How to Evaluate a Candidate in an Interview

For recruiters and HR professionals, the process of interviewing a candidate is not only a formal review of a resume but also an important part of the strategy for selecting the right employee, someone who can effectively fit into the team and the company culture. Properly evaluating a candidate during an interview is not just the art of asking questions, but also the skill of interpreting answers, identifying key qualities and abilities that are not always visible on paper. It is important not only to determine whether a candidate meets the technical requirements of the position but also to assess their motivation, approach to responsibilities, ability to learn, and teamwork skills. In this article, we will explain how to conduct an interview effectively, which methods and tools can help you evaluate a candidate more accurately, and how to make the right choice.

Preparing for the Interview

Preparation for an interview is a key stage that helps not only to ask the right questions but also to select the most suitable candidate. Like any other part of the recruitment process, preparation requires a careful approach and attention to detail.

How to create a clear job description

A clear job description is the foundation for selecting the right candidate. It should be as precise as possible so that potential applicants understand what is expected of them. The description should highlight several key elements:

1. Tasks and responsibilities. Formulate a list of daily or weekly tasks the employee will perform. It is important that these tasks are realistic and align with the current needs of the business.

2. Qualification requirements. Specify minimum and preferred requirements for education, work experience, and skills. This helps immediately filter out candidates who do not meet the basic criteria.

3. Personal qualities. Identify which personal traits are important for success in this position. For example, for a sales manager, communication skills and persistence are important, while for an analyst, attention to detail and the ability to work with large amounts of information are key.

4. Working conditions and prospects. Include information about the work schedule, career growth opportunities, levels of responsibility, and bonuses. This gives candidates a full picture of what to expect.

A clearly written job description helps you structure the interview and prepare questions that align with the company’s real needs.

Developing Key Interview Questions

Once the job description is created, the next step is to prepare the interview questions. Questions should allow you to evaluate the candidate on the most important criteria:

1. Technical skills. First and foremost, you need to ensure that the candidate possesses the necessary professional skills. Questions should aim to uncover experience, knowledge, and the ability to apply them in practice.

Example: “How would you approach solving problem X, which our company is currently facing?”
Example: “Tell us about your experience working with program Y. What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?”

2. Behavioral questions. These questions help understand how the candidate reacts to various situations and solves problems. This approach allows you to assess how well the candidate fits the company’s culture and team.

Example: “Describe a time when you had to work under pressure. How did you handle it?”
Example: “How do you resolve conflicts within a team? Provide an example from your experience.”

3. Motivation. It is important to know why the candidate wants to work in your company and for this position. This helps understand how well their goals and values align with the business objectives.

Example: “Why do you want to work for our company?”
Example: “What goals are you setting for yourself over the next 2–3 years, and how will this position help you achieve them?”

4. Open-ended questions. These help evaluate how the candidate expresses their thoughts and how confident they feel in a conversation.

Example: “Tell us about your most successful project. Why was it important for the company?”
Example: “What would you improve in your current role?”

Defining Candidate Evaluation Criteria

Before the interview, it is important to clearly understand the criteria you will use to evaluate candidates. This helps not only to ask the right questions but also to objectively compare candidates using a consistent standard.

1. Technical skills. For many positions, knowledge of specific programs or processes is essential. It is important to determine in advance which skills are critical for completing daily tasks.

For example, for a developer, this could be experience with certain programming languages or frameworks.
For a marketer, it could be the ability to work with analytical tools and develop marketing strategies.

2. Personal qualities. No matter how strong a candidate’s technical skills are, it is important to evaluate personal traits that can influence productivity within the team.

Which qualities are particularly important for this position? For example, for a manager, leadership and the ability to motivate a team are important; for an accountant, attention to detail and responsibility are key. It is crucial to consider how these qualities manifest in real situations.

3. Motivation and willingness to grow. This is especially important for long-term collaboration. A person who strives for personal and professional growth will be more valuable to the company.

What goals does the candidate set for themselves? How interested are they in career growth?
Does the candidate show interest in learning and a willingness to develop within the company?

4. Culture and team compatibility. Even highly qualified candidates may not fit in terms of personality or working style. It is important to consider in advance which values and approaches are important for a candidate to adapt easily to the existing team.

How does the candidate handle teamwork?
How well can they accept feedback and work with colleagues of different personalities?

This stage of preparation will help you not only ask the right questions but also objectively evaluate answers by comparing them with your established criteria.

Methods for Evaluating Candidates

Evaluating candidates in an interview is not just about how well they can answer standard questions. For a more accurate and objective assessment, it is important to use a variety of methods that allow you to evaluate a candidate’s skills, personal qualities, adaptability, and motivation. Let’s look at some popular evaluation methods.

Behavioral Interview: What It Is and How to Use It

A behavioral interview (or STAR interview) is a method based on the assumption that a candidate’s past behavior is the best indicator of their future actions in similar situations. This method focuses on real examples from the candidate’s previous experience to assess how they solved tasks, worked in a team, managed conflicts, or dealt with crisis situations.

How to use a behavioral interview:

1. Ask questions focused on past experience.

Instead of asking what the candidate would do in a hypothetical situation, focus on real examples from their practice.

Example: “Tell us about a time when you had to handle a difficult client. How did you solve the problem?”
Example: “Describe a situation where you had to make decisions under uncertainty. What did you do?”

2. Use the STAR method. Responses in a behavioral interview are often structured using the STAR principle:

S (Situation): Describe the situation.

T (Task): Explain the task that needed to be completed.

A (Action): Detail the actions taken to resolve the task.

R (Result): Share the result and what was learned from the situation.

This helps candidates give detailed answers and allows you to assess how they approach real problems.

Advantages of a behavioral interview:

Evaluates actual behavior rather than hypothetical responses.
Helps identify how well a candidate can adapt to certain conditions, work in a team, and solve problems.

Situational Questions to Assess Candidate Reactions

Situational questions allow you to assess how a candidate would act in the future when faced with specific challenges or requirements they might encounter on the job. These questions create hypothetical yet realistic scenarios in which the candidate must demonstrate their skills and abilities.

How to use situational questions:

1. Describe tasks the candidate will face in the new position. Ask questions reflecting the real work they will encounter to understand how they respond to different challenges.

Example: “Your team is working on a project with a tight deadline. One key employee falls ill, leaving their tasks incomplete. How would you handle this situation?”
Example: “A client requests significant changes to a project, increasing deadlines. How would you proceed?”

2. Ask the candidate to explain how they would act in these situations. Pay attention to how they assess the problem, what steps they propose to solve it, and what resources they would use.

3. Use these questions to identify key skills. For example, for a manager, these may include team coordination and decision-making; for a sales specialist, they could involve client interactions under high competition.

Advantages of situational questions:

Allow assessment of decision-making ability in real work conditions.
Provide insight into the candidate’s strategy and problem-solving approach.
Help reveal hidden qualities such as stress resilience, flexibility, and adaptability.

Skills Assessment Through Practical Tests and Assignments

Practical assignments are an excellent way to evaluate a candidate’s real professional skills and determine how well they can apply their knowledge in practice. This method helps avoid subjective judgments and objectively assesses how the candidate handles tasks they are likely to encounter in the future.

How to use practical assignments:

1. Assign a task similar to actual work.

This could be a project, an analytical problem, or a case study. For example:

For a marketer: “Develop a brief marketing strategy for a new product.”

For a developer: “Solve a technical task related to code optimization.”

For a sales manager: “Prepare a proposal for a potential client considering their needs.”

2. Use tasks that simulate real work conditions.

This allows you to observe how the candidate works under time pressure, which tools they use, and how they solve assigned tasks.

3. Evaluate not only the result but also the process.

It is important to understand how the candidate approaches solving a task, what steps they take, and how they organize their work. This can reveal planning skills, resource management, and communication abilities.

Advantages of practical tests and assignments:

Provides a real check of professional skills and knowledge.
Allows observation of how a candidate solves tasks in real time.
Helps identify strengths and weaknesses that may not be apparent in an interview.

Evaluating a Candidate’s Personal Qualities

When selecting an employee for a company, technical skills alone are not enough. Understanding how successful a candidate will be in the corporate culture, how they interact with the team, and how they handle difficult situations is crucial. In this section, we will explore key aspects that help evaluate a candidate’s personal qualities.

Determining Motivation and Willingness to Grow

Motivation is the foundation of successful work. Understanding what drives a candidate helps predict their engagement and interest in long-term collaboration.

How to determine motivation:

1. Questions about the candidate’s goals.

Ask about their professional goals and how they relate to the offered position.

Example: “What goals are you setting for yourself over the next 2–3 years? How can this position help you achieve them?”
Example: “What is more important to you in work: stability or opportunities for career growth?”

2. Understanding reasons for changing jobs. A candidate’s reasons for switching jobs can indicate their motivation and aspirations. It is important to understand what prompted previous job changes.

Example: “What was the decisive factor in your choice of a new job?”
Example: “What are you looking for in your next position that you don’t have in your current role?”

3. Discussing factors that inspire the candidate. Everyone has sources of motivation, such as career growth, high salary, interesting work, or the ability to impact business results. Open-ended questions help uncover these factors.

Example: “What motivates you to work at your full potential?”
Example: “What working conditions are most comfortable and productive for you?”

Motivation is closely linked to a candidate’s willingness to develop. It is important to evaluate how open they are to learning and skill improvement.

Example: “What professional skills do you want to develop in the near future?”
Example: “Which courses or training sessions have you completed in the past year?”

Assessing Teamwork Ability

For most positions, successful teamwork is a key factor in effectiveness. The ability to work with others, support team spirit, and participate in collective tasks is essential.

How to assess teamwork ability:

1. Questions about past team experiences. Ask how the candidate interacted with colleagues, what challenges arose, and how they were resolved.

Example: “Tell us about a time when you had to work in a team with people who had different approaches. How did you handle it?”
Example: “Were there situations when a colleague struggled with responsibilities? How did you handle it?”

2. Evaluating the candidate’s role in the team. Understand whether the candidate tends to take leadership or prefers a supporting role.

Example: “Which tasks in a team came easiest for you?”
Example: “What role do you usually take in a team: leader, coordinator, or contributor?”

3. Assessing communication and interaction. Evaluate how well the candidate communicates and expresses ideas in a group. Consider using small role-playing exercises or discussing hypothetical team tasks.

Example: “How would you explain a complex problem to a colleague who lacks experience in the area?”

Stress Resistance and Conflict Resolution Skills

Work processes often involve high workloads and stressful situations. A candidate’s ability to remain calm under pressure and resolve conflicts effectively is crucial, especially in dynamic and competitive environments.

How to assess stress resistance:

1. Questions about past stressful situations. Ask for examples when the candidate worked under stress or pressure.

Example: “Describe a situation when you had to work under stress. How did you cope?”
Example: “How do you manage your time when handling multiple urgent tasks simultaneously?”

2. Evaluating reaction to criticism. The ability to accept constructive feedback is part of stress resilience.

Example: “How do you respond when you receive negative feedback about your work?”
Example: “Can you provide an example when your work was criticized? How did you adjust your approach?”

How to assess conflict resolution skills:

1. Questions about previous conflict situations. Ask for examples of how the candidate resolved conflicts in a team or with clients.

Example: “Have there been situations where you had to resolve conflicts in a team? How did you act?”
Example: “How would you handle a conflict with a colleague if your opinions strongly differed on a project?”

2. Evaluating conflict resolution approach. Pay attention to how the candidate describes their actions in difficult situations. Look for signs of listening skills, compromise-seeking, and neutrality.

Example: “How do you try to avoid conflicts in a team?”
Example: “What do you do if colleagues disagree with your opinion on an important matter?”

Conclusion

Successful interviews require a comprehensive approach and careful evaluation of both professional and personal qualities. Using various methods such as behavioral interviews, situational questions, and practical assignments provides a complete picture of a candidate’s abilities, motivation, and character. Assessing personal qualities such as teamwork, stress resistance, and conflict resolution skills is also crucial for making the right hiring decision.

Our team of professionals is ready to conduct interviews and perform a comprehensive evaluation of candidates. We assist not only in selecting the best specialists but also in finding those who fit seamlessly into your corporate culture. Contact us, and we can help you find ideal employees for your business.