5 Behavioral Questions to Identify High-Potential Candidates

Can you assess someone’s potential by looking at their soft skills and unique perspectives in just a 30-minute conversation?

It’s not easy to fully understand the person behind the profile in such a short span of time and most HR Practitioners know this! The good news, however, is that behavioral interview questions are a proven way to reveal a person’s potential, specifically their ability to adapt, grow, collaborate, prioritize, lead, and strengthen company culture. Just by looking at their past behavior as well as their skills and experience, you will know if they have all the qualities you need in your next hire.

Are you asking unique interview questions? Or, just the same old, every day, run-of-the-mill ones? Unique interview questions are designed to probe beneath the surface to get that valuable knowledge you require to make the best hiring decisions.

In this article, you’ll learn how to identify a high-profile candidate for your organization.

1. Hire someone with growth potential so they can develop the role and make it their own

   
   What’s the biggest career goal you’ve achieved?

   What to listen for ? Motivation and drive! The candidate shouldn’t be boastful, but rather take pride in their achievements and use each one to help them be more successful.

2. Even when you’re not interviewing for a leadership role, hire people who can inspire

   
   Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone to see things your way. What steps did you take? What were the results?

   What to listen for ? Strong leaders establish credibility and use compelling evidence to reinforce their viewpoint, rather than acting like they know best.

3. Candidates who have mastered prioritization and can juggle key tasks

   
   Tell me about a time when you had to juggle several projects at the same time. How did you organize your time? What was the result?

   What to listen for ?A clear and proactive process for organizing their time. Processes like maintaining a calendar, a to do list and making sure they conform with deadlines. A smart worker is as valuable as a hard worker.

   Describe a time when you felt stressed or overwhelmed. How did you handle it?

   What to listen for ? Signs that planning and prioritization help the candidate to stay calm and focused, but that they also know how to lighten the load by delegating tasks.

4. When a role requires teamwork, strong collaboration skills make a big difference

   
   Describe the best partner or supervisor you’ve worked with. What part of their management style appealed to you?

   What to listen for ? An understanding of their own working style and what kind of personalities they work best with. This also gives you an insight as to the kind of person the candidate is. Whether they learn from their supervisors or only complain about their drawbacks and blame them for failing.

5. Ask unexpected questions

   
   Is it better to submit a project that’s perfect and late, or one that’s good and on time?

   What to listen for ? There is no right answer to this question. It just helps the interviewer determine the character of the candidate and judge whether they are the right fit for the role.

These questions are just tools that can help you possibly give direction to your interview process. Finding a high-profile candidate is like finding a needle in a haystack, even with the necessary tools, you might not always succeed. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the intuition and experience of the interviewer. Do you already use any of these questions? Do you have any points to add to this article? If so, please feel free to reach out to us in the comments!