What to Ask in a Job Interview to Get It Right

The problem with typical interview questions

Many job interviews in small and medium-sized enterprises end up becoming improvised conversations or a repetition of standard cliché questions. Asking classic questions like "what is your greatest weakness?" or "where do you see yourself in five years?" usually leads to prepared, rehearsed answers. Candidates tell you what they assume the company wants to hear, which prevents you from learning about their actual way of working, technical skills and ability to adapt.

When a recruitment process relies on superficial impressions or abstract questions, the risk of hiring people who interview well but fail to meet the day-to-day requirements of the role increases. To accurately assess whether someone fits into the team, questions must be turned into practical tools for exploring past behaviours and real decisions.

Questions that add no value to candidate selection

There are several categories of questions that should be eliminated from your interview repertoire because they offer no relevant information about future job performance. Among the least effective ways of interviewing, the following stand out:

• Hypothetical questions about theoretical situations ("what would you do if X happened?"), which only measure a candidate's imagination or rhetoric, not their actual behaviour.
• Trick questions or logic puzzles that create unnecessary tension and bear no relation to the company's daily tasks.
• Overly generic or abstract questions ("what does commitment mean to you?"), which typically yield a theoretical definition unconnected to practice.
• Subjective self-assessment questions ("do you consider yourself a hard worker?"), to which no candidate will ever answer negatively.

These types of questions usually favour candidates who are more articulate or better prepared for interviews, putting highly competent professionals who express their achievements more modestly at a disadvantage.

How to rephrase questions to assess real skills

The most effective technique for gauging a candidate's true worth is asking them to describe real situations from previous jobs. Past behaviour in a similar professional context is the most reliable indicator of how that person will respond to future challenges. Rather than asking for assumptions, you should request specific examples with details about the context, the action taken and the results achieved.

Example 1: Assessing deadline management and working under pressure

Instead of asking "how do you handle working under pressure?", it is far more useful to rephrase the question like this: "Tell me about a recent occasion when you had a tight deadline with several unexpected issues. How did you organise your priority tasks, and what was the final outcome?". In this way, the candidate must explain their working methodology, organisational skills and reaction to demanding situations.

Example 2: Assessing conflict resolution

Instead of asking "are you a team player?", an effective alternative is: "Describe a time when you disagreed with a decision made by a colleague or project lead. How did you address the difference of opinion, and what agreement did you reach?". This formulation allows you to observe professional maturity, empathy and assertive communication skills in shared working environments.

Example 3: Assessing initiative and autonomy

Replace the question "are you a proactive person?" with a fact-based formulation: "Tell me about a recurring problem in your previous role that was not your direct responsibility, but that you decided to resolve on your own initiative. What steps did you take to solve it?". This answer will help you identify the person's true level of initiative and interest in improving company processes.

Structuring the interview within your recruitment process

For these rephrased questions to have the maximum effect, they should be applied consistently across all candidates applying for the same vacancy. When the same questions are put to every applicant and specific examples are noted down, comparing profiles without relying on intuition or personal liking becomes much easier.

Tools like JOBO help companies structure and manage their recruitment processes with greater clarity, allowing them to organise evaluation stages and keep clear track of each candidate. By relying on defined criteria focused on real evidence, SMEs can make hiring decisions with greater confidence and sound judgement.