How to filter the right applicants with the right questions

Selecting the right candidate for a vacancy is crucial to the success of a company. The importance of interview questions is often underestimated. The right questions can not only help you assess an applicant's technical qualifications, but also gain insight into their soft skills and personality. Here are some tips on how to filter the best applicants with the right questions.

1: Understand your requirements 

Before you start the selection process, it is important that you have a clear understanding of the requirements of the vacancy. What skills and qualifications are essential? Which soft skills are particularly relevant for the position? Once you have clarified this, you can formulate questions that directly target these requirements. These questions provide a good basis:

• Can you name the most important skills that you consider essential for this position?
• What qualifications and experience do you have that you can relate directly to the requirements of this position?
• To what extent do you believe that your previous professional experience has prepared you for the specific challenges of this position

2: Ask situational questions

Ask questions that applicants can use to provide specific examples from their previous work experience. Situational questions allow you to understand the applicant's actual behavior in certain situations. These questions can help here:

• Can you share an example from your previous professional experience in which you successfully mastered a challenging task?
• Describe a situation in which you were under pressure and still managed to meet a deadline.
• Can you name a specific contribution you have made to a team project?

3: Check the adaptability

In today's fast-paced business world, adaptability is a key skill. Ask questions that focus on how well applicants can adapt to new situations. Questions in this regard could be:

• Tell us about a time when you had to adapt quickly to a change in your working environment. How did you go about it?
• How do you deal with new technologies or working methods that are introduced in your area?
• Can you give an example of a situation in which you have adapted your way of working to new requirements?

4: Check the problem solving skills

Questions that aim to assess applicants' problem-solving skills are crucial. Ask applicants to describe a situation in which they were confronted with a challenge and ask how they successfully overcame it.

• Tell us about a professional challenge you have faced and how you overcame it.
• Describe a situation in which you proactively found a solution to a problem before it became a major obstacle.
• How do you deal with unexpected obstacles in projects and how have you overcome them in the past?

Conclusion: The art of targeted questions

Selecting the right applicant requires more than just a glance at their CV. The trick is to ask targeted questions that give you an insight into the applicant's skills, personality and adaptability. Situational questions based on specific examples are particularly effective. Remember that the quality of your questions will have a significant impact on the success of your selection process. Take the time to formulate sound, targeted questions and you will be in a better position to select the candidates who are the best fit for your team and your company.