for. To build a successful business is to find a successful team. Be patient in your search for that superstar employee, it will pay off!