Top 10 Interview Questions For Hiring The Right People

Like summer temperatures, the labor market is red-hot right now. And as organizations add new positions — to the tune of 33% according to the 2022 Demand for Skilled Talent report — it’s vital that their current goals come through during the interview process.

As CEO of an accelerated-learning company, I’ve co-developed interview techniques to meet the hiring needs of organizations like Delta, Samsung and Novartis. If you’ve recently kicked off a change program to promote simplification or innovation, consider including or customizing the following interview questions for your own org:

1. How would you define innovation?

2. Can you name someone who successfully simplified a complex business or industry?

3. If hired, what are a few ways you’d make simplification a habit within your org?

4. What’s an example of a disruptive question that you’ve asked in the workplace?

5. In your opinion, which managerial habits fuel complexity? How would you seek to break the cycle?

6. Similarly, when you encounter someone who needlessly complicates everything they touch, how do you respond?

7. Describe a time when there was a fundamental change in your workplace. How did you respond?

8. What’s an example of a workaround that you created to simplify a frustrating process or time-consuming task? Was it adopted as the new practice?

9. What’s your process for making a rapid decision when you don’t have much information?

10. What gets in the way of accomplishing your workplace goals?

Look for answers that reveal how the candidate personally approaches innovation or simplification. Innovative thinkers can explain how they creatively problem-solve and where they go for fresh inspiration or who they seek out for a whiteboard session. Candidates who generalize or toss around jargon like “paradigm shift” and “pure synergy” should signal an immediate red flag.

Like innovators, true simplifiers are also eager to share their philosophy and provide compelling real-world examples of their crusade against complexity. They’re candid about the challenges they’ve encountered and offer firsthand details of their experience. If you hear phrases like “less is more” or “bureaucracy is bloat” without personal stories, you’re likely interviewing a garden-variety complicator.

From higher productivity to breakthrough ideas, skills like innovative thinking and simplification are extremely valuable to today’s organizations. And while the ability to identify these traits during interviews may seem like a superpower, it’s a matter of asking the right questions — like the 10 provided above — and listening for authenticity behind their answers.