Strategic-thinking Interview Questions
Use the below-given strategic-thinking interview questions to find candidates who can prepare effective strategies according to your company’s goals.
Why ask strategic-thinking interview questions to candidates?
By analyzing the current and future scenarios, strategic thinkers translate a company’s vision into workable actions.
Companies hire employees with a strategic outlook in order to achieve long-term business goals. Strategic thinkers:
- Successfully deal with competition
- Prepare action plans during difficult situations
- Use resources skillfully
- Proactively identify and address potential risks
- Prepare long-term goals
Strategic-thinking interview questions
- What factors do you keep in mind when preparing an action plan?
- Have you ever failed to achieve your goals and had to follow a new approach? What was the reason for the failure?
- Tell me about a time when you proactively recognized and resolved a problem at your workplace?
- How do you share your strategic decisions with your team and other departments in your company?
- How much time in a week or month do you devote to strategic planning? What do you do?
Tips to assess candidates’ strategic-thinking skills
- Give candidates a few hypothetical situations related your company’s processes. Check if they understand your needs and can prepare strategies that support your goals.
- Ask interviewees how they prepare a strategy for their team/company. Look for people who are disciplined and assess all options and potential risks.
- Before preparing a business plan, employees have to understand how their company or team works. During the interview, assess candidates’ analytical skills in collecting and evaluating information.
Red Flags
- They have difficulty embracing change: Strategies have to be flexible. If your candidates have poor management skills and they are not adaptive, they might stick to an ineffective approach rather than re-evaluating strategies.
- They don’t consider consequences: Candidates who approach your questions casually and give very superficial answers, might not be prepared to think purposefully when problems occur.
- They don’t have leadership skills: Strategic planning includes setting challenging goals and motivating the team to achieve these objectives. Look for candidates who are comfortable in delegating tasks and are good team leaders.
- They are scared to make a decision: For choosing the best methods, employees have to assess various alternatives, calculate its pros and cons and predict potential risks. Candidates who lack confidence and look nervous when asked to make a decision might not be a great fit.