Hiring the right person is as much art as science. Even the best recruitment agencies will tell you that a bad hire can be costly. In fact, research shows up to 80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions, with nearly half of bad hires stemming from a poor hiring process. Likewise, 74% of employers admit to making a bad hiring decision at least once.
Often, these hiring mistakes happen not because of a lack of candidates, but because the interview didn’t uncover critical information. Busy hiring managers tend to stick to standard questions about experience and skills, but may overlook deeper queries that reveal a candidate’s true fit. The result? New hires who looked good on paper but don’t gel with the team or culture.
To improve your hiring success, it’s time to rethink your interview strategy. Below we highlight key interview questions you might not be asking – but should – to better evaluate candidates. These questions go beyond the usual clichés, helping you uncover a candidate’s work style, motivators, and potential red flags. By integrating these into your process, you’ll vet candidates more thoroughly and avoid costly surprises down the line. (And as a bonus, we’ll show how professional vetting by top recruitment companies like Get Recruited ensures these areas are never missed.)
Why Asking the Right Questions Matters
Interviewing isn’t just a formality – it’s your best chance to really get to know a candidate beyond their CV. Great questions lead to great hires. If you only ask the basics (“Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”), you risk getting rehearsed answers that don’t reveal how the person actually thinks or works day-to-day.
A well-rounded interview should probe a candidate’s culture fit, problem-solving approach, and attitude. For example, many hiring managers focus on technical skills and forget to assess whether the person aligns with the team’s values and work environment. That’s a big miss, considering cultural misfit is a leading cause of new-hire failure. As HR experts note, you should include specific questions in the interview to determine if the candidate will thrive in your organisation’s culture.
Moreover, asking insightful questions demonstrates professionalism and that you, as an employer, value finding the right person, not just any person. Candidates take note of this. An interview is a two-way street: top talent will be interviewing you and your company as much as you’re interviewing them. By engaging in thoughtful, less-common questions, you create a better candidate experience and show that your company values depth and fit.
In short, the questions you ask (or don’t ask) can make or break your hiring decision. Let’s ensure you’re asking the ones that count. Here are some overlooked interview questions every hiring manager should consider:
7 Interview Questions You Might Not Be Asking (But Should)
What type of work environment brings out your best performance?
Every company has a unique culture and work style. Asking this question helps you see if the candidate will thrive in your environment. Do they prefer a collaborative open office or a quiet, structured setting? Lots of team interaction or more independent focus time? Their answer reveals preferences for things like autonomy vs. teamwork, flexibility vs. structure, and formal vs. informal atmosphere. Ensure their ideal environment aligns with what your company actually offers. This can uncover whether they’ll mesh with your team’s dynamics and culture before you make an offer.
How do you prefer to receive feedback, and how often?
Feedback is crucial in any role, but not everyone gives and receives it the same way. This question uncovers a candidate’s comfort level with your feedback culture. Do they thrive on regular check-ins, or do they prefer more autonomy with periodic performance reviews? Maybe they appreciate direct, in-the-moment pointers, or perhaps they like written feedback for reflection. Their response will indicate if they can adapt to your management style of feedback – whether it’s structured annual reviews or a continuous feedback approachmyculture.ai. The goal is to find out if they’ll be receptive to guidance and how coachable they are in your organisation. Employees who can accept and use feedback tend to grow faster and perform better over time.
Describe your ideal manager or management style.
This question flips the usual script (“Describe your leadership style”) and asks them to articulate what kind of leadership they work best under. A candidate’s description of their ideal manager gives insight into the level of support and autonomy they expect. It will reveal their expectations around communication, decision-making, mentoring, and more. For instance, do they mention appreciating managers who provide clear directions and regular check-ins, or do they prefer a hands-off leader who trusts them to run with tasks? There’s no “right” answer, but it needs to align with how you or the team will actually manage them day-to-day. If not, you could have a disconnect in working style. This question helps ensure a good manager-employee fit from the start.
What motivates you most in your professional life?
It’s easy to assume everyone is motivated by the same things (money, promotion, etc.), but the truth is highly individual. By directly asking this, you uncover what drives the candidate to excel. Perhaps they thrive on creative challenges, teamwork, learning new skills, hitting targets, or building something meaningful. Understanding a candidate’s intrinsic motivators can help you determine if the role will satisfy them. If the job aligns with what energises them, they’re likely to be more engaged and productive. In fact, knowing a candidate’s motivators helps predict long-term satisfaction and retention. For example, if someone is motivated by continuous learning and your company offers lots of training and growth opportunities, that’s a great match. On the other hand, if they’re driven by social impact and your company’s mission is aligned, you’ve hit cultural gold. Use their answer to gauge whether the role and company can truly fulfill their ambitions – which is a win-win for both parties.
Tell me about a time you received constructive criticism or “tough” feedback. How did you handle it?
No one is perfect, and how a person deals with criticism speaks volumes about their professionalism and growth mindset. This behavioral question forces candidates to reveal whether they resisted, ignored, or embraced feedback in the past. Look for answers where the candidate acknowledges the feedback, takes responsibility, and shows they made improvements as a result. A great answer might sound like: “My manager once pointed out issues with my project timeline management. It was hard to hear, but I took a step back, enrolled in a time management course, and improved my on-time delivery going forward.” Conversely, red flags would be candidates who get defensive or blame the person who gave the feedback. By asking this, you identify coachability – candidates who can accept and grow from feedback are likely to adapt well in the role and continuously improve.
How do you stay current with industry trends and continue developing your skills?
In fast-moving fields (from marketing to finance and beyond), you want team members who keep themselves up-to-date. This question digs into a candidate’s self-improvement and learning habits. Do they attend webinars, take courses, read industry blogs, or participate in professional groups? Are they naturally curious and proactive about learning? Strong responses will demonstrate proactive learning habits and a commitment to professional development. For example, a marketing candidate might mention they follow SEO thought leaders or regularly experiment with new social media features; a finance candidate might highlight that they track regulatory changes or pursue advanced certifications. Candidates who invest in their own growth are more likely to bring fresh ideas and adapt to new challenges on the job. This question can help you find those who will not only perform today’s job, but also evolve with the role as the industry changes.
If you were hired for this role, what would you aim to accomplish in your first 90 days?
This forward-looking question asks candidates to put themselves in the role and outline a game plan. It’s a bit of a curveball if they weren’t expecting it, but a very telling one. A good candidate will have done their homework on the job and your company. They might outline a sensible 30-60-90 day plan – for instance, “In the first month, I would focus on onboarding and understanding the team’s processes; by 60 days, I’d aim to take ownership of X project; by 90 days, I’d look to implement improvements in Y based on my fresh perspective.” Their answer shows initiative, strategic thinking, and understanding of the role’s priorities. It can also reveal their confidence and how they handle an unstructured question. There’s no single correct response here, but you’re looking for realism and proactiveness. If a candidate can articulate concrete goals or questions about the role, it indicates they’re already envisioning how to contribute – a great sign of engagement. On the flip side, if they completely fumble this question, it might suggest a lack of preparation or foresight. Overall, this question helps you see how a candidate plans, prioritises, and whether they truly grasp what success looks like in the role.
By incorporating these seven questions into your interviews, you’ll go beyond the surface and obtain a 360-degree view of your candidate. Remember, the goal is not to grill them, but to spark a candid conversation that reveals their true self – how they work, learn, and collaborate. Take notes not just on what they answer, but how they answer. Are they thoughtful and honest? Do their preferences and examples align with your company’s reality? Use this richer insight to guide your hiring decision. It’s much easier to address a concern or misalignment before you hire someone than to deal with a surprise later.
Professional Vetting: How the Best Recruitment Agencies Get It Right
Crafting a great interview is a skill – and you don’t have to do it alone. Many hiring managers partner with recruitment experts to ensure no stone is left unturned. In fact, having a robust hiring process is critical: one study found that 45% of bad hires are attributed to a lack of proper hiring process. This is where working with a recruitment agency can dramatically improve your outcomes.
At Get Recruited, for example, we take pride in the thoroughness of our vetting process. As one of the best recruitment agencies in the UK, we’ve built our reputation on carefully matching candidates to companies – not just on skills, but on culture and long-term fit. Our approach is people-first and personalised. We dedicate time to get to know every candidate and employer we work with, digging into their needs and goals. This means when we recommend a candidate, we’re confident they’re a genuine fit for the role and the team. In the words of our Managing Director, our mission since 2006 has been to thoroughly know every person we encounter, a hands-on approach that ensures each placement is the right fit for today and the future.
Crucially, we incorporate many of the above questions (and more) into our screening. Our recruitment consultants are trained to probe beyond the CV – assessing things like cultural alignment, soft skills, and coachability during our candidate interviews. By the time a candidate reaches your desk, they’ve already been through an in-depth, tailored selection process. We leverage our industry-specific expertise to evaluate candidates on technical abilities and the intangibles that matter for success in your organisation. Only the most suitable, pre-vetted candidates are presented to you, saving you time and ensuring you’re choosing from the cream of the crop.
Our commitment to quality has earned Get Recruited multiple awards and a strong reputation. We primarily operate on referrals (over 90% of our candidates come via trusted networks), which speaks to the trust we’ve built with clients and candidates alike. Simply put, we do the heavy lifting up front – from asking smart interview questions to rigorous background checks – so you can hire with confidence.
Bottom line: Don’t leave your hiring to chance or rely on gut feeling alone. A structured interview with the right questions, combined with expert recruitment support, will significantly increase your hiring success rate. You’ll not only find employees who can do the job, but who will thrive and stay – which is the ultimate goal of any hire.
Ready to Improve Your Hiring Process?
Every great hire starts with asking the right questions. If you’re a hiring manager in marketing, finance, sales, insurance or commercial sectors and want to elevate your recruitment game, we’re here to help. Get Recruited’s specialist team can streamline your hiring – from sharpening your interview strategy to delivering top-quality candidates who’ve been thoroughly vetted for fit and skill. Contact us today to learn how we can support your recruitment needs. Let us help you find your next great hire with confidence and ease.