What are the Best Personal Interview Questions?

The best personal interview questions typically depend on the person who is conducting an interview and the type of job for which a person is applying. These questions are generally aimed at learning more about the personality of an applicant, and gaining a better understanding of who the person is and how he or she would fit in with other employees. Such questions do not typically involve work experience or professional methodology, though previous experiences can be used to demonstrate how the applicant generally behaves. When considering personal interview questions, it is also important to remember that certain subjects should usually be avoided during a job interview.

Personal interview questions are those questions that seek to learn more about the character of a job applicant. There are a wide range of questions that can be asked in this process, though questions should be chosen that get to the root of a subject or reveal details about an applicant in numerous ways with a single question. One excellent way to start an interview is with a question in the form of a request such as “Tell me about yourself” or “Tell me why you would like to work for this company.” An interviewer might also consider personal interview questions that demonstrate how an applicant thinks.

Such personal interview questions will often ask an applicant to describe himself or herself through someone else’s point of view. This can include questions like “How would your friends describe you?” or “What would your last manager tell me about you?” These types of questions usually push an applicant to provide an answer, as long as it is a truthful answer, beyond the usual scope of answers that reveal only his or her own opinion of himself or herself. Personal interview questions can also be fairly simple such as “What would you say your three best and worst qualities are?” or “How do you define success?”

An interviewer should also keep in mind that certain types of personal interview questions are usually inappropriate during a job interview. Most interviewers should not ask an applicant about his or her religious beliefs, personal political views, opinions on controversial subjects, and about the applicant’s romantic life. Certain jobs can be exceptions to this general rule, however, such as someone interviewing to work as a counselor at a religious camp or an attorney who may need to represent clients in cases that involve controversial subjects. Personal interview questions should typically reveal who the person is as a potential worker, and not pry into the private life of an applicant.