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Remote interviews boomed in the last year, with more companies moving into digital workplace arrangements and seeking out talent that can help them settle into the new normal.
But virtual interview questions don’t come naturally to everyone. Some companies are still catching up, updating their interview processes and upgrading their onboarding systems.
Thankfully, the impactful questions that help you find the best candidate for your company haven’t changed that dramatically. We’ve created a comprehensive list of questions ready for your upcoming remote interviews so you can focus on optimising other components of the virtual hiring process.
Why remote interviews are different
Remote interviews and face to face ones are similar, but they’re not identical. Other than the obvious elimination of the travel, waste-down dress code, and shuffling through magazines in a waiting room, remote interviewers lose the non-verbal cues that they usually lean into when interviewing candidates.
In-person interviews often let the company wow the candidate a little with a prestigious office, a complimentary drink, or other amenities that show attention to detail. In digital interviews, there’s not a lot of chance to impress candidates aside from preparing well, being on time, and having a nice background.
In remote interviews, the candidate can control the image you have of them. They are comfortable where they are and can blur out a background they don’t want to show. In-person interviews require the candidate to think quickly in a foreign environment, giving the employer the home field advantage.
There are also different rules for online meeting etiquette that both the interviewer and candidate have to follow.
Employers have to prepare more to get a holistic picture of candidates. With the standard show-you-around-the-office tours and introductions out, employers have to use tech to make the interviewing process as seamless as possible for the candidates.
Advantages and disadvantages of remote interviews
Remote interviewing carries with it some advantages as well as potential risks. Let’s start with the advantages.
It’s cheaper. Remote interviewing lowers expenditure for companies by eliminating the travel costs, office rent, meals, and others.
It saves time. Digital interviews eliminate the travel time, and also tend to be more efficient and end earlier.
You can keep a recording. Things can get hazy once you’ve gone through 70 or so candidates. A virtual interview can be recorded and you can look back on those records to sort through the candidates before you hire. You can also have them reviewed by others to make sure you didn’t let your bias creep out. Just make sure to let the candidates know you’re recording!
It widens the candidate pool. Remote opportunities enable you to consider talent from all over the globe, increasing the chances that you get the best fit for the job.
It makes life easier for candidates. Interviews can be nerve-wracking. Remote interviews take a bit of the edge off and allow candidates to get through the interview with more confidence.
Let’s move on to some of the disadvantages that come with remote interviews.
The tech gives out. It’s not ideal when you’re conducting an interview and you or the candidate start having connection problems or experience lag. If it does happen, it might give you a peek into how they problem-solve.
Less opportunity to interact with the team. It’s harder to show a candidate around and introduce them to team members when you’re having a virtual interview. If building rapport with other team members is important for the role, consider letting in other coworkers at some point in the interview.
What types of virtual interview questions do you need to ask during remote interviews?
The types of virtual interview questions are influenced by the kind of work the candidates will do.
The interview might be the only opportunity to determine if you and the candidate can work together well. Your questions will then be focused particularly on the kind of work that needs to get done, how the candidate meets deadlines and overcomes obstacles.
When the job requires a lot of video time, you assess their skills during the remote interview, and that affects your questions. You focus more on how tech savvy a candidate is, how well they present themselves and how effective their communication skills are.
If a job has a large collaboration component, tailor your questions accordingly. Questions should revolve around the candidate’s attitude towards teamwork, how they establish rapport with coworkers and how they navigate disputes.
For some roles, by the time you get to an actual live interview, they’ve already demonstrated the essential skills and the interview is more of a chance to get to know them. You should focus your virtual interview questions more on their personal work style and how you can work best together.
Judging responses
Just like experiencing tech difficulties shines a light on how tech savvy and adaptable a candidate is, questions that throw the individual off guard gives them a chance to demonstrate how quick they are on their feet.
Asking questions that place the candidate in uncharted waters is good. But that’s not an excuse to not prepare for interviews or asking wildly off-base questions.
When ask a challenging question, look out for some of these good signals:
- They’re not afraid to ask you to repeat or reword the question
- They take their time to answer
- They’re confident enough to say: ‘I don’t know – let me get back to you on that.’ And actually do.
- They take a positive angle/demonstrate transferable skills when they’re lacking in a particular area: ‘No – I haven’t written a grant before. I have, however, written several business proposals and believe I can draw from those experiences.’
Questions for remote interviews
We’ve created this list of standardized questions that work across disciplines and will help you learn what makes a candidate wake up in the morning and what makes them tick.
Motivation and time management
1. How do you organize your day-to-day tasks?
2. How do you stay motivated when working alone?
3. Tell me about a project you took on by yourself. How did it go?
4. How do you limit distractions when you’re working?
5. When was a time you hit a slump at work and how did you recover from it?
6. Have you ever taken more work than your capacity allows? How did it turn out?
7. What tools do you use to help you manage your time and work?
Troubleshooting and problem solving
8. Tell me about a time when you faced an obstacle in a project and how you overcame the obstacle.
9. What steps do you take before attempting to resolve an issue?
10. Have you ever played a role in helping someone who reported to you grow in their job? What did you do?
11. Describe a time when you had to fix a problem when you didn’t have access to all the information and resources you needed.
12. How do you handle a sudden change in work requirements or result expectations?
13. Have you ever identified a problem or flaw in a project or approach? What did you do?
Communication, teamwork, and negotiation
14. What do you do to find common ground with coworkers who differ greatly from you?
15. What tools do you use for effective communication with team members?
16. Describe a time when the team missed a deadline because of a coworker and how you handled that situation.
17. How would you react if a colleague told you they couldn’t help you with a task because they had other priorities.
18. What would you do if a colleague shared with you that they’d been disrespected by a senior manager?
19. Have you ever left a disagreement on bad terms?
20. Would colleagues at different levels in the organization describe you differently? If so, why?
21. What kind of people have you hired in the past and do you regret any of your hires?
Professional development and values
22. What is a skill you’d like to build on or acquire on the job or through training?
23. What are your thoughts on diversity, inclusion and affirmative action?
24. What would you say are the best and hardest aspects of working with you?
25. What’s something you would change about yourself if you could?
These virtual interview questions work just as well as they would in an in-person interview. They’ll help you gain a better understanding of how the candidate deals with adversity and teamwork and if they are a good fit for your company. You probably ask a lot of them already – but for those that you missed in the past, try them out at the next interview.
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
Remote interviews boomed in the last year, with more companies moving into digital workplace arrangements and seeking out talent that can help them settle into the new normal.
But virtual interview questions don’t come naturally to everyone. Some companies are still catching up, updating their interview processes and upgrading their onboarding systems.
Thankfully, the impactful questions that help you find the best candidate for your company haven’t changed that dramatically. We’ve created a comprehensive list of questions ready for your upcoming remote interviews so you can focus on optimising other components of the virtual hiring process.
Why remote interviews are different
Remote interviews and face to face ones are similar, but they’re not identical. Other than the obvious elimination of the travel, waste-down dress code, and shuffling through magazines in a waiting room, remote interviewers lose the non-verbal cues that they usually lean into when interviewing candidates.
In-person interviews often let the company wow the candidate a little with a prestigious office, a complimentary drink, or other amenities that show attention to detail. In digital interviews, there’s not a lot of chance to impress candidates aside from preparing well, being on time, and having a nice background.
In remote interviews, the candidate can control the image you have of them. They are comfortable where they are and can blur out a background they don’t want to show. In-person interviews require the candidate to think quickly in a foreign environment, giving the employer the home field advantage.
There are also different rules for online meeting etiquette that both the interviewer and candidate have to follow.
Employers have to prepare more to get a holistic picture of candidates. With the standard show-you-around-the-office tours and introductions out, employers have to use tech to make the interviewing process as seamless as possible for the candidates.
Advantages and disadvantages of remote interviews
Remote interviewing carries with it some advantages as well as potential risks. Let’s start with the advantages.
It’s cheaper. Remote interviewing lowers expenditure for companies by eliminating the travel costs, office rent, meals, and others.
It saves time. Digital interviews eliminate the travel time, and also tend to be more efficient and end earlier.
You can keep a recording. Things can get hazy once you’ve gone through 70 or so candidates. A virtual interview can be recorded and you can look back on those records to sort through the candidates before you hire. You can also have them reviewed by others to make sure you didn’t let your bias creep out. Just make sure to let the candidates know you’re recording!
It widens the candidate pool. Remote opportunities enable you to consider talent from all over the globe, increasing the chances that you get the best fit for the job.
It makes life easier for candidates. Interviews can be nerve-wracking. Remote interviews take a bit of the edge off and allow candidates to get through the interview with more confidence.
Let’s move on to some of the disadvantages that come with remote interviews.
The tech gives out. It’s not ideal when you’re conducting an interview and you or the candidate start having connection problems or experience lag. If it does happen, it might give you a peek into how they problem-solve.
Less opportunity to interact with the team. It’s harder to show a candidate around and introduce them to team members when you’re having a virtual interview. If building rapport with other team members is important for the role, consider letting in other coworkers at some point in the interview.
What types of virtual interview questions do you need to ask during remote interviews?
The types of virtual interview questions are influenced by the kind of work the candidates will do.
The interview might be the only opportunity to determine if you and the candidate can work together well. Your questions will then be focused particularly on the kind of work that needs to get done, how the candidate meets deadlines and overcomes obstacles.
When the job requires a lot of video time, you assess their skills during the remote interview, and that affects your questions. You focus more on how tech savvy a candidate is, how well they present themselves and how effective their communication skills are.
If a job has a large collaboration component, tailor your questions accordingly. Questions should revolve around the candidate’s attitude towards teamwork, how they establish rapport with coworkers and how they navigate disputes.
For some roles, by the time you get to an actual live interview, they’ve already demonstrated the essential skills and the interview is more of a chance to get to know them. You should focus your virtual interview questions more on their personal work style and how you can work best together.
Judging responses
Just like experiencing tech difficulties shines a light on how tech savvy and adaptable a candidate is, questions that throw the individual off guard gives them a chance to demonstrate how quick they are on their feet.
Asking questions that place the candidate in uncharted waters is good. But that’s not an excuse to not prepare for interviews or asking wildly off-base questions.
When ask a challenging question, look out for some of these good signals:
- They’re not afraid to ask you to repeat or reword the question
- They take their time to answer
- They’re confident enough to say: ‘I don’t know – let me get back to you on that.’ And actually do.
- They take a positive angle/demonstrate transferable skills when they’re lacking in a particular area: ‘No – I haven’t written a grant before. I have, however, written several business proposals and believe I can draw from those experiences.’
Questions for remote interviews
We’ve created this list of standardized questions that work across disciplines and will help you learn what makes a candidate wake up in the morning and what makes them tick.
Motivation and time management
1. How do you organize your day-to-day tasks?
2. How do you stay motivated when working alone?
3. Tell me about a project you took on by yourself. How did it go?
4. How do you limit distractions when you’re working?
5. When was a time you hit a slump at work and how did you recover from it?
6. Have you ever taken more work than your capacity allows? How did it turn out?
7. What tools do you use to help you manage your time and work?
Troubleshooting and problem solving
8. Tell me about a time when you faced an obstacle in a project and how you overcame the obstacle.
9. What steps do you take before attempting to resolve an issue?
10. Have you ever played a role in helping someone who reported to you grow in their job? What did you do?
11. Describe a time when you had to fix a problem when you didn’t have access to all the information and resources you needed.
12. How do you handle a sudden change in work requirements or result expectations?
13. Have you ever identified a problem or flaw in a project or approach? What did you do?
Communication, teamwork, and negotiation
14. What do you do to find common ground with coworkers who differ greatly from you?
15. What tools do you use for effective communication with team members?
16. Describe a time when the team missed a deadline because of a coworker and how you handled that situation.
17. How would you react if a colleague told you they couldn’t help you with a task because they had other priorities.
18. What would you do if a colleague shared with you that they’d been disrespected by a senior manager?
19. Have you ever left a disagreement on bad terms?
20. Would colleagues at different levels in the organization describe you differently? If so, why?
21. What kind of people have you hired in the past and do you regret any of your hires?
Professional development and values
22. What is a skill you’d like to build on or acquire on the job or through training?
23. What are your thoughts on diversity, inclusion and affirmative action?
24. What would you say are the best and hardest aspects of working with you?
25. What’s something you would change about yourself if you could?
These virtual interview questions work just as well as they would in an in-person interview. They’ll help you gain a better understanding of how the candidate deals with adversity and teamwork and if they are a good fit for your company. You probably ask a lot of them already – but for those that you missed in the past, try them out at the next interview.
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
