Improve the interview process: 4 types of questions you should ask candidates

Since the Great Resignation is still in full swing, it’s key to get the right employees in the door to fill any job openings in Finance. And it starts with the interview.

Hiring is costly. The better the interview process goes, the more likely it is that you’ll find the best candidate quickly. That’ll make hiring more cost-effective for your company.

To better wade through the sea of applicants and increase your chances of successfully onboarding and retaining new people right away, you need to start off on the right foot during the interview process.

Insight from the interview

Once a candidate makes it to the interview stage, knowing exactly what questions to ask is crucial to finding the right fit.

Here’s a rundown of the four best types of questions to have job-seekers answer in the interview. Their responses will provide insight into the types of workers they are. They’ll also help you make the most informed decision when hiring.

1. Informational questions. Asking candidates to tell you about themselves or their reasons for picking Finance as a career can help you find out general info about their experience and background as a Finance pro. These questions also give you an overview of their strengths and weaknesses. And you can see what they’ve accomplished and their motivations for working in Finance.

2. Functional questions. With these questions, you can delve deeper into the person’s nitty-gritty knowledge of Finance. Ask them specifically about their experience with processing checks, making payments and their familiarity with tax and wage and hour laws. Other good questions include: How well do you work with other departments? and What kind of tech are you familiar with?

3. Behavioral questions. These interview questions will give you an idea of how candidates will react to typical experiences in Finance. Having job-seekers discuss how they’ll tackle year-end prep or how they’d respond to a big Finance change helps you determine if they’re adaptable.

4. Situational questions. Similar to behavioral questions, these give you a better idea of how a job-seeker would handle a specific situation they could encounter in Finance. Topics could include talking to an employee about a paycheck or expense report error or handling a late payment to a vendor. You can also ask how they’d handle a mistake found in an audit.