Interviewing: The 5 Essential Questions Every Candidate Should Be Asked

In the realm of hiring, there is nothing worse than reaching the offer stage only to discover that a critical component, a key factor in the acceptance and extension, has been missed which renders the opportunity moot.  In many cases, I’ve found that these challenging and mutually disappointing situations are cases that could have been answered in the first initial phone conversation. 

Without further ado, in my experience, here are the five essential questions that you must ask up front, or they could burn you and waste much of your time in the end.

Non-Competes

Question:  Have you signed a non-compete agreement, with your current company or an employer in the past?

This is a particularly important question to ask when hiring for sales or technical positions.  This is the most simple question that unfortunately, can also become the most complicated and overwhelming situation if taken too far.  In non-compete agreements, there is a lot of “grey area,” even when interpreted by a lawyer.  Typically, these agreements expire after a certain amount of time after the employee departs from the organization (within 6 months to several years); however, if handled improperly, your organization (and new employee) could be in a very difficult situation.

On the same token, you should be sure that, as the hiring manager or company, you do not have a non-solicit, non-hire or non-compete agreement which could make it an impossible situation for you to hire someone from their particular organization.  You’ll typically find that these agreements have been signed with strategic partners, customers, or with your former organization.

 

Location

      Question:  Our company, and this position, is located [insert your specific location].  Is this a commuting distance that you can realistically consider?

While it may seem obvious, multiple locations, unclear job postings, and unrealistic expectations of the commuting time pose a potential risk to your hiring effort.  Can your office be reached via public transportation?  If not, the candidate may need to purchase a car or find an alternate mode of transportation which could make the opportunity unrealistic for them at the time.

Of particular concern may be a situation where relocation is required.  It’s important to establish this in the very first conversation, and often times, may make the most sense to discuss in the first 5 minutes of your call.  Have you been seriously considering relocation?  Are there any important considerations that would impact your timeline (i.e. if you own a home)?  As the hiring manager, you also need to consider how this could impact your hiring timeline. 

Time Frame

      Question: If we were to move forward, what would be a realistic time frame for you to join our company? 

This question could be of particular concern if you need to make an immediate hire and/or are expecting that a two-week notice from point of offer.  In some circumstances, candidates may be on a contract that they are obligated through a certain date.  If you are recruiting a passive candidate, there may be a particular implementation, project or scenario that they would ultimately like to respect their involvement and have an opportunity to wrap-up before joining you.  This is of course very respectable, but if your organization cannot wait the additional four weeks to make this hire, it may disqualify this candidate.

 Work Authorization

      Question: Are you authorized to work in the United States?  Would you now, or at any time in the future, require employer sponsorship? 

[Please note that legally, this is the only way you can ask this question.  Asking specifics regarding the candidate’s situation (i.e. Are you a US Citizen?) is considered non-permissible.]

I won’t go in to too many details here, as it’s a fairly obvious one.  However, if your organization is unable to provide sponsorship, please make sure that you ask this question up front to avoid any confusion in the long run. 

 Job Search

      Question: At this point in your job search, do you have any offers or foresee any potential offers from other companies?

It’s an important question that should be asked when a candidate is fairly active in their job search, or even if they’re just putting their feelers out.  This could help you to gain realistic insight to how quickly you may need to move in the interview process with this candidate, and if, unfortunately, the timeline is too unrealistic for you to seriously consider. 

If the candidate has a job offer in hand and needs to make a decision by the end of the week, will it really be possible for you to interview without the rush?  For some situations, this might make sense, in others, it might just be better to end the call and ask the candidate to please stay in touch.  In addition, this insight could potentially gain you greater understanding if you are competing against another company, preparing you for the opportunity to extend the most competitive offer.

In interviewing, what are your “must ask” questions?  Has there been a situation in which you haven’t asked one of these only to be disappointed at the very end?