Hiring Strategic Thinkers and Team Players: Three Questions to Ask Accounting or Finance Job Candidates

A candidate might look great on paper. But once you’ve welcomed that person to your team, you might find he or she lacks the qualities you wanted to find in your new hire.

That kind of mistake can cost you time and money. Plus, this mismatch between organization and employee can be mitigated by asking certain interview questions that ensure that your candidate is not only smart, strategic, and highly capable, but also fits well into your company culture. Here are three of the most essential questions you can ask a potential hire.

1. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Why it’s a good question: This question can be used to gauge a candidate’s ambition, as well as to determine how much of a career he or she wants to devote to your firm. If you’re hiring for a position that has a lot of potential for promotion, consider whether a candidate’s goals match with her potential levels of advancement at your firm. In turn, if you feel like the candidate is overly ambitious — or wants to advance so quickly he will soon be looking for another job — the candidate is likely not a good fit. Additionally, candidates who offer canned answers, rather than actual plans, might not have the kind of level-headed thinking and planning skills you want.

2. Why are you interested in joining our company?

Why it’s a good question: This question can give you insights into how the candidate views your company, regardless of whether she’s a new graduate or a seasoned professional. This question is also useful because it lets you know whether the candidate has done her homework about your firm.

3. What are two likes and dislikes you have at your current job?

Why it’s a good question: This question gets to the heart of something important: whether or not your candidate would fit well into your firm’s company culture. This question informs you about a potential hire’s work personality. Consider if what they dislike about their current position would be like the conditions of your open position. For example, if the candidate says she doesn’t prefer a flexible management style and you have a similar management style, she likely won’t fit well into your open position.

Overwhelmed by sifting through the sheer number of candidates who applied for your open position? Career Moves, LLC can help you find candidates who are professional, personable, and, most of all, hireable. We’ve placed hundreds of finance and accounting professionals into their new positions, so we know we’re the Hartford search firm that can make your hiring process simpler.