3 Questions You Should Ask Every Candidate

Recruitment is one of the most difficult things that any organisation will do. With the fashion industry being immensely popular, it can be a huge task differentiating strong candidates from weaker ones which is why asking the right questions at the interview stage is crucial. Unfortunately, many hiring managers don’t pay a great deal of attention to the actual questions they ask during an interview and by doing so miss out on a golden opportunity to gain vital insights about a candidate. 

We take a look at three simple questions that you should ask every candidate that you interview and discuss the insights you will get from them. What are your main motivations? The fashion industry is one of the most popular industries to work in, with every job, from junior levels to executive roles having countless applications. There are countless motivations too that may drive people to want to work in fashion and it is vital to uncover what these motivations are. 

For example, money motivates most people in some way (we all have bills to pay), but what if it is the main motivator for someone? 

If they’re in fashion sales, then this may be great, people who are highly motivated by money often make great salespeople. In other roles though in fashion, being highly motivated by money may not be that beneficial, such as in admin or more creative roles. Working out what motivates people is key to assessing if they will fit in with your business and the role they have applied for. 

What management styles do you work best under? 

This is a question that very few interviewers actually ask. If more did, it could save some bad hires. We’re all different as individuals, and managers have different management styles and people tend to prefer and work best under particular types. It’s vital that these marry up if you and your new member of staff are going to work harmoniously in the long-term. 

For example, some managers may love to give their members of staff free reign to be creative and impulsive whereas others may prefer to have very clear boundaries as to what staff can and cannot do. Put the wrong sort of employee into either of these situations and you will find that friction will ensue and there will be a negative outcome. 

If you could take back one decision in your career, what would it be? This is an excellent question to ask any candidate and one that sees if they learn from their mistakes. This question can tell you a lot about the journey they have been on in their career too. Do they genuinely like their choice of career or do they wish they were doing something else? We all have some regrets and we have all made bad decisions. Being able to recognise this and learn from it is a positive attribute and is a good way of differentiating good applicants from poor ones.