Hiring is an emotional process for everyone involved. Understanding a prospect’s emotional drives (as well as the interviewer’s) is key to finding and keeping the right people. Certain interview questions can illicit responses that will tell you how a person is feeling about themselves, your company, if they are team players, and how they will react under stress.

The questions I like to ask may seem a bit cryptic, or even touchy-feely. The object here is to require the prospect not just to think, but to feel. This way, you can understand what truly drives them. Whatever their emotional drivers may be, they will become obvious by how they answer the questions.

Here is a list of questions that I think tell the whole truth about how someone will participate in your work environment.

These questions will tell you if the prospect is a team player:

1. Do you prefer to be evaluated as part of a work team or on your own accomplishments?
2. Have you ever played team sports or been a member/leader of an organization? (Boy/Girl Scouts, Rotary, etc.)
3. Do you prefer to take or give direction?
4. Which is more comfortable for you?

These questions will define whether the person wants to grow professionally:

5. What did you learn from your co-workers at your last place of employment?
6. What are you willing to commit to, to make this company and yourself better?
7. Do you see yourself as an innovator or an implementor?
8. Are you willing to implement or innovate if necessary?

These questions will help you see where this person’s talents can best be used:

9. Describe your dream position.
10. If you were away from the office and could only make one phone call a day, what questions would you ask?
11. What issues at any of your former jobs kept you up at night?
12. Who was the best Mentor you have had in business and what made them the best?

These questions tell you more than just what a person thinks, they tell you HOW they think. They not only give you information about what a person is capable of, they tell you how they are going to feel about the job and the people they work with. If someone feels negative or uncomfortable about your company or the people in it, you will not get the performance you need to build a business winning team.

Interviewers also need to pay attention to body language and tone, as they communicate 93% of what a person is really thinking and feeling. For more information on what a person is really communicating, email me with the word “Communication” in the subject box.

Emotions are our driving force and they cannot be pushed aside. Control of emotions is an illusion because a person’s true feelings will always be projected in one fashion or another. Nothing unsaid ever goes unnoticed, so remain aware of how your prospect reacts to these deeper questions. Understanding someone’s emotional reactions to his or her job will help you prevent hiring someone who will not just under perform, but who is capable of undermining your business.