Useful questions
These questions, when used carefully, will usually yield useful information.
Open questions
For example, ‘What did you like best about your previous position?’ or any other question starting with why, tell me…, how, what, explain, describe, and when. These require thought to answer and may lead to you asking a closed question to get more detail or clarification.
Closed questions
For example, ‘Did you like giving presentations in you last job?’ or any question requiring a yes, no or a one-word answer. You will need to be careful with closed questions as it is easy for applicants to give you the answer they think you want. They can be useful though for clarification, for checking facts, or for getting a rambler back on track.
Compare and contrast
For example, ‘What would be the main differences between your current role and the one you were doing at…?’.