So now, you’ve found a great potential employee through your referral program, which means their skills and experiences are in line with what you’re looking for. The next thing to do would be to validate if their personality and character would be an actual good fit for your company.

Here are the top 8 questions you can ask your referral during an initial interview:

Q1 | What is your greatest achievement at work?

The potential candidate’s answer will tell you a lot about what they value and consider important. If they say their greatest achievement is building strong relationships at work, then perhaps the candidate values teamwork and would do well in a collaborative business setting. If the candidate says his greatest achievement is to successfully launch a product despite big challenges, then maybe this shows that he/she is persevering and works hard to achieve the company goals.

Q2 | What kind of work environment will help you thrive?

This question will help you understand whether their expectations for a work environment is something you can offer. For example, if the candidate prefers working alone, then he/she might not like a team that’s big on collaboration. The applicant’s answer will help you decide whether the potential employee can be a good fit for your company culture and work environment.

Q3 | How do you want to be managed?

It’s important to know the management style that would be most effective for your potential employee. This way, managers can find some middle ground between their style versus what would work well with the employee.

Q4 | How did you overcome a major obstacle in a project that was assigned to you?

The answer to this question will give you an idea of the candidate’s problem-solving skills, and also understand on what they consider an obstacle. It will also give you an idea how this person interacts with their co-workers.

Q5 | What made you apply for this job?

By asking this question, you can know what motivated the candidate to apply for the position. It could be the location, the salary, the work environment, etc. Having this knowledge gives you an idea on how to approach your candidate when it’s time to make an offer.

Q6 | How would your co-workers describe you?

It tells you how the candidate perceives their interaction with their co-workers. You can also get an idea about the candidate’s personal assessment of their effectiveness at work and their relationship with their co-workers.

Q7 | How would your current boss describe your work and contribution?

This will give you an insight on how the candidate perceives the support and opinion of their current employer. It will tell you whether the candidate had a positive or negative interaction with their current employer, and also tell you how open they are in accepting criticism and feedback.

Q8 | How do you make sure you continue to develop your professional skills and knowledge?

Every company wants to have employees who will continually strive to develop their skills and technical knowledge. Ask them whether they are pursuing their own professional development or whether they depend on their employer to provide the development opportunities.

Getting to know candidates, even those who were highly referred, is a critical part of every hiring process. It will give you a three-dimensional overview of the person you are trying to hire, specifically whether they could be great employees in real life and not just on paper. Use the questions above to assess which among your applicants have the potential of being the next great employee.

Do you have other important questions you ask during interviews? Share them in the comments below.