';

Behavioral interview questions you should be asking

When it comes to interviewing multiple qualified candidates, standard experience-based questions simply won't do. To truly test these individuals and determine if they'll fit within your organization, you must dig deeper and evaluate their behaviors. The next time you find yourself sitting across from a potential hire, remember these tried and true behavioral interview questions:

'Tell me about a time when you made a colleague or client angry.'
Business leaders consistently navigate tense situations. Whether it's calming angry clients or consoling hurt coworkers, C-level staff must have the interpersonal skills to deal with workplace conflicts of all kinds. This prompt will enable you to touch on these topics and assess how candidates react in adverse environments, Inc. reported. Ideally, potential hires should highlight a substantive experience, admit fault and discuss how they went about correcting the issue.

"C-level staff must have the interpersonal skills to deal with workplace conflicts of all kinds."

'Tell me about a time you failed.'
In business, failure comes with the territory. As a result, most successful, forward-thinking executives can provide multiple answers to this question. Of course, the goal here isn't to belittle or embarrass candidates. This question gives them the opportunity to demonstrate their critical-thinking abilities and resolve, according to Harvard Law School. Again, you're looking for an honest answer and perhaps some commentary about what they learned from the situation.

'Tell me about someone you admire.'
High-performing professionals normally look up to inspiring figures and strive to emulate them in some way. For instance, inventor and technological innovator Elon Musk aspired to be the next Thomas Edison, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg modeled himself after Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Google's Larry Page found inspiration in physicist Nikola Tesla, Inc. reported. Candidates should easily be able to list off a couple names and give a rationale as to why they find these individuals inspiring, according to FastCompany. This little exercise will give you a preview of applicants' ideal professional trajectories.

Now that you know what to ask, it's time to find qualified C-level candidates who will provide satisfactory answers. A retained global executive search firm like YES Partners can help. Our deep industry connections enable us to source talented business leaders with the executive experience required to catalyze growth across entire enterprises.

To see some of the roles we have already successfully placed, click here.

Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries.

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