As an interviewer you need to determine if the applicant has the aptitude, ability, and skills to perform the essential functions of the position. You also need to know if the applicant has soft skills. Soft skills are those skills that make the person a good fit for the position and the organizational culture, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. 

Individuals who fairly infrequently interview job candidates often ask for guiding questions, that is, what they should ask to assess soft skills that are relevant to the job. Though questions may vary, here are some that you might find useful as well as which soft skills they target.

 

 Assessing Integrity

 

 In what business situations do you feel honesty would be inappropriate? 

 

 What would you do if your boss asked you to do something unethical? 

 

 Assessing Personality

 

 What kinds of people bother you? Solve Why? 

 

 Describe a situation in which you had to take risk.

 

 What motivates you most?

 

 What does your employer owe to you? 

 

 Past Mistakes

 

 The last time you were criticized, how did you deal with it? 

 

 If you could change one decision you made in the past year, what would it be and why? 

 

 Describe a situation where you blew it, and what you did to correct the problem.

 

 Assessing Problem-Solving Ability

 

 What is the most difficult decision you had to make, and why? 

 

 If you could change anything in the world, what would it be? 

 

 Your colleague is talking to you about a problem and needs

 

help. Your boss has just handed you a report with a lot of questions and needs it returned in the next hour. Your assistant tells you a customer is on the phone with a complaint. What do you do to handle these three things happening simultaneously? 

 

Again, remember that asking the questions is the easy part. Listening to the responses and making sense of what is said is the critical part. You need to know what youre looking for and how what is said relates to successful performance on the job.