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Asking the right interview questions

Employees are the most important aspect of a business therefore it is vital that employers implement strategies to attract quality staff members for the benefit of the company.

Not only can efficient and experienced employees boost productivity levels, they can enhance staff morale within an organisation, improving the culture of a company.

Job interviews are vital for attracting quality staff, so it is important that you review your recruitment process to ensure it portrays your enterprise in a good light – enhancing its appeal among prospective employees.

While most employers will be familiar with what questions to ask, it is also important to adopt a behavioural interviewing technique.

By exploring what the interviewee has achieved as opposed to asking them what they would do in a situation, you are able to predict future performance more accurately.

Kathie Kelly, BUSY At Work Recruitment Solutions national manager, offers an example of these types of questions.

“Tell me about a time you were faced with conflicting deadlines. How did you manage the stakeholders? How did you decide what your priorities were? What was the end result in this situation and how did those involved react?”

You may also be unaware that there are some questions that should be kept of the agenda completely.

Every state and territory is different, but in most areas of Australia, there are laws that prohibit prospective employers from asking questions that have nothing to do with the position and may be discriminatory.

As a rule, employers should steer clear of any questions that are unrelated to the job role, this includes probing prospective staff about their race, religion, national origin, birthplace, age, disability and marital status.

But there are some exceptions. For example, it may be necessary to ask about the visa status of a person if they are from overseas.

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