Hiring the perfect candidate for a role is a lot like solving a puzzle. There are many pieces that might seem like a good fit, but is it a match when looking at the big picture? Just because a candidate seems to have the right qualifications doesn’t mean they will mesh with your company culture or work well with the rest of the team. This is where peer interview questions come in!
A peer interview is exactly what you might think it is – an interview conducted by both you and your peers to choose the best possible candidate. Not only should this candidate be qualified, but they should be a good fit for your team and culture. Typically a candidate might have two or three individual interviews with the hiring team and a future manager. A peer interview eliminates this by allowing a candidate to directly communicate with the employees they would be working with if hired. After all, this candidate will have to work with them on a daily basis. They should be a good match!
How Should We Shape Peer Interview Questions?
While peer interviews are fantastic ways for both candidates and interviewers to ask specific questions about the role, there are also general questions that you can ask any candidate that will gauge their abilities to be successful in a team dynamic.
Peer interview questions should not be simple “yes” or “no” questions. Ask candidates open-ended questions that they can elaborate on. Feel free to ask candidates for examples. You want to see how their past experiences and their thoughts would positively contribute to both the role and your organization. This candidate should not only mesh with your company culture, but they should be adding to it as well. They should also focus on topics such as:
- Teamwork
- Motivation
- Communication
- Adaptability to change
- Emotional intelligence
- Ability to learn
20 Perfect Peer Interview Questions
Here are Bryq’s Top 20 Peer Interview Questions to help you find the perfect fit for your role.
- How would you describe your communication style?
- What is your biggest challenge when it comes to communicating?
- Is there a communication style you don’t respond well to?
- How will you add value to our team? Give us an example of a time in the past that you added value to a work project.
- Have you ever been in a situation where a team member was not pulling their weight? How did you go about resolving this issue?
- Provide an example of a time you stepped up as the leader of your team.
- Provide an example of a time your perspective changed the outcome of a project in a positive way.
- How would you motivate your disengaged co-worker?
- What would you do if your co-worker was visibly upset?
- If you caught a co-worker stealing from work, would you say anything?
- How do you celebrate success?
- How do you handle failure?
- What would your last team say is your best quality?
- What is your definition of great culture in a work environment? Give us an example of a company that has great culture.
- We don’t always see eye-to-eye with our managers. How do you handle disagreements with them?
- What kind of management style do you prefer in your managers?
- There will always be unexpected changes that need to happen in a project. How do you handle these surprises?
- What do you expect from your team to do your job to the best of your ability?
- Name the most important lesson you’ve learned from working with an office team.
- What do you wish I’d had asked you about today? (We love this question. It allows us to see where we need to improve in our peer interview process.)
Bryq Can Help You Improve Your Interview Process
There you have it! These 20 peer interview questions are sure to help you decide whether or not your candidate is a good fit for your team.
Of course, there are potential risks to having peer interviews if they are not conducted properly. These include bias, favoritism, choosing the wrong interviewers, and eating up too much office time. This can be avoided by coming into the interview well-prepared with planned interview questions and the right interview team. Follow this advice, and you are sure to benefit greatly from having a peer interview!
To simplify the peer interview process, check out Bryq’s talent assessment software. Not only do we match job candidates to specific job roles based on their personalities and cognitive abilities, but we also offer detailed interview guides to help you make the best hiring decision possible. Our interview guides are tailor-made to match a candidate’s personality traits to the job role at hand. Not only will they help your hiring process, but they’ll offer you valuable insight into what you are doing right and what needs some more work.
So go ahead, start scheduling those peer interviews! We are really excited to be a part of your hiring process. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need more help finding the perfect talent for your team.
