As an interviewer, it’s extremely important to ask the right questions that not only makes each candidate feel comfortable and confident, but also puts them in an excited state where their true self comes across. It will help you better gauge cultural fit, as well as see/hear how they truly are when they’re relaxed.

Questions can make all the difference in an interview.

Ask the right questions and you will hear everything you need to know about the candidate and their ability to truly deliver in the role. Ask the wrong questions and both you and the candidate can end up walking away frustrated. Further, countless companies have lost world-class candidates due to poor interview questions that didn’t bring out the best out of the candidate.

Keys to Asking Great Interview Questions

• Make them soft and passive (for example: “can you tell me of a time” vs. “tell me of a time”), as well as other softeners like: how would you, do you see, can you remember, etc.
• Guide the candidate – if someone is having a hard time thinking of an answer it’s likely because they’re still wrapping their head around the question. So guide them by saying, “does anything come to mind?” or “it may have been from a while back, so we can always come back to that one.” But before deflecting, try to repeat the question one last time so they’re clear on what you’re looking for.
• Smile – smiling can often put people at ease and make a scary conversation much more relaxed and comfortable – which is exactly what you’re aiming for. Remember, you’re also trying to gauge cultural fit and a nervous candidate (even with strong answers) will likely hide their true self.
• Be prepared – it sounds cliche, but I can’t even keep track of the times I’ve seen interviewers prepare their questions minutes before an interview (or not at all). Resulting in random questions that just come to mind. You need a strategy! At least 1hr before the interview, right down what are the 5 characteristics that would make the perfect candidate for this role. And from there, write 5 questions for each characteristic that would help you better understand if someone meets each one. And last but not least, circle any power traits that you think are critical. For example, if one of your traits is honesty, circle one of the 5 honesty questions that you feel is the most important in gauging someone’s honesty. For example: “can you tell me about a time in the past where telling the truth may have put you in an uncomfortable position?” (here you’re trying to gauge: 1) if the person is an honest person, and 2) if they are willing to stand up for their beliefs.

40 Practice Interview Questions – below are 40 questions that all interviewers should be asking. Also, these can be great questions to practice as an interviewee as well:

1. Tell me about a time where you had to deal with a difficult team member, and how you handled the situation?
2. Tell me a time where you voiced your opinion or recommendation despite it not being the popular one?
3. What has been the most rewarding part of your career so far?
4. What makes you stand-out from your peers?
5. If I asked someone you didn’t get along with in the office about you, what would they say is your biggest weakness?
6. If I asked someone you didn’t get along with in the office about you, what would they say is your biggest strength?
7. Can you tell me about a time where you went above and beyond what was being asked of you?
8. Can you tell me about a time where you had to get resourceful in finding a solution to a problem?
9. Can you tell me about a time where you had to get creative in finding a solution to a problem?
10. Who do you look up to the most in this [industry] and why?
11. What blogs do you regularly read?
12. What advice would you give someone just starting out in your area of expertise today?
13. What is the part of your job that still excites you today?
14. What is a part of your job that still manages to frustrate you from time-to-time?
15. What do you think is the greatest leverage recent college grads have in our industry?
16. If you had to start this company from scratch tomorrow with nothing more than a laptop, a cellphone, and $500, what would be the first few things you would do to get gain momentum?
17. What do you think recent retirees in this field most regret?
18. What would you say is the biggest risk in us hiring you for this role?
19. What would you say are the three things that make you unlike anyone else in this candidate pool?
20. What is a quote you like that relates to your professional career?
21. What was the last book you remember highlighting in and taking lots of notes on?
22. What do you think are the biggest threats in this industry?
23. If you could go back 20 years and start a company in our industry, what would you create and why?
24. What part of this work are you generally most excited about?
25. Tell me of a time where your recommendation was rejected and how did you deal with the rejection and bounce back?
26. Can you tell me of a time where you far exceeded performance expectations? How was that done, and more importantly, what are some key characteristics you had then.
27. Would you say your work style is more around starting the day early to make the most out of the morning, or do you prefer to start later in the day and push through until you’re done later at night?
28. How would you stay busy on a 20hr flight?
29. If you were interviewing Richard Branson o Elon Musk, what would you ask and why?
30. Can you tell me of a time where you had a last minute mix-up or failure when presenting to a senior executive or client, and how did you manage?
31. What aspect of your work are you the most passionate about?
32. What aspect of your work are you the least passionate about?
33. If you woke up tomorrow as the new CEO of our top competitor, what three things would you focus on and how would you try to drum up support for your vision internally.
34. What are some ways you leverage data and analytics in your day-to-day role.
35. What tools would you say you’re a power-user in?
36. If you could invent any tool in this industry that you feel solves a big current gap, what would it be and what’s the gap?
37. What do you think are the key traits that make a product successful (or not) online.
38. Can you tell me of a time when you didn’t have an answer to something and how did you go about communicating that you didn’t know?
39. What are some things you’re excited to learn about this year in this field?
40. Can you tell me of a time where a frustration eventually led to a break-through and excitement?