Pre-employment Screening, Interview Questions & Background Checks

Blog 13a (part 01) pre employment screening

Pre-employment Screening, Interview Questions & Background Checks

In the process of hiring new employees we must conduct pre employment screening which among other items will also include employee background checks. In this four part blog I will cover the first of 100 interview questions that you can utilize and discuss a very no-nonsense approach to employee background checks.
Generally the first part of the face to face portion of the pre employment screening process is the face to face interview. We have reviewed the applications and resumes and whittled the pool of candidates down to this group of candidates. I have always felt that the key to a more successful final choice is a consistent interview with all candidates. It is the “apples to apples” thought process. If you interview everyone in your candidate pool using different questions then you are going to have an “apples to oranges” result. This does not mean that you do not dive deeper into a candidate’s response to a question. Quite the opposite, the standard questions you are asking should expose both strengths and weaknesses that you look further into. That is one of the beauties of a standard pre employment screening process.
Once the interview process is completed then we would move onto employment background checks. Over the years I have seen many leaders downplay the value or need to do even the simplest of employee background checks. The reasons are varied but it all adds up to this. Would you buy a used car, house or anything else of value without first having a professional such as a Mechanic or Inspector look at it first? So we are going to entrust our business, sales, customers and other employees to chance? Wow, that is way more than I am willing to do. What happens if that candidate had stolen from a previous employer? What if they had assaulted another employee at a previous company and you did not discover these easily discoverable facts? They do the same thing at your company. You would be held responsible. It is not like “the old days” where you could say “I didn’t know”. 
Yes, we conduct employee background checks; criminal, credit, SSN traces, employment drug screening, and more. Contact us for more information. So let’s go back to the interview questions. In this blog we are going to cover both personal and education areas. Keep a few things in mind for all of the questions.
• These are not the only questions you can ask in these areas.
• Change the questions to suit your interview style or need. Just keep the intention of the question the same
• Of course you should check with your legal counsel before you use them. Law does change over time.
• The intent is not to ask all questions in a given area. Look at these like you would a menu. What suits your tastes, needs, etc. 


PERSONAL
• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your hobbies?
• Describe your ideal job.
• What can you offer us?
• What do you consider to be your greatest strengths?
• Can you name some weaknesses?
• Define success.  Define failure.
• Have you ever had any failures?  What did you learn from them?
• What are 3 accomplishments of which you are most proud?
• Who are your role models?  Why?
• How does your college education or work experience relate to this job?
• What motivates you most in a job?
• Where do you want to be in 5 years?  10 years?
• Have you ever done volunteer work?  What kind?

EDUCATION
• Why did you choose your major?
• Why did you choose to attend your college or university?
• Do you think you received a good education?  In what ways?
• In which campus activities did you participate?
• Which classes in you major did you like best?  Least?  Why?
• Which elective classes did you like best?  Least?  Why?
• If you were to start over, what would you change about your education?
• Do your grades accurately reflect your ability?  Why or why not?
• Were you financially responsible for any portion of your college education?
• Do you plan to return to school for further education?

Keep in mind that if you discover something that needs follow up, then you should ask at that time before moving on to another question. For example, if you ask “define success?” and their response is “I consider not hitting another employee once a week with a chair a pretty good week”. You may want to look into that a bit further.
So look for the next part. I will layout questions on the position they are interviewing for and the schedule. If you have any questions about pre employment screening, employment drug screening or employee background checks contact us or call us toll free 1-770-426-0547. 

In the process of hiring new employees we must conduct pre employment screening which among other items will also include employee background checks. In this four part blog I will cover the first of 100 interview questions that you can utilize and discuss a very no-nonsense approach to employee background checks.

 

Generally the first part of the face to face portion of the pre employment screening process is the face to face interview. We have reviewed the applications and resumes and whittled the pool of candidates down to this group of candidates. I have always felt that the key to a more successful final choice is a consistent interview with all candidates. It is the “apples to apples” thought process. If you interview everyone in your candidate pool using different questions then you are going to have an “apples to oranges” result. This does not mean that you do not dive deeper into a candidate’s response to a question. Quite the opposite, the standard questions you are asking should expose both strengths and weaknesses that you look further into. That is one of the beauties of a standard pre employment screening process.

 

Once the interview process is completed then we would move onto employment background checks. Over the years I have seen many leaders downplay the value or need to do even the simplest of employee background checks. The reasons are varied but it all adds up to this. Would you buy a used car, house or anything else of value without first having a professional such as a Mechanic or Inspector look at it first? So we are going to entrust our business, sales, customers and other employees to chance? Wow, that is way more than I am willing to do. What happens if that candidate had stolen from a previous employer? What if they had assaulted another employee at a previous company and you did not discover these easily discoverable facts? They do the same thing at your company. You would be held responsible. It is not like “the old days” where you could say “I didn’t know”. 

 

Yes, we conduct employee background checks; criminal, credit, SSN traces, employment drug screening, and more. Contact us for more information. So let’s go back to the interview questions. In this blog we are going to cover both personal and education areas. Keep a few things in mind for all of the questions.

• These are not the only questions you can ask in these areas.

• Change the questions to suit your interview style or need. Just keep the intention of the question the same

• Of course you should check with your legal counsel before you use them. Law does change over time.

• The intent is not to ask all questions in a given area. Look at these like you would a menu. What suits your tastes, needs, etc. 

PERSONAL

• Tell me about yourself.

• What are your hobbies?

• Describe your ideal job.

• What can you offer us?

• What do you consider to be your greatest strengths?

• Can you name some weaknesses?

• Define success.  Define failure.

• Have you ever had any failures?  What did you learn from them?

• What are 3 accomplishments of which you are most proud?

• Who are your role models?  Why?

• How does your college education or work experience relate to this job?

• What motivates you most in a job?

• Where do you want to be in 5 years?  10 years?

• Have you ever done volunteer work?  What kind?


EDUCATION

• Why did you choose your major?

• Why did you choose to attend your college or university?

• Do you think you received a good education?  In what ways?

• In which campus activities did you participate?

• Which classes in you major did you like best?  Least?  Why?

• Which elective classes did you like best?  Least?  Why?

• If you were to start over, what would you change about your education?

• Do your grades accurately reflect your ability?  Why or why not?

• Were you financially responsible for any portion of your college education?

• Do you plan to return to school for further education?

 

Keep in mind that if you discover something that needs follow up, then you should ask at that time before moving on to another question. For example, if you ask “define success?” and their response is “I consider not hitting another employee once a week with a chair a pretty good week”. You may want to look into that a bit further.

 

So look for the next part. I will layout questions on the position they are interviewing for and the schedule.

 

If you have any questions about pre employment screening, employment drug screening or employee background checks contact us or call us toll free 1-770-426-0547.