In this blog, we’re discussing some of the top challenges a new remote employee might face with virtual onboarding and how organizations can help set them up for success—starting as early in the process as the job posting.
What Is Remote Onboarding?
Onboarding remote employees requires a few key elements, such as introducing, integrating and orienting a worker with a company’s culture, policies and procedures. This happens either entirely or partially through virtual means, rather than in person.
Remote workers have become much more typical over the last handful of years, with approximately 22 million employed adults working from home 100 percent of the time. With the rise of remote work and distributed teams, many companies have had to adapt their traditional onboarding processes. The process usually involves using various digital tools and platforms to facilitate orientation sessions, training modules, meetings, access to company resources and documentation and more.
Even remote onboarding, which you’d expect to be a fairly uniform process across the board given the inherent limitations, can look different from one organization to the next. However, there are a few main components and onboarding best practices that are to be expected, such as:
Virtual orientation sessions: Introduction to company culture, values, mission and policies through online presentations or videos.
Digital training materials: Access to online courses, tutorials and documentation to learn about job responsibilities, software tools and processes.
Virtual meetings: Scheduled video calls with managers, remote team members and HR representatives to discuss job expectations, goals and performance evaluation criteria.
Digital communication channels: Utilizing email, instant messaging platforms and project management tools for ongoing communication, collaboration and feedback.
Remote access to resources: Provision of necessary equipment, software and access to company databases.
Regular check-ins: Scheduled virtual meetings to assess progress, address concerns and provide additional support as needed.
These could be considered the bare minimum requirements of an onboarding plan. However, to reap the benefits of a truly effective strategy, including better employee retention and a more meaningful employee experience, it’s important to understand common challenges first.
Top Challenges With Remote Onboarding
Surprisingly, only about 12 percent of employees in the U.S. say that their organizations have a good onboarding process — so getting virtual onboarding right can really set you apart from your competition. With an ever-expanding remote workforce, being able to adapt to this new normal will only strengthen company culture over time.
Remote onboarding isn’t without its challenges, just like its face-to-face counterpart. To facilitate the most meaningful remote onboarding experience for new employees, being aware of common challenges is key to developing strategies to overcome them and can help both you and remote hires succeed.
For context, here are a few typical challenges with remote onboarding processes:
Technological barriers
Some candidates, especially older generations, may not be as comfortable with certain technologies as others. Remote onboarding sessions should provide training to help get tech-averse employees up to speed.
Limited personal interaction
Remote onboarding lacks the face-to-face interaction indicative of more traditional working arrangements, where it’s easier to build relationships between new hires and colleagues. In a virtual environment, it can be more challenging for new employees to feel connected to the company culture and other team members.
Lack of supervision
Without direct supervision and timely feedback on their initial performance, new employees may struggle to effectively learn and adapt to their roles.
Disengagement
Remote work can be isolating, especially for new hires who may feel disconnected from their peers and the organization itself. Without the informal interactions and socialization opportunities provided by an office environment, new employees may struggle to integrate and engage with their teams.
Difficulty building trust and rapport
Establishing trust and rapport between new hires and their managers and colleagues can be more challenging in a remote environment. Building strong relationships in these virtual settings requires an intentional effort to foster open communication, collaboration and camaraderie.
Remote Onboarding Checklist: Building An Effective Plan
As an employer interested in hiring remote employees, you should be committed to facilitating success for each new hire in your remote environment.
That means providing the appropriate tools, software, and support that remote workers need to thrive in their new roles. At a high level, that effort also includes committing to and/or developing:
Clear communication: Provide clear instructions and expectations for the remote onboarding process, including timelines, objectives and resources. Regularly communicate with new hires through various digital channels to ensure they feel informed and supported.
A structured onboarding plan: Develop a comprehensive onboarding plan that outlines the training modules, orientation sessions and milestones new hires will complete during their first weeks and months on the job. Break down tasks into manageable steps and provide access to relevant resources and materials.
Feedback and evaluation: Solicit feedback from new hires about their remote onboarding experience to identify areas for improvement and ensure ongoing optimization of the process. Evaluate the effectiveness of the onboarding program based on new hires’ performance, engagement and satisfaction levels.
A Remote Onboarding Checklist For New Remote Hires
Now that you know what your organization should have in place for the best chance at successful virtual onboarding, here’s a checklist that you can provide to employees ahead of the remote onboarding process to ensure they’re fully prepared:
Test your internet connection to ensure it’s stable and reliable.
Ensure you have all the necessary hardware (computer, headset, etc.) and software (messaging apps, project management platforms, etc.) If provided by the company, be sure to reach out to get an idea of when you can expect the equipment to arrive if it hasn’t been made clear.
Confirm contact information with HR and that you have access to all necessary apps and programs.
Designate a quiet workspace in your home without distractions.
Familiarize yourself with the organization’s culture, values and professional standards so you know what to expect as you start the transition.
Prepare to introduce yourself to each new team member you meet.
Remote Onboarding Made Simpler with Applicantstack
Applicantstack streamlines onboarding tasks to get new remote hires integrated into your organization quickly and effectively.
Our software has everything you (and your remote employees) need to succeed, all in one place. Import hires, upload forms, create tasks, set reminders and so much more in a centralized platform that’s easy to use.
Hiring new employees is a huge time investment. Growing your small business sometimes takes labor from various departments, with hiring contributions from a lot of people. After all that, you want to be sure the new hires stick with you and become valued members of the team.
Employee retention is a concern in companies of all sizes, but for small businesses, it’s especially vital to avoid costly disruptions. More than just offering a bonus or a perk here or there, employee retention practices start with the first job posting and go well beyond the interviews and job offers. Here are our best tips for better employee retention.
1. Crafting Clear Job Descriptions
Job seekers likely read dozens if not hundreds of job descriptions. The typical cliché language (“rockstar”, “go-getter”, “team-player”) starts to blur together and might even make a candidate click right on by your posting. From the first interaction with your company, you want a potential hire to stop and feel intrigued, impressed, and interested in submitting a résumé without delay.
Avoid vague language that doesn’t accurately describe the work or, worse, actively misleads someone. There’s no better way to chase someone off than by revealing a totally different set of responsibilities than what was listed in the posting.
Rather than recycling old postings with a few changed words, consider taking the time to rewrite in a conversational tone that sounds welcoming and has enough specifics to help the right candidate apply. Share just enough about the company to make you stand out, e.g. the most important product you sell, a tidbit about company culture, or any relevant accolades. Chances are the candidate will seek out your website and social media, but remaining deliberately mysterious doesn’t serve anyone.
ApplicantStack provides an ideal system for creating and sharing job descriptions. You’ll never have to go searching in the cloud for that one missing document ever again. Plus, templates make it easy to save the information you need.
2. Ensuring Salary Transparency
Many companies lean towards always posting a salary range in job postings, particularly those in states where legislation has been passed to require it. Some companies remain squeamish, though, and industry experts suggest “without it, employees—and job candidates—trust those companies less, which in turn could blunt companies’ competitive edge.”
No one is willing to work for free, so an awkward culture around salary discussion and negotiation can be a big reason why you can’t retain valuable employees. Salary transparency goes beyond that initial description in the job posting. It also means your employees are free to discuss compensation without fear of retribution. It means management is willing to discuss compensation matters outside of scheduled performance reviews. Openness around a formerly taboo topic can very well be the reason an employee stays or goes.
3. Providing Access to Flexible Schedules
A Pew Research Study in 2021 found that 45 percent of people who quit a job in 2021 cited “not enough flexibility to choose when to put in hours” as their reason. To be sure, 2021 was a unique time in the world’s history, but for many workers, a flexible work schedule became non-negotiable. There are some jobs where fully or even partially remote work isn’t a good fit, but where possible, a flexible schedule may be the thing that can help you hire an ideal candidate in the first place and keep them satisfied in the longer-term.
It may take some creative thinking to figure out how to transform a former in-person job to something fully remote or hybrid. Chances are, you’ve been applying creative thinking all over the company since 2020. There is real power in negotiation and compromise in helping talented employees stay and give quality work.
4. Creating Advancement Opportunities
In that same Pew study from 2021, a whopping 63 percent of employees who resigned cited “no opportunities for advancement” as their reason. The ebb and flow of small business growth may mean that day-to-day operations sometimes take precedence over keeping up with employees’ career aspirations. However, based on that statistic, it’s clearly worth some curiosity.
Though some employees might be an open book when it comes to ambition, others might be quietly harboring resentment that they aren’t approached for raises or moves up the management ladder. Developing a company strategy for frequent check-ins may prove to be one of the most valuable ways to retain employees. This kind of open communication may reveal opportunities for mentorship or even previously unknown skills that are a good fit for other jobs within the company.
5. Offering Competitive Perks and Benefits
An on-time paycheck, health insurance, and a safe space to work are the bare minimum for a company employee. Beyond that, you can show your workers how much you value their efforts by adding in perks and benefits that improve their life circumstances in real ways. Here are some ideas:
Wellness initiatives like gym memberships, massages, or complimentary food and drinks at work
Work-life balance benefits like generous PTO and sick and family leave, or allowances for time away for appointments or family obligations
Personal development opportunities like conferences or classes
Paid volunteer opportunities, either individual or as a company
Workspace personalization allowance for things like plants, standing desks or walking pads, and freedom for personal decor
Commuting assistance for public transportation or fuel stipends
Employee retention depends on people being valued for the complete person they bring to their work. Successful companies need more than just skills and labor. Acknowledging that value begins at the first contact. Subsequent interviews can demonstrate the culture a person is capable of bringing to your company.
ApplicantStack gives you a place to manage candidates, cataloging and keeping track of first impressions. You can get a sense of how a candidate will fit in and whether you think they could be happy in your business. An eye on retention may help you value these soft skills even more than the ones listed on the candidate’s résumé.
The term “ghosting” originated in the app-heavy world of online dating. Two people start communicating past the first inbox message. Then, one party disappears without a “sorry, but” message, never to be heard from again. In job seeking, ghosting refers to when either the candidate or the employer drops out of the interview process without explanation. Invitations go unread, interview appointments remain unconfirmed, and emails sit unopened.
Ghosting Is On the Rise
According to a survey conducted by Indeed in 2021, the shift in the employment market during the pandemic meant ghosting on either side became much more common. More than three-quarters of job seekers report being ghosted by an employer. On the other hand, 76 percent of employers in the same survey say they, too, have been ghosted. Statistics tell the story of a frustrating experience on both sides of the hiring process. Candidates ghosted by hiring managers can feel undervalued, discouraged, indignant, or angry. On the company side, it can feel equally discouraging and like a tremendous waste of resources. For small businesses in particular, growth can present huge challenges, and efficiency is crucial.
As a prospective employer, you can’t control every candidate’s behavior. But you can control how you internally manage the hiring process to reduce the risk of being ghosted. At its core, ghosting happens when one side gives up on the potential relationship. Here are some tips to reduce applicant ghosting.
3 Tips to Stop Applicants Ghosting You
Improve Engagement
This word may be mostly tied to social media in our minds. Engagement describes the ability to create content that keeps your viewer in front of their screen and ideally willing to comment, like, subscribe, click, or purchase. In the interview process, your content is the candidate’s experience at each step of the hiring process. Ask yourself:
Do our emails sound friendly and professional?
Do we encourage questions and appear open to follow-up communication?
Are meeting invitations sent in a timely fashion with clear instructions on how to use the tech?
Does the candidate know what to expect in an interview, e.g., who will be in attendance, how long it will last, whether it’s one of a series of interviews?
Sure, you’ll use some form emails to streamline the process. ApplicantStack can help keep you organized at each step of the way. But the content of the communication should sound authentic, open, friendly, and inviting. Candidates want to feel like their presence in the interview process is valued and worth the company’s time.
Maintain Transparency
Job seekers often describe being misled by postings. Job descriptions are couched in language that may not accurately describe the daily duties. You can imagine that while this tactic may have a high rate of inquiry, it has a low rate of follow-through. Honesty really is the best policy in job postings and follow-up communication. Just like you expect the candidate to tell the truth on their resume, transparency on the employer side establishes trust from the first interaction. Without trust, you are much more likely to be ghosted. You have to earn a candidate’s respect.
Along with accurate job descriptions, candidates want transparency in salary and benefits. Reporting by CNBC in November 2023 discovered that “beyond any material impact on wage levels, rising pay transparency has had the largest effect on how employees and employers behave during the job-seeking and hiring processes. Employers are using pay transparency to attract candidates who are actually willing to receive the pay that is listed—and discourage others from applying.” When you start with your cards on the table, the candidates you attract are less likely to ghost you later when the salary is revealed and it’s unattractive to them.
Offer Clarity
On each side of the hiring table, people are multi-tasking. Hiring managers have multiple candidates at varying stages of the interview process. Job seekers live in a state of inquiring with and waiting on multiple companies, often running on different time tables. It’s a process that can make your head spin without an excellent system of organization. For the hiring side, ApplicantStack gives you all the tools you need to keep track of each candidate at every stage in the process. As you adjust the tool to fit your company’s needs, consider re-evaluating the clarity of each message you send.
Does the candidate understand the steps of the submission, interview, and hiring process?
Do they know what stage they are in?
Do they know how to withdraw their name from consideration?
Do they know where to direct questions?
Do you give an estimated response time or update if that can’t be met?
Attentive hiring managers who give as much information as possible are the least likely to be ghosted. Online job boards are full of people asking “how do I tell a company I’m not interested anymore?” The answers vary widely, but that general advice may not apply to your company. Communicating your company’s preference can relieve a candidate’s anxiety on how to handle this potentially awkward situation that very commonly leads to ghosting.
Use Different Communication Methods
You may have trouble getting ahold of candidates via email, only to feel like you’ve been ghosted. But some people simply forget to manage their inboxes efficiently, leading to missed messages. ApplicantStack makes it easy to communicate with job seekers where they are—on their phones. Here’s an interesting statistic: 98 percent of texts are read within two minutes of receipt. By contrast, roughly 20 percent of emails get opened and read within that timeframe. When you consider the high risk of an email getting filtered and not seen at all, it’s clear that texting is the winner for communication.
You can never control another person’s behavior, but you can adjust your hiring practices to mitigate applicant ghosting. Using organizational tools backed by transparency and excellent communication can lead to positive hiring relationships. Learn more about the features built into ApplicantStack when you start your free (no strings attached) trial.
Recruitment has become more challenging in the recent past. Between the tight labor market, increased competition for top talent and an aging population, recruiters have faced new difficulties when trying to find and bring on new hires. Helping your company and open positions stand out is critical in remaining competitive and appealing to talented individuals. Explore our guide to video recruitment marketing and the benefits of utilizing video in the hiring process.
What is Video Recruitment Marketing?
Video recruitment marketing is a technique that utilizes video content to outline the hiring process, what it’s like to work for a company and what to expect. Since video is the most widely shared form of content, it’s worth investing in videos to support recruitment efforts.
Creating recruiting videos might involve outlining what the culture is like at the company, as well as emphasizing the benefits of working there. You could enlist the support of current employees, who can become brand ambassadors in their efforts to encourage others to join the team.
What are the Advantages of Video Recruitment?
Video recruitment efforts can bring a number of appealing advantages.
Say more in less time
Videos can say more in a shorter amount of time, as viewers can watch the content quickly rather than having to invest time in reading it. Research indicates that marketers have approximately eight seconds to grab someone’s attention. A video is more likely to achieve that aim than a piece of written content, as the visual movement coupled with engaging sound are attention-grabbing.
Tailor videos for each step of the recruiting funnel
When you tailor different videos to speak to every step of the recruitment process, jobseekers know what to expect. This information can provide valuable insights and keep applicants engaged. By contrast, if your company doesn’t issue any information regarding what to expect in terms of communication and feedback, jobseekers may lose interest or look elsewhere when they don’t hear from the hiring manager.
Utilize video where text and images don’t work
In areas where text and images simply don’t garner much attention, a video can be a game-changer. For example, more than 300 million people spend time on social media platforms daily, browsing and scrolling through feeds. They may not stop on a text-heavy post, but a video that begins playing before they stop scrolling could cause them to pause and watch. Videos shared by friends and contacts on social media are also more likely to get additional views.
Promote brand image
When you want to promote your brand image and look more established, professional video content can support these goals. With relevant, engaging and concise elements, your company can also stand out in a sea of organizations seeking top talent.
Where Can Recruitment Videos Work Best?
There are many different applications where recruitment videos can add a lot of value. These include:
On your career site: If your business has an established career site, incorporating video can appeal to those who come searching for open positions. This site is a good place to include video testimonials from current employees and content that emphasizes the culture.
In job postings: When applicants get to job listings, they should be able to get a sense of what to expect. Include video content in job postings that is easy to view without navigating away from the application page.
At job fairs and conferences: When participating in job fairs and hiring conferences, consider how you can help your business stand out by utilizing professional videos. Show them on a loop on a screen in your booth or provide a QR code that allows potential applicants to watch the videos instantly.
On social platforms: As mentioned, millions of people are on social media platforms at any given time. Expand your reach by sharing videos through your social networks and encourage employees to do the same.
On video advertising platforms: If you want to put money behind your recruitment videos, consider utilizing advertising platforms geared toward video content.
Throughout the hiring process: Share videos with applicants throughout the process to keep them informed and engaged.
Through employees: Ask happy and engaged employees to take part in the recruitment process by sharing videos with their friends and family. Internal referrals tend to have higher engagement and retention rates.
Examples of Effective Recruitment Videos
Need some inspiration? Check out a few effective recruitment videos:
Apple
This video is demonstrative of Apple’s culture, focused heavily on innovation and creativity. It showcases what the organization does and the value placed on diversity as employees speak various languages throughout.
Zappos
In the recent past, Zappos has adjusted its culture and management structure, replacing the traditional “boss-employee” hierarchy with self-management opportunities. The company’s documentary-inspired recruitment video emphasizes the importance of culture fit.
Starbucks
With more than 28,000 locations across the globe, the massive coffee chain is among the largest restaurants in the world. In this recruitment video, viewers get a sense of the welcoming, supportive environment where every team member is considered a partner.
Dropbox
This video features the perspective of colorful puppets, creating a quirky video that’s sure to stick in the minds of viewers. The humorous expressions on the puppet’s face also provide insights into the playful company culture.
Manage Your Candidates with ApplicantStack
As you consider how to incorporate video into your recruitment efforts, it’s worth thinking about how your business will manage the influx of candidates as they see your videos and apply for open roles. ApplicantStack is an excellent tool for businesses of all sizes, offering budget-friendly pricing and robust features.
Everyone involved in the hiring process can view candidate status, identify next steps and move top talent through various stages with ease. Keep everyone on the same page while keeping track of notes and recommendations in one place. Additionally, ApplicantStack makes it easy to text candidates. Since texts have a 200 percent higher response rate than emails, you can see the immediate value of this feature.
When you’re looking to bring on top talent, you may find yourself scanning resumés for specific skills. We’re outlining nine of the most in-demand skills to look for in 2024, including both hard and soft skills and how they differ.
What are Hard and Soft Skills?
Hard and soft skills are unique abilities that a candidate may possess, supporting their ability to perform the duties of a specific role. Hard skills are more technical in nature, often referring to specialized knowledge that someone brings to a role. By contrast, soft skills represent how an individual approaches their work and handles specific aspects of the workplace.
Why Do Skills Matter?
Hiring for skills is valuable for a variety of reasons. Today’s employers are often looking for applicants who can get started in their roles right away and make meaningful contributions. Specific skills can support these needs and help new hires feel comfortable in what they bring to open positions.
According to a recent Pulse article on LinkedIn, while education provides foundational knowledge, skills bring an individual’s knowledge to life. These practical tools allow people to apply what they learn to real-life scenarios, boosting their value in a professional setting. When you look for people with certain skills, you may find that they’re more successful even than those who have completed educational programs.
Top 4 Hard Skills to Seek in Candidates
Here are four of the most critical hard skills that can bring great value to your organization.
Analytics
As the world continues to be more and more driven by data, analytics skills are essential in the workplace. This hard skill allows for the interpretation of complex data, using that information to glean insights and make informed decisions that benefit the organization.
Sales
Whether your business sells a product or a service, it’s impossible to succeed without actually making sales. A skilled salesperson understands the core fundamentals of this role, which involve building and strengthening relationships to bring in customers. In a shifting economy, individuals with proven sales skills will stand out. The ability to leverage AI tools is an added bonus in today’s market.
Project management
Managing projects is a crucial element of keeping collaborators on track and achieving business goals. The ability to keep tasks organized and moving along is highly valuable in any workplace, and it’s a hard skill worth looking for in candidates who will be involved with projects.
Design
Many roles require design skills, and the ability to put together something that looks appealing while conveying essential information is highly useful. Designers typically understand color theory, typography, and print layout design, and bring skills in the Adobe Acrobat suite.
Top 5 Soft Skills to Look for in Applicants
When searching for top talent, look for these five soft skills.
Communication
The ability to communicate effectively is a necessary skill in today’s workplace. As many workplaces have shifted to remote or hybrid schedules, people need to be able to utilize different platforms to collaborate and stay in contact. Even in-person work requires ongoing communication to motivate and connect.
Leadership
Strong leaders are vital to the growth and success of any business. From supervisors of entry-level individuals to c-level company leaders, those who lead others must have strong skills to motivate and inspire their teams.
Customer service
Although some of the aspects of serving customers can be automated, others should be left firmly in the hands of real people. The ability to cultivate relationships, listen carefully and build trust are among the soft skills of customer service that can’t be outsourced to an AI platform. Look for people who have these skills to fill roles that include customer interaction.
Teamwork
Working as a team may look different than it once did, especially if your workplace has gone remote or hybrid. But even in the face of friction or unique challenges, the ability to collaborate with and support team members is highly useful. Teams that are able to work together remain better aligned, driving results.
Problem-solving
As business leaders and employees encounter new challenges, potentially brought on by shifts in the industry or adjustments to the way they perform their duties, they need to be able to resolve them effectively. Problem-solving skills involve applying strategic and critical thinking, helping each team member to thrive.
Use ApplicantStack to Filter and Manage Candidates
Most people looking for a job can rattle off a series of the most common interview questions without even thinking about it. At its core, the interview process is a way to get to know how your candidate will perform at work. Conventional wisdom says the old standby interview questions will get at those core answers; after all, if they didn’t work, why would people still be using them?
We’d like to suggest that looking beyond the most common interview questions can generate some insightful conversation. A small business owner can’t afford to spend time just going through the motions, especially in a period of exciting growth. Once you’ve identified the best candidates, we have some ideas for the best interview questions to ask.
Leave the Vague Questions Behind
People active in job searching will likely have answered some version of “Tell us your best and worst attributes” many times over. A rehearsed answer may not help the people on either side of the table gain any insight. LinkedIn gathered interviewing feedback from hundreds of participants and the key indicator was that a connection with those going through the interview process is a primary indicator of a job offer.
Far from just a self-help term, connection is the way to engage your candidate so they are comfortable revealing aspects of themselves that go beyond the lines of the resume. It says you’re willing to engage in a dialogue that isn’t just the interviewer asking a question and the candidate giving the expected answer. It invites the job seeker to ask questions during the process, which can demonstrate collaboration and open communication. It can put both parties in the interview at ease and open to meaningful interactions. Connection releases the interviewer from a strict question list. It allows organic conversation that reveals the right person for the job.
Interrogate your list of interview questions with this thought: Do I actually care about the answer to this question? If your answer is “not really,” it’s time for some new questions.
Interview Question Examples
The following examples are for two categories of questions: Behavioral and Leadership.
Behavioral interviews allow the candidate to describe and assess reactions to professional situations. Ideally, they feel comfortable offering candid and introspective answers.
Leadership questions might be used when promoting internally or considering a new role for an existing employee. Since you likely have some experience with the employee’s strengths and weaknesses, you can focus your questions on how they might respond to a promotion or added managerial responsibilities.
Behavioral Question Examples
Describe some of your best working relationships or collaborations. What made them work well? This question shines a light on collaboration as a company value, and lets a candidate show you how comfortable (or uncomfortable) they are with teamwork.
Tell me about a time you were under a lot of stress. How did you cope? Did you take any lessons away from that experience? This question helps you see what situation a candidate classifies as stressful and how they handle it.
Have you ever had a job with numerous responsibilities? How do you keep organized and give appropriate attention to all of it? This question probes the candidate’s ability to multitask and can reveal their personal organizational systems. It can indicate if they are familiar with task management software or applications that your company also uses.
Can you think of a difficult conversation you had with a client or co-worker? How did you handle it and what lessons did you learn? All prospective employees may not be able to answer this question candidly, but what they choose to tell may still be revealing about conflict management style.
Tell me about a professional role model or mentor. What did they teach you? This question gives insight into teachability, how someone values a mentor relationship, and maybe even whether they see themselves as a potential mentor.
What are previous job responsibilities you’d rather not do again? This question invites the candidate to be introspective and honest. It shows empathy for the reality that every aspect of every job isn’t perfect.
What job responsibilities have you enjoyed the most? Conversely, this question offers a chance for them to be positive and describe their talents from a different angle.
What do you do for work/life balance? This question helps you learn about the person’s hobbies (always within legal question parameters) and shows the company values prioritizing life outside work.
Leadership Question Examples
Are you excited by the challenges of leadership? How would you describe those challenges? This question is a fairly direct way of asking someone if they feel ready to take on a more managerial role. Body language may be an important answer along with what’s said.
What is your ideal team structure? This question helps you learn the candidate’s prior experience on teams and how they prefer to work.
Think of a project that hasn’t gone smoothly. How do you collaborate with team members to address issues? This question can help you learn about the candidate’s tolerance for confrontation or avoidance and the methods they use to communicate with co-workers.
What process do you use to determine time requirements for your projects? This question can help you learn what software programs or systems the candidate uses for time management.
Have you ever served as a trainer or mentor? What did you like or not like about that role? This question ideally allows the candidate to be honest about things that did and didn’t work for them in the past. A follow-up question might be something about what they might have learned being mentored themselves.
As the interviewer, there’s room to ask follow-up questions if you want more details, like “How did that change your view of your work?” or “What have you taken from that experience that’s influenced your professional life?” or “Is there anything you would do differently?” Follow-up questions show you’re engaged and listening and fostering the all-important connection during the interview.
Going into an interview organized is vital to encourage efficiency and connection. In particular, employees in a small business often wear multiple hats and need access to hiring information. A tool like ApplicantStack not only helps you keep track of your potential hires, but it can be a place for collaboration on the best interview questions and scheduling interviews with top candidates. When your company is growing, ApplicantStack can help. Try it for free today!
