Questions to Ask When Hiring New Graduates

Although many employers think that new graduates are not ready for challenges that modern workplaces represent, this is usually not the case. Hiring someone who just finished their studies can actually be an excellent decision for your company.

One of the main reasons why you should hire new graduates is because they’re usually full of enthusiasm and have a strong desire to learn. However, finding the right candidate can be tricky. In case you don’t know how to find an enthusiastic new graduate, the right employees, or you simply need assistance with getting top talent to work for your company, consult professional executive recruiters, like M&A.

In order to ensure you hire the right person, here’s a list of questions you should ask during an interview:

Can You Describe How You Manage Your Time and Responsibilities During The Day?

Organization and time management skills are essential for workplace success, so asking candidates to describe how they handle their responsibilities during the day can shine some light on their work ethic.

Look for an answer that’ll give you an insight into how well they managed to handle multiple deadlines during their studies. While the candidates talk about their day-to-day activities, you can easily see what tasks they prioritize and therefore have a better understanding of how they think.

Additionally, you can ask them to tell you about a situation where they had little time to meet a particular deadline. Doing this will help you determine how well your candidates behave in stressful situations. After all, you don’t want to hire someone who folds under pressure.

How Long Did You Prepare For This Interview?

Even though this may not sound like a standard interview question, it’s actually a great trick to find out how serious your candidates take the role of employment. The process of preparing for an interview shows how important this job is to them.

Know that just merely scrolling through the company’s website or reading reviews is insufficient. You should look for a thorough answer since it indicates that your candidate is well prepared and takes their career, as well as the job opportunity, seriously.

Keep in mind that a well-prepared candidate tends to be more eloquent and self-confident, and will answer immediately. Those who haven’t prepared enough probably won’t be able to give you a straight answer right after you ask them this question.

What Did You Do When A School Assignment Went Wrong?

This question is the easiest way to assess problem-solving skills of someone who has little or no work experience. Almost every student has had an assignment or a project that backslid. Since failure is sometimes a hard thing to handle, this will help you see which one of the candidates is the best at maintaining their composure, energy, and positive attitude in a negative situation.

Furthermore, it’ll also help you determine if the candidate knows how to admit making a mistake.

Have You Ever Got Involved In An Argument With Someone While Working On A Group Project? If So, How Did You Work It Out?

Another crucial thing you need to look for in a candidate is their ability to work in a team. Since conflicts are inevitable in work environments, you should make sure to hire someone who knows how to compromise.

The answer to this question will show you if a candidate knows what working in a team requires. Look for an honest answer from someone who’s not afraid to disagree with an idea or a concept. After all, teamwork can be very constructive if you have employees who are not afraid to speak their minds.

Their answer to how they managed to resolve the argument will give you great insight into their communication skills, which represents one of the main qualities a great employee can have.

Conclusion

Although new graduates are usually not the first choice of many employers, the number of young people who are passionate about their job would surprise you.

Not having much work experience doesn’t always have to represent the inability to do the job. The questions in this article will help you find a perfect candidate for a full-time position, whether they have work experience or not.