5 Questions to Ask Every Job Candidate for Your Startup

Building an ideal team for your startup isn’t easy. In fact, it’s one of the hardest challenges you’ll face as an entrepreneur. It isn’t enough to find people that can handle the outlined responsibilities for each position; you have to find multitalented people who work well in the context of your company culture, have the personal drive to find solutions and new ideas on their own, and have the ability to work as a team to get your business off the ground.

Trying to figure out all that information in the span of an interview or two is difficult work, but it’s vital for the health of your business. Without a solid team to execute your ideas and flesh out their own, you might not get the momentum you need to find success.

To prevent that outcome and get the best possible candidates for your startup, ask these questions:

1.       Why Do You Want to Work Here? This is a big question, but the answer can tell you a lot about your candidate. If they say something about advancing their career or making a lot of money, it may be a soft red flag. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make money and earn promotions, but the ideal startup candidate wants to be a part of something bigger; the candidate who wants to build something great is likely going to stick with you longer and work harder than the candidate who simply wants to make money. They may have another, more personal reason for wanting to work at your company, but the key trait to look for here is passion. Passionate workers are productive, reliable, and dedicated.

2.       What Makes You a Fit for Our Company? This is a great question for three reasons. First, it shows whether or not the candidate has done their research on your business. If they haven’t, it shows they aren’t proactive in doing their homework. Second, it gives you a high-level glimpse at the talents, experiences, and qualifications that make the candidate a potential fit for your startup. Finally, it shows what the candidate thinks is most important in a worker; when asked, does your candidate talk about his/her work experience? Does he/she talk about the culture fit? Does the candidate mention his/her talents and personal characteristics? This can illustrate your candidate’s professional priorities and indicate whether they’re a good fit for your team.

3.       What Is the Toughest Challenge You’ve Had to Overcome in Your Career? Everyone faces challenges in their personal careers, and your startup is going to offer countless challenges in the months leading up to and months following your launch. Finding candidates who can accommodate those challenges and find alternative solutions to their root problems is essential. This question should tell you a bit about how a person thinks of challenges—does he/she sound frustrated with the challenge or at peace with it? And of course, it should tell you about his/her creative problem solving abilities. Look for the candidates who find solutions to problem—not candidates who just execute those solutions.

4.       Tell Me About a Great Idea You Had in the Past Year. This question showcases your candidate’s ability to generate new ideas and see those ideas through to fruition. If your candidate has trouble coming up with any recent ideas, it could be a sign that he/she is unable to think critically in an ever-changing environment. If your candidate is able to present an idea, but doesn’t have a follow-up for how he/she took that idea and developed it, it could mean your candidate lacks the follow-through necessary to bring those ideas to life.

5.       How Do You Work Best? This is a broad question, but again, the type of response your candidate gives you should give you an indication of his/her demeanor. The ideal candidate works best as part of a team, since your startup workforce will start small and will be dependent on teamwork and collective problem solving to tackle the initial challenges. The ideal candidate also works well with a general direction and minimal hand-holding—you need independent thinkers on your team.

Even after asking these five questions and getting ideal answers, there’s no guarantee that your candidate is going to be a great long-term fit. Getting to know someone in an interview is very different from getting to know someone in a real work environment. Pay close attention to how your new employees work, and more importantly, how they work together over the first few months of your company’s launch. This should tell you whether or not you’ve found the right candidates for your company. If you haven’t, don’t prolong the inevitable; go back to the drawing board, and don’t stop until you have a (nearly) perfect team.