Your business is one of the most important things in your life, it’s hard to trust others to handle any aspect of it. No matter how good a candidate looks on paper, you likely won’t have a good idea of how trustworthy they are until you’re able to meet them face-to-face. Luckily, there are some productive questions you can ask a potential hire to help you gauge their trustworthiness.
To help, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members share their thoughts on the following question:
“What’s the most productive question you can ask a potential hire to gauge their trustworthiness? Why is this important?”
Here’s what they recommend you ask during your next interview.
1.What Was It About Your Former Job or Boss That You Didn’t Like?
“Ask them what they didn’t like about their previous work or employer, and check to see whether their response is sincere. Engaging in the blame game reveals a lot about their capacity for gracious criticism, the depth of their compassion, and their attitude toward accountability. They may be emotionally intelligent, which indicates trustworthiness if they respond by considering all the potential causes of the issue. Lamano Law Office of Givelle
2. What Are Your Vision and Core Values?
“Especially with smaller businesses, you want them to share your core principles. If they don’t, it will cause chaos; either that individual will leave on their own accord or someone else will ask them to go in the future. To trust each other while the business is starting, all members must be pointing in the same direction. DML Capital’s Liam Leonard
3. What Weaknesses Do You Possess?
Surprisingly, no one can respond to this question. Use this generic inquiry to ascertain whether a potential employee has a healthy self-awareness, where they can be upfront and honest, and whether they are allowing these faults to hold them back. All Filters, Shu Saito
4. Describe a challenge you’ve faced and how you overcame it.
“Asking a prospective employee about challenges they encountered—or even ones they helped to create—in former positions and how they handled them is the greatest method to determine their reliability. This can help you determine how trustworthy they are and whether or not they are capable of resolving problems and improving their lives. Ben Rojas, All-in-One SEO
5. On what occasions did being late affect your work?
“Ask your employee to tell you about a time when they were late, and it affected their work. This is a fantastic question since it enables you to determine whether the applicant views timing as a crucial aspect of success. It also displays their work ethic and aids in determining their level of trustworthiness. (OptinMonster) Thomas Griffin
6. What Must occur for you to leave this position?
“Ask them what would trigger their departure from the position. Sincere candidates will disclose the requirements they had in mind for their ideal position and the qualities they value and don’t value in an employer. Candidates concerned with what it will take to win their support should be avoided since they are more likely to hide important facts when it counts. Firas Kittaneh, Mattress by Amerisleep
7. If Required, Would You Take a Pay Cut?
The best question to ask a prospective employee is if they would accept a pay reduction if the company faced financial difficulties. This question is useful since it determines how committed and devoted they are to the business. They are more likely to be dedicated and dependable if willing to accept a pay cut. Marquet Media, LLC’s Kristin Kimberly Marquet
8. When Have You Made the Wrong Choice?
“Ask your prospective employee to describe a period when they made a poor choice. By asking them this question, you can tell if a candidate is ready to accept responsibility for their conduct. They demonstrate their dependability and reliability by acknowledging their errors without assigning blame and asking for advice. Wholesale Suite, Josh Kohlbach
9. What’s an Obvious Flaw the Company/Product Has?
“I’d ask a question about an obvious flaw that my company or product has. I think that an honest candidate who can help the company grow will do the difficult job of letting me know that something can be better. A candidate who can be frank about how they’d improve my work in the context of an interview is someone I’d rely on for their trustworthiness.” ~ Blair Williams, MemberPress
