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Imagine you work as a media reporter for a major outlet, and you get the chance to interview a well known actor. You would not walk in with a blank slate. You would read about them, do real research, and prepare a list of questions worth asking.
Now picture asking that same well prepared subject, “Could you tell me a little about yourself?” There is a good chance they would flinch, or roll their eyes and wonder if you are serious. Yet this is exactly the kind of question many interviewers still lead with when hiring for a job.
Given how many candidates apply for every open role today, interviewers need to prepare for interviews just as much as candidates do. At minimum, that means reviewing a resume and LinkedIn profile before the conversation starts.
Technical interview questions are usually more straightforward, since the interviewer already knows what skills the role requires. HR and behavioral questions are trickier, because the interviewer often has only a few minutes to judge a candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and fit.
Long used interview questions like “Tell me about yourself” or “Where do you see yourself in five years?” add little value. They rarely reveal anything that is not already sitting in the resume, and candidates have usually rehearsed a generic answer long before they walk in.
There are plenty of other overused questions that could join this list. Based on multiple hiring surveys and our own review of interview data, the questions below tend to surface far more useful signal, without boring the candidate in the process.
What is your greatest professional strength?
Why ask: this helps you understand how relevant a candidate’s strengths are to the job at hand, and gauges their confidence in talking about their own skills.
What is the one quality that makes you a good fit for this role?
Why ask: this reveals how the candidate perceives the role itself. Some answers will be generic (“I am a team player”), but others will get straight to the heart of why they want this specific job.
How well do you handle pressure, stress, or change?
Why ask: this shows whether a candidate can turn pressure into productive action. For a managerial role, you can ask the same question about how they help their team handle stress, since a good manager needs empathy for what their team is going through.
What excites you most about this role?
Why ask: the answer is subjective, but the amount of genuine energy behind it tells you a lot about whether the candidate actually wants this job or is just applying broadly.
Could you share a professional achievement you’re proud of?
Why ask: this shows you what the candidate considers a real win. For some people, a small lead is a big deal, for others it takes a major deal to feel proud, and that difference tells you about their goals and standards.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Why ask: hobbies offer a window into personality that a resume cannot. The answer often says as much about how someone approaches life as it does about the role itself.
Can you tell us about a difficult work situation and how you handled it?
Why ask: every employee eventually runs into a hiccup or a challenge. These moments are where real professional growth happens, and the answer shows how the candidate performs under pressure.
Why are you leaving your current organization?
Why ask: pay attention to how a candidate talks about a current or former employer. Someone who only has negative things to say may lack professionalism, while someone who can acknowledge the good while still wanting to move forward usually has the right attitude.
How would you describe an ideal work environment?
Why ask: this tells you whether the candidate is likely to thrive in the environment your organization actually offers.
Always close the interview with the obvious but necessary question: “Do you have any questions for us?” It gives the candidate a chance to fill in gaps, and often reveals what they care about most.
While the candidate has plenty at stake on their side of the table, interviews can be just as demanding for the interviewer. It helps to write down your questions ahead of time, tied specifically to the job role and the day to day functions of the position, rather than relying on a generic list.
The questions above will not cover every situation, but they give you a solid go to guide, even on the days when you walk into the room less prepared than you would like.
What makes an interview question boring or ineffective?
A question is boring when it is so common that candidates have a rehearsed, generic answer ready, and so broad that it does not reveal anything specific about their fit for the role. “Tell me about yourself” is the classic example.
What are good alternative questions to ask instead of “tell me about yourself”?
Questions built around a specific strength, a real achievement, or a difficult situation the candidate handled tend to work better, since they ask for evidence rather than a rehearsed summary.
Should interview questions differ between technical and HR rounds?
Yes. Technical questions can stay close to the role’s actual requirements, while HR and behavioral questions need more variety and framing, since they are trying to judge personality and fit in a very short conversation.
How many questions should an interviewer prepare for a single interview?
Most structured interviews work well with 8 to 12 core questions tied to the role, leaving enough time for follow up questions based on the candidate’s actual answers.
Glider’s recruitment platform is designed to help interviewers move past generic, rehearsed questions and focus on real signal. With Glider AI Interview Software, you can standardize role specific questions across every interviewer, score responses consistently, and cut down on the guesswork that boring, overused questions leave behind.
Go ahead and build sharper interviews with Glider AI today!
Schedule a Demo or contact us at info@glider.ai
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