10 questions firms should be asking their candidates

Posted in Latest News on 31 Jul 2015

All interviews are designed to get under the skin of potential employees; to assess their suitability for the role and to ensure they are a good ‘fit’ for your company from a professional as well as a personal point-of-view.

Whilst there are inevitably standard questions that need to be asked during the interview, it’s important to think innovatively about how to extract more detailed information from your candidate. After all, standard questions often result in standard answers.

And, whilst we’re not suggesting throwing a few ‘brainteasers’ or riddles in there, we’ve found that the questions below are successful in really getting to know the person on the other side of that desk.

1. What type of environment do you thrive in?

Your company will have a specific culture, and this question is designed to see if they fit in with this.

2. What are your views on the current legal market or specific sector?

How much knowledge do they have of the market as a whole? Are they aware of the external environment?

3. How do you see your area of law developing in the next few years?

It’s good to know if the candidate is forward thinking, and if they have an insight into the legal industry.

4. How would you solve this real life problem?

If they’ve solved a problem in their previous role then that’s great, but offer the candidate a real life problem that can occur in your role to see how they would cope in that situation. It’s also a good way to get them thinking-on-their feet to see how they would react on the spot.

5. If you’re presented with this situation, what would be your course of action?

Does the candidate have innovative ideas, and a good range of knowledge on how certain situations should be approached?

6. A new technology is introduced that is quite complex, how would you deal with this change?

Is this potential candidate easily adaptable to change?

7. What are the key motivators in your job?

It’s important to understand potential employees’ motivations, and see how this will fit in with your firm. What drives them as an individual, and does this fit in with your company culture?

8. How do you plan to maximise your learning opportunities in this role?

Are they there to earn their money and go home, or would they like to expand their knowledge and further their career? Are they ambitious?

9. Why would you like to work for us rather than one of our key competitors?

Does the candidate have knowledge of your firm, and who your competitors are? Do they think that your firm would be a good cultural fit for them?

10. Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

This will show you if the candidate is aware of the legal market around them, and perhaps why they chose a legal career in the first place. 

This list could be endless, but it should hopefully guide you towards a more in depth and real life approach when interviewing potential candidates.

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