25 Best In-Person Interview Questions for Recruiters

Recruiting top talent is no small task. As a recruiter, your most valuable resource is time—especially the time you spend interviewing potential candidates. Conducting in-person interviews at a coffee shop or other relaxed setting can help candidates feel more comfortable, leading to more authentic conversations. But to make the most of these meetings, you need the right questions to evaluate how candidates would perform for your client or company.

Here are 25 effective in-person interview questions designed to help recruiters to assess whether a candidate is the right fit for a potential employer.

1. Tell us about yourself and what attracted you to this position.

2. When you leave here, what would you like to make sure we know about you?

3. What would lead you to make a career change at this point?

4. What other responsibilities have you had in your previous positions that would benefit you in a role at our company?

5. Describe your ideal work environment.

6. If you joined our team when this role was being formed, how would you go about creating it, and what processes would you establish to ensure its success?

7. How would your co-workers at your last role describe you?

8. How would your friends and family describe you?

9. Tell us what you are most proud of outside of work and why.

10. If you had a month to learn anything you wanted, what would you learn and why?

11. What kind of company would you like to work for? Include things like culture, company values, size, and management styles.

12. What is your favorite product or service that our company offers and why?

13. What value do you think this role can have for the company, and why are you the best person to create that value?

14. How do you envision the person in this role impacting the strategy of the company?

15. If you were on a trip in a dangerous place with five friends and one of them sustained an injury needing immediate medical care, what would you do?

16. Describe what you envision to be the perfect day in this role for you, including your responsibilities and any other details you’d like to include.

17. What have you found to be the most useful tools in your last role?

18. What are you learning about right now?

19. Tell us about a project you worked on that you’re most proud of and explain your role on the project.

20. Tell us a time you did not meet a project deadline. How did you handle it?

21. What do you tend to look to your manager and co-workers for the most assistance on?

22. Break down the percentage of time you spent working on each of your main initiatives during a typical week in your last role.

23. If you had an idea for a new initiative, how would you go about convincing your team and boss that it was a good idea?

24. What makes you look forward to going to work every day?

25. How do you stay motivated and productive, even when facing challenges?

Making the Most of Your In-Person Interviews

By asking these questions, you can gain a deeper understanding of a candidate’s skills, cultural fit, and potential for growth. In-person interviews also allow you to observe non-verbal cues and build stronger connections, which can be invaluable when assessing talent.

To make scheduling these in-person interviews even easier, consider using Meetify. It’s a powerful scheduling tool designed to help recruiters effortlessly arrange meetings at coffee shops or other convenient locations. Save time and keep the process professional and personal.

Happy recruiting!