Hiring the right person isn’t just important—it’s a business imperative. One great hire can elevate an entire team, while the wrong one can cost you time, morale, and momentum. To avoid costly missteps, ask the interview questions that behavioral experts—and top-performing companies—swear by.
Table of Contents
- Best Interview Questions to Ask Candidates: Why Most Don’t Work Anymore
- The Science Behind Behavioral Interview Questions
- 5 Interview Questions That Actually Work (and Why)
- How to Spot the Best Candidates: Look Beyond the Resume
- How to Customize Interview Questions for the Role
- Bonus Interview Tactics: Follow-Up Questions That Reveal Even More
- Best Practices for Running Interviews That Actually Work
- See How OAD Makes Hiring Smarter
Best Interview Questions to Ask Candidates: Why Most Don’t Work Anymore
Too many interviews rely on intuition, generic prompts, or surface-level answers. And while questions like “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” might feel safe, they rarely reveal how a candidate actually performs under pressure, adapts to feedback, or fits into your culture.
According to SHRM, the cost of a bad hire can reach up to five times the employee’s annual salary. That’s not just a financial hit—it’s a risk to your team’s morale, productivity, and trust. Worse yet, traditional interviews often favor the most charismatic speaker, not the most qualified candidate. It’s crucial to identify qualified candidates who not only have the right skills but also align with your company’s values and company culture.
Even top business leaders understand this. Jeff Bezos once shared that Amazon’s standard was to “raise the bar with every hire”—a principle that required going beyond resumes and diving deep into mindset, behavior, and long-term fit. In growing organizations with 50+ employees, the impact of one bad hire ripples across multiple departments. A strong candidate today must demonstrate more than competence—they must show character, self-awareness, and alignment with your company’s values and company culture.
If your interview process still sounds like a checklist, it’s time to shift toward behavioral and situational questions that reveal how a person actually thinks, reacts, and grows.
Why Most Interview Questions Don’t Work Anymore
Hiring today is more complex—and more consequential—than ever before. Yet many companies still fall back on outdated questions that offer little more than surface-level insight. Prompts like “Where do you see yourself in five years?” or “What’s your greatest weakness?” might feel familiar, but they often elicit rehearsed responses that reveal very little about how a candidate actually performs.
The result? Talented candidates slip through the cracks, while others who interview well but lack the right mindset or adaptability end up in roles they’re not built for. These misfires lead to costly hiring mistakes, stalled teams, and high turnover—especially damaging in companies with 50+ employees where culture and team dynamics play a larger role.
What’s missing isn’t data—it’s depth. The demands of today’s workplace go far beyond technical skill. Employers are looking for candidates who can collaborate across functions, solve real problems under pressure, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics with emotional intelligence. Standard interview questions rarely capture those qualities.
That’s why leading organizations—and the behavioral experts at OAD—are pushing for a new approach. One that focuses on how candidates actually think, work, and adapt in real-world settings.
Understanding the Hiring Process in a Modern Organization
Hiring has evolved from a one-on-one interaction into a cross-functional process involving recruiters, hiring managers, and often future team members. At its best, it’s a collaborative effort designed not just to fill roles—but to build alignment, culture, and long-term capability.
It all starts with a clear job description. But clarity goes beyond listing responsibilities—it means defining the soft skills, work style, and mindset that lead to success in the role. From initial screening to final interviews, each stage is an opportunity to assess more than just qualifications—it’s a chance to evaluate how a candidate thinks, communicates, and fits into the broader team dynamic.
A well-rounded interview strategy includes behavioral questions, situational scenarios, and role-specific technical prompts. Behavioral questions give insight into past actions—how someone handled conflict, feedback, or a high-pressure moment. Situational questions explore how they might respond in unfamiliar, real-time challenges. And technical questions confirm whether the candidate has the hands-on experience and problem-solving precision the role requires.
But structure matters just as much as substance. Interviewers need to know what’s appropriate—and what’s not. Asking about family status, salary history, or a candidate’s personal life not only risks legal exposure, it also undermines the trust you’re trying to build. The best candidates want to know they’re being evaluated fairly, with questions that reflect the role—not their private circumstances.
A thoughtful, respectful interview process sends a clear message: your company values people, not just performance. And that’s exactly the kind of environment top talent wants to join.
The Science Behind Behavioral Interview Questions
Behavioral interview questions are rooted in a simple but powerful principle: past behavior is the best predictor of future performance. Rather than asking what a candidate would do, behavioral questions uncover what they’ve actually done—giving you insight into how they operate in real-world scenarios. These types of interview questions are designed to assess skills that matter most for the role.
This method isn’t just popular—it’s backed by science. A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that behavioral interviews are significantly more predictive of job success than traditional interviews. Why? Because they tap into observable actions and decision-making patterns, not just hypothetical thinking or polished self-promotion.
These questions also reveal key soft skills like emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and communication style—all of which are harder to quantify but critical to long-term success. For instance, a candidate who can describe how they gave negative feedback to a colleague likely has more emotional maturity than one who avoids the topic altogether.
OAD’s own behavioral assessments build on this foundation. By combining structured questions with psychometric data, hiring managers get a 360-degree view of how a candidate is likely to behave, communicate, and adapt within a specific team environment. This is especially valuable for companies scaling past 50 employees, where team dynamics and role clarity become exponentially more complex. Using the right interview question can help assess skills and predict future performance.
And remember—behavioral questions work best when paired with follow-ups. Asking, “What happened next?” or “What would you do differently now?” deepens the insight and often reveals layers of character, leadership, and problem-solving you’d never catch from a resume alone.
5 Interview Questions That Actually Work (and Why)
1. Tell me about a time you faced a major challenge at work. How did you handle it?
This classic behavioral question does more than test memory—it uncovers resilience, self-awareness, and real-world problem-solving. When a candidate shares how they navigated a tough situation, you’re not just learning what they did, but how they think under pressure. This question also reveals how candidates approach challenges and solve problems in real-world scenarios.
Look for clarity and structure in their answer. Did they explain the problem? Walk you through their steps? Reflect on what worked—and what didn’t? A good answer should provide a clear idea of the candidate’s thought process and ability to solve problems. High-quality candidates often use the STAR method intuitively, giving you enough detail to understand both their thought process and emotional response.
You’ll also learn how they manage conflict and collaborate across functions. For example, a project manager might describe how they coordinated multiple teams under a tight deadline. A software developer might explain how they debugged a critical issue while supporting colleagues under stress. These are the kinds of stories that reveal soft skills—like communication, ownership, and composure—that resumes can’t show.
It’s also an ideal setup for follow-up questions. Ask:
- “Who else was involved?”
- “What would you do differently today?”
- “What was the outcome for the team or customer?”
Pro tip: Pay attention to how the candidate talks about others. Do they give credit, take accountability, or deflect blame? Their language choices say a lot about how they’ll fit within your existing team.
2. What’s one project or accomplishment in your career that you’re particularly proud of?
This question taps into motivation, pride, and what a candidate truly values in their work. It reveals more than just outcomes—it shows how they operate when they care about the result.
Strong answers often include context: What was at stake? What role did the candidate play? What obstacles did they overcome? Whether they led a team initiative, launched a product, or improved a process, you’re looking for signs of ownership, creativity, and follow-through.
You can also gauge whether their definition of “success” aligns with your team’s values. Ask candidates how they measure success in their previous roles or last job—do they set clear goals, break them into actionable steps, and use specific criteria to evaluate their progress? Look for whether the candidate’s answer aligns with your organization’s values and expectations. Do they focus on metrics, collaboration, or customer outcomes? Elon Musk has famously said he looks for candidates who have “a track record of exceptional achievement—not credentials.” This question helps you spot exactly that.
For leadership roles, pay attention to how the candidate describes team impact. Did they delegate, mentor, or bring out the best in others? For more technical positions, look for innovation and precision in their storytelling. And don’t forget to ask:
- “What made this project meaningful to you?”
- “How did your team react?”
- “What challenges did you have to overcome along the way?”
Ultimately, this question shows whether a candidate brings more than skills to the table—it reveals their internal drive, vision, and ability to create lasting value.
3. Describe your ideal work environment. What type of culture helps you thrive?
Culture fit isn’t a buzzword—it’s a predictor of long-term success. Even the most technically skilled candidate can derail team dynamics if their values clash with how your company operates. Company culture plays a crucial role in shaping how teams function, and different work styles can significantly impact team dynamics and overall effectiveness.
This question helps surface preferences that often go unspoken during interviews. Does the candidate prefer structured, hierarchical teams or agile, fast-paced environments? Do they thrive with daily feedback or more autonomy? A mismatch here can cause friction across departments—especially in companies with 50+ employees where culture carries strategic weight.
Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, once said, “Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you anything about character or culture fit.” That’s why questions like this matter.
Strong responses will go beyond surface terms like “collaborative” or “fun.” Look for candidates who can articulate the why behind their preferences—and then reflect on how they’ve thrived (or struggled) in past cultures. Candidates may reference their current position to illustrate their preferred work environment or highlight their work ethic by sharing examples of dedication and responsibility. If someone says they value open communication, ask how that played out in their last company. If they mention independence, probe whether that came with accountability.
This question also gives you a mirror: How well does your company’s culture align with what high performers are seeking? The goal isn’t just to find the right candidate—but to make sure your organization is the right place for them to thrive.
4. How do you prioritize tasks when everything feels like a priority?
In fast-paced environments, prioritization is not just a skill—it’s a survival trait. In most jobs, managing day-to-day work and shifting priorities is essential for success. This question reveals how a candidate manages pressure, time, and decision-making when there’s no clear roadmap.
Generic answers like “I make a to-do list” don’t cut it. Look for candidates who walk you through their framework—whether that’s urgency vs. importance, stakeholder needs, or business impact. High performers can usually explain how they triage tasks, communicate deadlines, and stay productive without burning out.
For example, a software developer might describe how they balance bug fixes with feature rollouts, while a marketing lead may prioritize campaigns based on audience data and ROI. These answers offer a real-world glimpse into their self-discipline, judgment, and ability to manage ambiguity.
Follow-up questions matter here:
- “What do you do when your priorities change mid-day?”
- “How do you communicate shifts to your team or manager?”
- “What tools or habits help you stay on track?”
Candidates who thrive in high-growth companies often demonstrate mental models for decision-making—something hiring managers often overlook. Warren Buffett once said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” This question uncovers how—and when—your candidate says “no.”
5. If you were hired, what would be your 30-60-90-day plan?
This question separates prepared candidates from passive applicants. Anyone can say they’re excited about the role. But someone who comes with a 30-60-90-day plan? That’s a candidate who’s already thinking like an insider. This question also helps set expectations for a new hire’s early contributions, making it clear what success looks like in the first months.
A well-structured answer should reflect three things: research, initiative, and alignment with your business goals. In the first 30 days, you’ll often hear about onboarding and learning. In the next 30, you’ll want to hear how they’ll apply that knowledge. By day 90, the best candidates will articulate how they plan to drive value—whether that’s launching a project, streamlining a process, or mentoring others.
Look for specificity. Do they reference your product, your customers, or your organizational structure? Do they make assumptions that show curiosity and insight—or ones that reveal a lack of preparation? A new hire’s plan should also demonstrate how they intend to set expectations and integrate quickly into the team.
This is also where strategic thinking shines. A high-level marketer might talk about competitor research and early campaign pilots. A sales manager might plan pipeline audits and fast wins. A software developer might propose codebase immersion and team integration checkpoints.
To get even more value from this question, ask:
- “What would success look like to you at Day 90?”
- “How would you adjust this plan based on what you learn in the first month?”
- “What risks do you anticipate in this transition?”
Ultimately, the best answers reflect not just ambition—but ownership. These are the candidates who walk in ready to contribute, not just get trained.
Off-Limits & Risky Questions: What Not to Ask
Great interviewers know what to ask—but the best also know what not to say. Certain topics can land you in legal trouble, damage your employer brand, or unfairly filter out top talent before they have a chance to shine.
Questions about a candidate’s family status, age, religion, or health, or candidate’s personal life are not only irrelevant—they’re potentially discriminatory and illegal in many regions. Even casual questions like “Do you have kids?” or “Are you planning any vacations soon?” can backfire. These may seem harmless, but they can influence hiring bias or create discomfort for the candidate.
Instead, reframe your curiosity into job-relevant hypotheticals. For example, rather than asking about a candidate’s ability to stay late, ask: “This role occasionally requires overtime during product launches. How comfortable are you with flexible hours during those periods?”
Salary expectations are another hot-button topic. While it’s legal in many places to ask, it’s often more productive to share your salary range up front and ask, “Does that align with your expectations?” This creates transparency without putting the candidate on the defensive.
Also avoid asking about a candidate’s current job in a way that pressures them to reveal confidential information. Instead, use follow-ups like:
- “What parts of your current role do you most enjoy?”
- “What are you looking to do more of in your next position?”
Remember: Interviewing isn’t a power play—it’s a two-way evaluation. Protect your team (and your reputation) by keeping questions focused on behaviors, skills, and alignment with the role—not personal details.
How to Spot the Best Candidates: Look Beyond the Resume
A polished resume can open doors—but it rarely tells the whole story. The best candidates aren’t always the ones with the most impressive titles or longest tenure. Strong applicants stand out from other candidates by demonstrating alignment with the organization’s values and by showing they can be a supportive team member.
They’re the ones who consistently demonstrate coachability, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and alignment with your company’s values.
Resumes highlight credentials. Behavioral interviews highlight character.
Hiring managers often default to filtering candidates based on pedigree—prestigious schools, top-tier companies, big job titles. But research from Google’s HR division, Project Oxygen, found that the best predictors of success weren’t hard skills. They were soft skills like empathy, communication, and collaboration. In fact, many of Google’s top-performing teams were led by people with non-traditional backgrounds.
So how do you spot high-potential candidates when they don’t fit a perfect mold? Watch how they:
- Describe past challenges (do they blame others or take ownership?)
- Reflect on feedback (defensive or growth-oriented?)
- Engage with follow-up questions (curious or closed off?)
One way to surface these insights faster is with OAD’s behavioral survey. It helps hiring teams go deeper than the resume, surfacing personality traits, leadership potential, and role alignment in just two pages.
You don’t need a “perfect candidate.” You need someone who can evolve, collaborate, and contribute meaningfully to your team. The resume is just the starting point. What really matters is who shows up when the stakes are high.
How to Customize Interview Questions for the Role
Not every question fits every job. A one-size-fits-all interview might help you compare candidates—but it won’t reveal who’s best suited for this role, on your team, right now.
Customizing your interview questions starts with the job description. What core outcomes does this role drive? What skills are truly non-negotiable? For a software developer, you might focus on technical questions, problem-solving, and collaboration with product teams. For a customer-facing role, prioritize emotional intelligence, communication style, and handling pressure.
You can also adapt behavioral questions based on key responsibilities. For example:
- Instead of “Tell me about a time you led a team,” try: “Tell me about a time you had to influence stakeholders without direct authority.”
- Instead of “Describe a challenge,” ask: “How have you handled scope creep or changing client demands mid-project?”
For leadership positions or project managers, consider asking about their management style or how they approach leadership role responsibilities. For example: “Can you provide an example of your management style when leading a team through a complex project?” or “Describe a situation where your leadership role was critical in resolving a team conflict.”
OAD’s behavioral data makes this process easier. By aligning a candidate’s core traits with the expectations of a role—say, fast decision-making vs. deep analysis—you can tailor your interview flow to spot the right match faster.
This is especially useful when hiring across departments. A project manager in marketing needs a different mindset than one in engineering. With a few tweaks to your core questions, you’ll learn more about how a candidate fits into the realities of the job—not just the theory.
Need a shortcut? Build a question bank mapped to your most common roles, with clear markers for soft skills, work style, and growth potential. Over time, this becomes a repeatable, scalable system that saves your hiring team hours per interview cycle.
Bonus Interview Tactics: Follow-Up Questions That Reveal Even More
The best interviewers don’t stop at the first answer—they dig deeper. Follow-up questions are where the real insights live. They help you uncover patterns, mindset, and clarity of thought that a rehearsed answer might otherwise conceal.
A well-placed follow-up can instantly reveal if someone’s storytelling is surface-level or grounded in real experience. For example, after a candidate shares a win, ask:
- “What would you have done differently?”
- “What was the hardest part of that experience?”
- “How did others on the team respond to your approach?”
These questions test self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and decision-making. They also surface communication skills and how a candidate processes feedback—especially if you nudge them toward discussing mistakes or moments of tension. Candidates can earn bonus points by referencing feedback from a direct supervisor or by sharing how they responded to constructive criticism in those situations.
You can also use layered follow-ups to assess depth. For example:
- “Walk me through your thought process in that moment.”
- “What trade-offs were you considering?”
- “How did you prioritize when time or resources were limited?”
This is where behavioral interviewing truly shines. You’re not just collecting answers—you’re testing for consistency, clarity, and maturity.
Train your hiring team to listen for signals: Does the candidate pause to think? Do they reflect or deflect? Can they clearly explain their reasoning, even when stakes were high?
OAD’s assessments can support this process by identifying how a candidate naturally makes decisions under pressure. Pair those insights with your follow-ups, and you’ll get a much clearer picture of who you’re really hiring.
Best Practices for Running Interviews That Actually Work
A great interview isn’t just a conversation—it’s a structured experience that shapes how candidates perceive your company and how well you assess their potential. It requires more than a solid question bank. It takes strategy, consistency, and empathy.
Start by building your interview around the role—not just the resume. Design questions that map directly to your job description’s core competencies, including both technical ability and behavioral traits. If strategic thinking, adaptability, or stakeholder communication is essential to success, your questions should surface those dimensions.
Use a mix of formats to get a fuller picture. Behavioral questions help you understand how candidates have responded to real-world challenges. Situational prompts explore how they think under pressure or in unfamiliar scenarios. And technical questions confirm whether they can execute the core responsibilities with confidence and clarity.
Avoid questions that create traps or prompt blame. Asking “Why did you leave your last job?” often invites canned or defensive responses. Instead, reframe with curiosity: “What have you learned from your recent professional transitions?” The goal isn’t to dig for red flags—it’s to learn how someone thinks, reflects, and evolves.
Create an environment where candidates can be real. Interviews should feel professional, not interrogational. A welcoming tone leads to better responses—and better insights. And don’t underestimate the power of silence: often, a thoughtful pause says more than a fast answer.
Finally, standardize how you capture insights. Take structured notes, calibrate with panel or peer interviewers, and debrief with intention. Not only does this reduce bias—it ensures your hiring decision reflects shared priorities, not individual impressions.
When done right, the interview process becomes more than a filter. It becomes a strategic advantage—one that helps you spot, attract, and land the kind of talent that transforms teams.
Pro Tip: Add Science to Your Process With OAD
Even the best interview questions have limits. No matter how skilled your team is at asking them, you’re still relying on a subjective interpretation of the answers. That’s where behavioral science makes the difference—and that’s where OAD comes in.
The OAD Behavioral Assessment is a scientifically validated tool that helps you understand how candidates are wired to think, act, and collaborate. It doesn’t just measure personality—it reveals how someone will operate under pressure, communicate across teams, and respond to real-world demands in your specific company context. The assessment can also highlight a candidate’s potential for professional growth and their ability to adapt in a professional setting, providing deeper insight into how they might evolve and contribute over time.
For example, if you’re hiring a team leader who needs to juggle multiple stakeholders, OAD can highlight whether a candidate naturally thrives in that dynamic—or if they’re likely to feel overwhelmed or misaligned. You can also uncover how they handle feedback, how much structure they need, and whether they’re more driven by results or relationships.
Unlike typical assessments, the OAD survey is fast to complete and easy to interpret, giving you a two-page behavioral summary that your team can act on immediately. It becomes your secret weapon—not just for hiring, but for onboarding, team development, and leadership coaching. OAD can also help identify candidates who are able to learn a new skill or pick up a skill quickly, ensuring your team is adaptable and ready to meet new challenges.
Used alongside behavioral interview questions, OAD fills in the gaps. It gives you data where you previously relied on gut instinct. And that’s what helps fast-scaling companies avoid costly hiring mistakes and build aligned, high-performance teams from day one.
See How OAD Makes Hiring Smarter
If you’re serious about hiring the best candidates—not just the most polished interviewers—it’s time to bring science into your process. OAD’s behavioral assessment gives you the clarity, consistency, and confidence to make hiring decisions that actually work.
Test OAD for free to see how it helps you to:
- Understand a candidate’s true behavior before you make the offer
- Improve team alignment and reduce turnover
- Speed up your hiring process without sacrificing quality
- Build a repeatable, data-driven system that grows with your company
You’ll also get a walkthrough of our two-page candidate summary and real-world examples of how other companies use OAD to identify top talent and prevent costly misfires. Whether you’re hiring for executive roles or frontline positions, the insights are clear, actionable, and customized to your team.
Our clients include high-growth companies, experienced HR teams, small businesses, small business owners, and business leaders who want more than gut instinct—they want behavioral accuracy. OAD also supports organizations looking to stay ahead of industry trends. And that’s exactly what OAD delivers.
Try it for free today and see how much smarter your hiring process can be with behavioral science in your corner.
