Interview Questions To Reveal High
High-potential candidates are those well-equipped to grow into your best performers. However, identifying these candidates during the interview process can be challenging because they dont typically fit your standard hiring qualifications.
To reveal candidates with high-potential, you need to prepare an arsenal of interview questions that explore deeper, sometimes hidden, qualities. We reached out to experts to share their favorite interview questions to identify high-potential hires.
Here are the best interview questions to bring high-potential talent to the top of your pile:
Tell Me About A Big Mistake How You Dealt With It And What You Learned From The Experience
Once again, situational interview questions can tell you a lot about how candidates actually act and react in a real work environment. Asking situational interview questions about accomplishments is definitely important to be able to see candidates at their best. But remember, no person is on their best behavior all the time.
Mistakes happen, so its also important to use situational interview questions to evaluate how candidates react when theyve made a mistake. The mistake, the response, and the lesson learned can tell you a great deal about how the candidate approaches setbacks and how they deal with high-stress situations.
One Way Video Interviews In Action
In this video, Spark Hire demonstrates one way video interviews in action. Youll notice the hiring authority has a line of interviews to conduct. In order to avoid this situation, the hiring authority turns to one way video interviews, also known as Spotlight Interviews, to gain insight on candidates and save a ton of time. While the hiring authoritys busy day is full of in person interviews, one way video interviews are most frequently used as alternatives to time consuming phone screens. Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments. Have you used one way video interviewing to save time on screening candidates?
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Reduce The Amount Of Small Talk
When a person comes in for a face-to-face interview, theres going to be some amount of time dedicated to small talk at the beginning or end of the interview. While this can be a nice way to get to know the candidate when the hiring manager is on a tight schedule and you want a more structured process, engaging in small talk is detrimental.
Video interviews cut down on the amount of chit chat that happens, thus keeping the initial screening process succinct for both parties and uniform for all applicants. Hiring managers then devote more time to speaking in-person with the most qualified candidates, making better hires, faster, and more efficiently.
Set Up For Your One Way Interview
Pay attention to lighting, posture, background, and background noise. Find a nice, well-lit space with a blank background. A plain wall, a screen, or a bookshelf work best. Experts suggest having at least two feet of distance between the background behind you. That space can reduce the shadow and make the lighting more flattering. If you dont have a webcam, you can use your phones camera to record your answers. No matter what device you use, test your microphone and camera angle beforehand. Set yourself up to make a great first impression!
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But Dont Ignore Yourself
At the same time, though, dont be completely unaware of what youre doing while you record your answers. Just like any other interview, sit up straight, dont swivel in your chair, and dont anxiously tap your feet. It doesnt matter that this is a one-way interview. Eventually, the interviewer will see your recording and could interpret your nervousness as boredom, anxiety, or even disinterest.
Take advantage of the practice question and make sure you arent engaging in any distracting behaviors. If you catch yourself doing that, practice again until its gone. And, if youre having trouble with a behavior, say, swiveling in your chair, place a note somewhere on your screen to remind you to sit still.
Save Valuable Time And Money
Screening job candidates can take a huge chunk of your time and hiring budget. Video interviews make the process much less of a chore by enabling you to connect with candidates face-to-face without having to fly them in. When it comes to screening candidates, save time and avoid scheduling headaches with one-way video interviews.
Considering 60% of hiring decisions were made within the first 15 minutes of an interview, according to a recent study by researchers from Old Dominion, Florida State, and Clemson, why bother with lengthy phone interviews? With one-way video interviews, candidates can record their answers to your questions on their own time, and you can view them on yours. Its a win-win addition to your hiring process.
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Video Interview Vendors And Software
To participate in the interview process, the job applicant usually needs only a webcam and video software, both of which have become standard equipment on most notebook computers, smartphones and desktop PCs.
The hiring manager has the following two options:
Video interview platforms also are often integrated with talent management software, which enables the online interview and associated candidate data to be incorporated into the software’s recruiting module and used elsewhere in the human capital management system. The following are examples of some of these platforms:
Question : Tell Me About A Time You Faced Conflict In A Team
This question asks about your people skills. Essentially, how good are you at empathizing with people, identifying potential problems, and bringing them to a resolution.
A classic mistake here where answering this question jumps to something like I just fired that person.
While that may be true and necessary, jumping straight to that conclusion wont get you far with your Spark Hire. Explain the process that you went through until you reached that point.
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What If I Dont Have A Webcam Can I Use My Phone
If you dont have access to a computer and webcam, you can conveniently complete your one-way interview by using your mobile device. Just simply download the Spark Hire mobile app and youre ready to go! The mobile app supports iOS or Android devices. You can also check out your local library for a computer to use for free to complete your interview.
Common Bcg One Way Interview Questions
The BCG one way interview focuses on behavioral interview questions. Topics include:
- Teamwork skills
- Your ability to identify creative solutions to solving problems or achieving goals
- Your interests.
Other questions include:
- Tell me about an ambitious goal you worked toward. What steps did you take to give yourself the best possible chance of achieving this goal?
- What are the most important personal traits for succeeding in consulting?
Weve compiled a comprehensive list of common Consulting Behavioral Interview Questions.
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Spark Hire Interview Question: Do You Have Any Questions
One of the most difficult Spark Hire interview questions to answer is this one. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered from cover to cover in this ebook. “Do you have any questions for me?” he’d probably ask as the interview grew closer. When you hear this question, you can feel as though you’ve covered everything throughout the interview. It’s preferable to point that you’re interested in the other person’s inquiry rather than politely declining to address it. Otherwise, you have the option of leaving the interview with the idea that you left no lasting impact on the interviewer, or you may be brave and ask questions to talk to the interviewer that you are interested in the job offer.
Answer: Here is an example answer to “Do you have any questions?” Can you share more about the day-to-day responsibilities of this role? How would you describe the pace of a typical day?
What Is Your Ideal Work Environment
This question is asked so a recruiter or hiring manager can determine if youd be a good fit for a companys culture. Be honest in your response. If you would work well in a large, bustling office, say so. If you prefer working in a small office so you can easily collaborate with colleagues, explain why this is important to you.
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Make Sure You Have The Right Devices Available
If you have no other options, you can probably use your smartphone for this interview, assuming it has a camera. However, you will very likely make the best impression using a camera connected to a computer, assuming the computer also has a microphone and a speaker
Double-check with the interviewer if you need to use your smartphone.
When possible, test the connection to be sure it works before the interview regardless of device used.
In advance, test your microphone and camera to be sure that they work. Even perfect answers to the questions wont make an impact if they cant hear your answers or see you talk.
How To Prepare For A One
In some respects, a one-way video interview is no different than a two-way video interview or even an in-person interview. So, treat it like any other interview! Review your resume, practice your answers, and prepare yourself as if you were going to an in-person interview. But to really shine in your one-way video interview, remember these tips.
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Why Do You Think We Should Choose You For The Role
- Why do recruiters ask this: To see how you pitch to sell yourself in the job market. Its also about putting yourself in the recruiters shoes and giving them convincing answers to pick you over others.
How to answer it: Focus more on explaining your unique qualities. Stand out from the pack by showcasing your education, knowledge, and problem-solving skills. Speak about your performance in different roles over the years and articulate how it helped the business.
Choose Your Recording Space
Find a quiet space with good lighting. You want your face to be free from any shadows. Choose a spot with a clean-looking background, perhaps in front of a bookshelf or wall. Avoid recording in front of a window, as the lighting may be poor and the background may become distracting to the employer. You want to choose a space where their focus can be entirely on you.
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Acing Your Asynchronous Interview
Practice makes perfect. But its hard to practice and prepare for a one-way video interview. Fortunately, youve got options.
A FlexJobs career coach can help you practice and prep for any style of interview with a mock interview. Members get discounted access to our coaches and mock interviews. Take the tour and learn more about how a FlexJobs membership can help power your job search.
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Why Do You Want To Work Here
This question is measuring your excitement about the role and the company as well as your fit for the position. Specifically, hiring managers ask this to find people who are committed and passionate about the job versus people who want a jobany job.
Explain what attracted you to the company or the position. Do you identify strongly with the companys mission or product? Do you love their corporate initiatives around social justice issues? Also explain how your skills line up with the expectations of the role and how your skills can solve any problems the company is facing.
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What Are Your Biggest Weaknesses
This is truly a tough question to ask in the interview, but like the situational question about biggest mistakes, it can really tell you how the candidate approaches problems. Look for candidates who dont give you a rehearsed answer and instead pick a weakness they are addressing and have learned from.
Just like you can train for skills but not for company culture fit, you cant train an employee to understand and address mistakes. Everyone is human and has weaknesses, its what we do to better ourselves that counts.
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What Is An Example Of How Youve Become More Productive At Work
The answer itself could be anything, such as calendars, tools, time-blocking, and more. The insight on this question is whether the interviewee thinks about productivity at work at all. The highest-performing employees often try to find better ways to get work done, and in doing so create efficiencies that can improve not just their performance but the entire organization.
Michael Alexis, CEO at Team Building
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How Many Questions Are There Do I See The Questions Ahead Of Time How Much Time Do I Have To Answer
The number of questions for a one-way interview is decided by the recruiter or hiring manager. Once you start the interview, you will be told the number of questions you will need to answer. The most questions you will be asked is ten. The questions will be presented to you one at a time so you will have an opportunity to think about your response before recording.
The length of time to answer a question varies from interview to interview. You can have as much as three minutes to respond or as little as thirty seconds — the amount of time is decided by the recruiter or hiring manager. Dont worry too much about whether youll be able to say all you need to in the time given or if you will have enough to say at all. Focus on answering the question as best you can.
Question : Tell Me About Yourself
This is a classic warm-up question, designed to break the ice.
However, the person viewing your video also actually wants to hear about you in your own words!
The best way to answer this is to not read off your CV! Many people make that mistake, and if you dont, you are already ahead of quite a few applicants.
Make sure your answer is an executive summary of yourself and your career. It doesnt have to go into details of each job or assignment you had or move in chronological order.
As long as the interviewer can place your overall career, aspirations, and style quickly, you will have accomplished your goal for this question.
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The Interview Platform That Makes Candidate Screening Easy
At the core of the Spark Hire platform, they provide two types of video interviews. One is a live video interview, in which a single person or a panel of people interviews a single candidate. The second is a pre-recorded asynchronous interview where you can set up questions beforehand so that candidates can record video responses in their own time.
The question sets can be customized for specific positions or roles and modified as necessary. As you go through the process, you can see question sets that youve previously saved and modify them or create entirely new ones based on new skill sets that you might be recruiting for.
With asynchronous video interviews, there might be a concern that they feel impersonal. Spark Hire has a feature for video questions where a hiring manager or recruiter can record themselves asking the question so that it feels more personal. When the candidate begins the asynchronous video interview, they see a video of an actual person asking the question. It really personalizes the process.
Its also just great to learn more about candidates at this stage in the process versus maybe just looking at a resume or doing a quick phone interview. It makes the hiring process more collaborative.
Dont Look At Yourself On The Screen
This will go against some habits weve picked up as online teachers because were used to making sure our students can see us and our props or whiteboard clearly.
Looking into the camera is like making eye-contact with the interviewer and can be practiced prior to the interview. This way youll catch yourself looking at your own recording more often than I did and get your eyes back on the camera!
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Webinar: Growing Your Staffing Firm With Video Interviews
Have you ever wondered how other staffing and recruiting firms are using video interviews to drive more revenue? Get the recording of our webinar and youll learn their secrets.
To learn more about video interviews for staffing and recruiting firms, take a look at this page or get a demo with a Spark Hire product expert and theyll personalize the conversation to your recruiting process.
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What To Expect In A One Way Video Interview
Unlike one-on-one, on-demand interviews expect you to answer the on-screen prompts through pre-recorded questions from a hiring manager or a live recruiter.
Every company is different, and so is its way of delivering questions. Hence, its best to be prepared for everything.
Here are a few things to expect from any one way video interview:
Thumbnail setup: No video looks great without a thumbnail, and a good video resume tool should be able to give the option to setting up a thumbnail for the recorded video.
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