Inspirations5 Things to Focus on During a Candidate Interview
A résumé, education, and a cover letter can tell you a lot about a candidate, but who the person really is usually becomes clear only during the job interview. This is when you have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions about things you may have read between the lines in the submitted documents and, through well-chosen questions, gain a clearer picture of the candidate’s character and working style. That is, provided you know how to ask the right questions and what to focus on during the interview. Here are five things you should aim to learn about a candidate during an interview.
Fit with your company culture
One of the most important things to find out during an interview is whether the candidate is a good cultural and personal fit for the company and the team. In other words, whether their style, approach, and priorities are compatible with the company culture that exists in your organization and that you actively seek to promote.
The candidate’s working style and preferred management style
It is also essential to explore how the candidate works and whether they will be comfortable with the management style of their future supervisor. Is the candidate more of an independent worker who prefers to go their own way, or a true team player who likes to rely on others? These insights should be taken into account when deciding whether the candidate is a good fit for the team.
The candidate’s core priorities and motivators
At the same time, you need to understand what motivates the candidate. If you work for a non-profit organization with more limited financial compensation options, but the interview suggests that the candidate is primarily motivated by money, this may indicate that even if there is alignment now and the person is hired, this mismatch would likely surface sooner or later.
Self-reflection and approach to personal development and learning
A good employee should be capable of self-reflection and willing to continue developing. This is especially important if, for example, you are an innovative company that prides itself on creating new processes and coming up with new solutions. Find out how the candidate views personal development and whether this approach aligns with what you expect from the role.
Required hard skills
Everything mentioned so far relates to the candidate’s soft skills. Naturally, it is also necessary to ensure that the candidate possesses the required hard skills for the role and is able to apply them in practice.
Taken from HRNews, Entrepreneur 17.12. 2025
