Once you have screened the applicants who have applied for your job and you are down to the top three or four candidates, it is now time to plan the interview. It is a very good idea to plan great job interview questions you are going to ask before you sit down in front of Skype to begin your interview. There are certain questions you should ask which will elicit valuable information about your prospective employee.
You will already have gained some initial information about their work history from the questionnaire they have submitted and this can be used to formulate several questions. You should find out why they left their last job and where they would like to be in five years’ time.
The next area to examine is what they most liked and least liked about their previous job. This gives you an idea about where they might be fitted into your company. The responsibilities they had at their last job and what they considered the most challenging aspects of the job should then be covered.
Here are some more sample phone interview questions to ask these applicants. You then could ask them about the supervisors they have worked under and virtual team they have worked with. Ask them what they liked most about their supervisor and what they liked least. This could help you work out how they like to be managed. Do they like to be micro managed and told every last detail about their job or do then enjoy being given free rein?
Ask them how they like to learn. Do they like video, books or diagrams? For a virtual assistant, a great amount of work will be given through screen recording software probably, so it will help if the person enjoys learning through video.
The person’s opinion of his own greatest strengths and weaknesses will give you a good idea of the type of work he will be capable of and will enjoy doing.
At the core of any business, the customer is key, so your candidate’s view of business and particularly customer service is important. What do you like about business is a good question to ask. You want to find a remote staff who find business stimulating and a challenge. You can ask these great job interview questions, ask them to look into the future and give you an idea of what sorts of skills they would like to acquire. This will help you find people who are keen to grow and improve themselves.
Sometimes questions you ask will get a brief answer only. It is worth pushing the candidate at this point to get more of an insight into what they really think. For example, if you ask them whether they prefer to work alone or as part of a team, many people will initially have a bet both ways and say, they don’t mind either situation. It is worth insisting at this point and saying, if you had to choose, which one would you choose and why.
The interviewing process is a lengthy one and will probably take about an hour or an hour and a half to complete. It is important to be as in depth as possible so that you can find the very best candidate for the job you are offering. It is worth the time spent at this stage so that you ask great job interview questions and find the A player you are after. Hire slowly and fire quickly is an excellent maxim to follow.
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Get the best staff by asking great interview questions.
