You’ve narrowed down the search to a handful of candidates for a final-round of interviews.
That’s great.
But statistics say that, if hired, half of them will fail in the job.
Questions asked during the last round of interviews can guide you into making the best possible decision. This being said, what are the best final-round interview questions (and answers) that will make the best candidate stand out?
Cost of Asking Wrong Questions During Final Interview
Gallup estimates that “the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary” (in terms of lost productivity and hiring costs). However, the consequences of a poor final decision in your hiring processes can go well beyond the costs of an empty chair.
Bad employees can drive down morale, jeopardize the overall engagement level of employees, and create more work for top-performing employees. Ultimately, this can lead to other employees – even your best ones – seeking work elsewhere.
Keep Reading: How often should employees be evaluated?
Why Most Questions During Final Interview Don’t Work
Hiring managers can make the wrong decision during the hiring process because they’re still focusing on job skills during the final interview. This doesn’t stack up.
Out of the 46% of new hires who fail, only 11% of them fail because they lack the skills and qualifications to do the job.
Instead, a staggering 89% of new employees who fail in a new role do so because they lack interpersonal skills. This can include responding to feedback negatively, not being self-motivated, and failing to control emotions.
But what does this mean?
By the time you get to the final round of interview questions and answers, you should already understand your candidates’ technical skills and qualifications. The final stage of the interview process should focus on the interpersonal skills necessary for the candidate to succeed in a given role.
16 Questions to Ask in Final Round Interview for a Successful New Hire
Inability to Accept Feedback
With these final-round questions, you should pay less attention to the mistakes mentioned and more attention to the candidate’s ability to accept feedback and adjust their behavior.
Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult apology.
Tell me about a time you disagreed with the feedback a supervisor gave you.
Explain to me the relationship failure has to success.
How will this job challenge you to grow?
Low Emotional Intelligence
With these finalist interview questions, you should identify whether or not a candidate can recognize and manage their own emotions. It’s also important to see if he or she can correctly read emotions in others.
Tell me about a time a client was angry with you. How did the situation make you feel?
Tell me about a time you were able to convince someone else to accept your idea.
Tell me about a time you had to assert yourself in your job to get your needs met.
How can you tell if a coworker doesn’t like you?
Keep Reading: How to know if remote employees are working
Low Motivation
With these behavioral questions, you should gauge the candidate’s general sense of enthusiasm and if they are driven by inner values or external factors.
Tell me about a non-work-related accomplishment.
Tell me about a time you received an award or were otherwise recognized by others for an accomplishment.
Tell me about a time your work went unrecognized.
Tell me about techniques you’ve used to be more productive in your work.
Poor Temperament
These last-stage interview questions are meant to evaluate traits that can make a person easier or more difficult to work with.
If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be and why?
Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult person.
Tell me how you think this job will be better than your last job.
Tell me about a time a poor decision by management adversely affected your ability to do your job.
Keep Reading: How to tell an employee they need to improve
Final Interview Questions Make A Difference!
The final-round of interview questions and answers is your final opportunity to make a strong hiring decision. Chances are, half of your top candidates don’t have the interpersonal skills to succeed in the role. This being said, make sure you pay very close attention during this stage of the interview process.
Rather than focusing on technical skills and qualifications, the final-round interview is your opportunity to uncover traits and behaviors that often lead to failure.
Want to keep learning? Check out these resources:
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