8 Sample Employee Interview Questions

What's the key to hiring the best employees for your nonprofit? There are many answers to that question, but one could arguably be asking probing questions during an employee interview; questions that can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no."

According to Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem in "The Big Book of HR," employers will have a better chance of receiving in-depth answers with these types of questions, which will help them make more informed decisions before hiring. The two authors listed eight sample questions that will give the interviewer a better idea of the behavioral characteristics of the interviewee:

• How would you describe your communication style?
• Tell me about a time when you had to make an unplanned presentation. How did you organize your thoughts? How did you feel about this?
• Describe a situation in which effective interpersonal communication skills contributed to your success.
• Give me an example of a time when you worked on a project with little supervision. How did you get started? Describe the results.
• How would your last employer describe your work habits and ethics?
• As a leader, what do you do when people on your team aren’t pulling their weight?
• What is one of the greatest leadership challenges you have ever faced? What did you do? What was the result?
• How do you handle situations with people who don’t agree with you?