50 Interview Questions to Ask Candidates (With Scoring Guide)

Behavioral (STAR)
Situational
Motivation
Problem solving
Teamwork
Culture and values
Leadership
Closing
Scoring
Questions to avoid

The 10 best interview questions to ask candidates

If you only have time for a short interview, start with these. Together they cover ownership, accountability, conflict, coachability, judgment, motivation and teamwork.

Tell me about a project you're proud of. What was your part?Tests: Ownership and impact
Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work. What did you do next?Tests: Accountability
Describe a time you disagreed with a manager or colleague.Tests: Handling conflict
Tell me about a time you received critical feedback. What did you change?Tests: Coachability
You're given a project with an unclear goal and a tight deadline. What do you do first?Tests: Judgment under ambiguity
Why are you interested in this role?Tests: Motivation and fit
Walk me through how you would approach [a real problem from this role].Tests: Problem solving
Tell me about a decision you made with incomplete information.Tests: Decision making
Tell me about a team you worked well in. What did you do to make it work?Tests: Collaboration
Is there anything about your experience we haven't covered?Tests: Completeness, and a fair close

Why ask every candidate the same questions?

Asking every candidate for a role the same questions, and scoring them on the same scale, is called a structured interview. In a 2022 meta-analysis of hiring methods, Sackett and colleagues ranked structured interviews first for predicting job performance, with a validity of .42, ahead of job knowledge tests (.40), work samples (.33) and cognitive ability tests (.31) (Journal of Applied Psychology). The questions below are written to be used this way: pick the ones that match the role, ask them in the same order and score each answer against the guidance.

Behavioral (STAR) interview questions

Behavioral questions ask for a real past situation. Candidates who answer with the STAR method describe the Situation, the Task, the Action they took and the Result. Listen for their own actions and a result you could check.

Tell me about a project you're proud of. What was your part, and what changed because of it?Strong answer: Separates their own work from the team's and names a result, such as a metric, a deadline met or a customer outcome.Weak answer: Says "we" throughout and can't say what they personally did or what changed.
Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work. What did you do next?Strong answer: Owns the mistake, explains how they fixed it and what they changed so it didn't happen again.Weak answer: Blames someone else, or picks a "mistake" that is really a strength.
Describe a time you disagreed with a manager or colleague. How did you handle it?Strong answer: Raised it directly with evidence, listened, and reached a decision while keeping the working relationship.Weak answer: Avoided the conversation, or escalated without trying to resolve it first.
Tell me about a time you had to learn something new quickly to get a job done.Strong answer: Explains how they learned, how long it took and what they delivered with the new skill.Weak answer: Says they are "a fast learner" with no example.
Give an example of a goal you set and how you met it.Strong answer: Names a specific target, the plan they followed and how they tracked progress.Weak answer: No number, no plan, or a goal someone else set and tracked for them.
Tell me about a time you had several urgent priorities at once.Strong answer: Explains how they ranked the work and told people what would slip and why.Weak answer: "I just worked longer hours", with no prioritizing or communication.
Describe a time you persuaded someone who didn't agree with you.Strong answer: Understood the other person's concern, used evidence and describes the outcome.Weak answer: Pushed harder until the other person gave in, or gave up straight away.
Tell me about a time you received critical feedback. What did you change?Strong answer: Names the feedback, the change they made and what improved afterwards.Weak answer: Gets defensive, or says they have never had critical feedback.
Tell me about a time you went beyond what your role required.Strong answer: Explains why the extra work mattered and the effect it had.Weak answer: Equates going beyond with working overtime.
What is the hardest problem you solved in your last role?Strong answer: Defines the problem, the options they weighed, why they chose one and what happened.Weak answer: Can't explain their reasoning, only the final answer.

Situational interview questions

Situational questions describe a realistic scenario from the job and ask what the candidate would do. They work well for early-career candidates who have fewer past examples. Base them on situations your team actually faces.

You're given a project with an unclear goal and a tight deadline. What do you do in the first two days?Strong answer: Clarifies the goal and what "done" means with the right people, then sets an early check-in.Weak answer: Starts working straight away without asking any questions.
A customer is upset about something that isn't your fault. How do you respond?Strong answer: Acknowledges the problem, takes ownership of the next step and follows up.Weak answer: Focuses on explaining why it isn't their fault.
You notice a colleague cutting corners in a way that affects quality. What do you do?Strong answer: Talks to the colleague first, then escalates in proportion to the risk.Weak answer: Ignores it, or goes straight to a manager without the facts.
Two senior people give you conflicting instructions. How do you proceed?Strong answer: Points out the conflict, asks them to agree a priority and confirms it in writing.Weak answer: Quietly picks one instruction and hopes nobody notices.
Halfway through a task, you realize your approach won't work. What next?Strong answer: Flags it early, explains why and proposes an alternative with a new timeline.Weak answer: Keeps going and hopes it works out, or says nothing until the deadline.
In your first month, you spot a way to improve one of our processes. How would you raise it?Strong answer: Learns why the process exists first, then proposes a small change with evidence.Weak answer: Wants to replace the process immediately, or wouldn't mention it.

Motivation and career-goal questions

These questions show whether the role fits what the candidate wants. A good fit on motivation makes it more likely they will accept an offer and stay.

Why are you interested in this role?Strong answer: Links specific parts of the role to their experience and what they want to do next.Weak answer: A generic answer that would fit any job at any company.
What do you know about what we do, and what stood out to you?Strong answer: Has researched the product, customers or market and has a view on it.Weak answer: Repeats the homepage headline and nothing else.
What are you looking for in your next role that you don't have now?Strong answer: Something specific that this role really offers.Weak answer: Only describes what they want to get away from.
Where do you want to be in two to three years, and how does this role help?Strong answer: A realistic growth path with a clear link to this job.Weak answer: No link between their goals and this role.
What kind of work gives you the most energy, and what drains you?Strong answer: An honest answer that matches the day-to-day work of the role.Weak answer: Claims every kind of work energizes them.
What would make you leave a job in the first year?Strong answer: Honest, reasonable deal-breakers you can check against your team.Weak answer: Avoids the question completely.

Problem-solving and critical-thinking questions

Use these to see how a candidate thinks, not just what they know. For the first question, use a real problem from the role.

Walk me through how you would approach [a real problem from this role].Strong answer: Asks clarifying questions, breaks the problem down and states their assumptions.Weak answer: Jumps to an answer without understanding the problem.
Tell me about a decision you made with incomplete information.Strong answer: Explains what they knew, the risk they accepted and when they revisited the decision.Weak answer: Waited for perfect information, or guessed with no reasoning.
How do you decide when work is good enough to ship or hand over?Strong answer: Uses clear criteria tied to impact and risk.Weak answer: Never feels finished, or has no standard at all.
Tell me about a time data changed your mind.Strong answer: Names the data, what they believed before and what they did differently.Weak answer: Can't think of an example.
What process have you improved, and how did you measure the improvement?Strong answer: Gives a before-and-after measure, such as time saved or errors reduced.Weak answer: Describes a change with no way to tell whether it helped.
Explain something complex from your field as if I were new to it.Strong answer: Clear and simple, uses an example and checks that you understood.Weak answer: Relies on jargon, or can't simplify.

Teamwork and communication questions

These questions show how the candidate works with other people, shares information and handles friction.

Tell me about a team you worked well in. What did you do to make it work?Strong answer: Names specific things they did, such as setting up rituals, sharing context or helping others.Weak answer: Credits the team's success only to other people or to luck.
How do you keep stakeholders updated on long projects?Strong answer: Describes a regular rhythm and adapts the detail to each audience.Weak answer: Updates people only when something goes wrong or when asked.
Describe a time you had to deliver bad news to a customer, colleague or manager.Strong answer: Delivered it early and directly, with context and a plan.Weak answer: Delayed the news or softened it until it was unclear.
Tell me about a time you helped a teammate who was struggling.Strong answer: Noticed the problem, offered practical help and respected the person's ownership of the work.Weak answer: Took over the work without asking, or didn't notice.
How do you like to receive feedback, and how do you give it?Strong answer: Gives specific, timely feedback and shows they ask for it themselves.Weak answer: Vague answers, or only gives feedback when told to.
Tell me about a misunderstanding that caused a problem. How did you fix it?Strong answer: Fixed the immediate issue and changed how the team communicates to prevent it happening again.Weak answer: Blames the other side for the misunderstanding.

Culture and values questions

Ask what the candidate would add to your team rather than whether they are like everyone else. Score these against values you have written down, not against gut feel.

What does a great manager do for you?Strong answer: Expectations that match how your team is actually managed.Weak answer: Expectations your team can't meet, which is worth discussing openly.
Describe the work environment where you've done your best work.Strong answer: Specific conditions, such as pace, autonomy or structure, that your team can offer.Weak answer: Only describes perks.
Tell me about a time you adapted to a big change at work.Strong answer: Understood the reason for the change, adjusted and helped others adjust.Weak answer: Resisted the change or complained about it without engaging.
What is one thing you would add to a team you join?Strong answer: A concrete skill, habit or perspective, with an example of it in action.Weak answer: A list of personality adjectives.
Tell me about a time you pushed back on something that felt wrong.Strong answer: Raised it through the right channel, explained why and accepted the outcome.Weak answer: Went along with it, or acted alone without raising it.
How do you work with people whose style is very different from yours?Strong answer: Adjusts how they communicate and gives an example.Weak answer: Expects everyone else to adapt to them.

Leadership questions for managers and senior roles

For people managers and senior individual contributors, look for evidence of developing people and making trade-offs.

Tell me about a time you improved the performance of someone on your team.Strong answer: Set clear expectations, gave regular feedback and support, and describes the outcome either way.Weak answer: Waited too long, or moved straight to managing the person out.
How do you decide what your team won't work on?Strong answer: Has a clear way of prioritizing and explains the trade-offs to stakeholders.Weak answer: Says yes to everything.
Describe a hire you made that worked out well. What did you look for?Strong answer: Clear criteria, a structured process and what they learned from it.Weak answer: "I go with my gut."
Tell me about a time you led a team through a setback.Strong answer: Was honest about the setback, reset the plan and kept the team focused.Weak answer: Hid the problem or blamed the team.
How do you build trust with a new team in your first 90 days?Strong answer: Listens first, delivers early wins and keeps commitments.Weak answer: Starts making big changes before understanding the team.
Tell me about a time you delegated something important. How did you make sure it succeeded?Strong answer: Agreed the outcome, gave context and support, and checked in without micromanaging.Weak answer: Delegated with no context, or took the work back.

Closing questions

End every interview the same way so each candidate gets the same chance to add information and ask questions.

Is there anything about your experience we haven't covered that you'd like us to know?Strong answer: Adds relevant evidence the interview missed.Weak answer: Repeats what they have already said.
What questions do you have for us?Strong answer: Thoughtful questions about the role, the team or how success is measured.Weak answer: No questions, or only questions about time off.
What would you need from us in your first 90 days to succeed?Strong answer: Specific, reasonable needs, such as onboarding, access or a clear first goal.Weak answer: Can't name anything.
What is your timeline, and are you in other hiring processes?Strong answer: A clear, honest timeline so you can plan next steps.Weak answer: Vague answers that make it hard for you to plan.

Role-specific interview questions

The questions above work for most roles. Add 3 to 5 questions that test the skills of the specific job. We publish question sets for 120+ roles, including:

For any other role, the free AI Interview Question Generator writes questions from the job title, seniority level, interview focus (technical skills, cultural fit, problem solving or leadership) and job description. Each question comes with its intent and what to look for in the answer. To build questions around named competencies, use the competency-based interview question generator.

How to score candidates' answers

Score each answer from 1 to 5 straight after the candidate gives it, using anchors you write before the interview. Anchored rating scales make interviews more accurate: in one study they raised validity from .26 to .35 and agreement between interviewers from .73 to .77 (Taylor and Small, 2002, reviewed by Levashina et al., 2014).

1 to 5 interview scoring scale
Score	What the answer sounds like
5: Strong	A specific, relevant example. Clear personal actions, a measurable result and what they learned.
4: Good	A relevant example with clear actions. The result or the reflection is less specific.
3: Adequate	A relevant example, but vague about their own role or the outcome.
2: Limited	A general or hypothetical answer with little evidence.
1: Weak	No example, an off-topic answer or a warning sign from the "weak answer" guidance.

Give the questions that matter most for the role a higher weight, then add up the weighted scores. The free interview scorecard generator builds a weighted 1–5 rubric and scores each candidate out of 100.

Questions to avoid in an interview

Some questions can expose you to discrimination claims even when they are asked innocently. In the US, the EEOC enforces the federal laws that apply. Leave out questions about:

Age or date of birth
Marital status, children, pregnancy or plans for a family
Religion, or which holidays the candidate observes
National origin, accent or native language, unless a language is a job requirement
Disability, health or medical history
Salary history, which many US states and cities ban employers from asking about

Ask about the job instead. For example, ask "Are you legally authorized to work in this country?" rather than where the candidate was born, and "Can you perform the essential duties of this role, with or without reasonable accommodation?" rather than about their health. Check the rules wherever you hire.

Run these questions as a structured AI interview

InterviewFlowAI's AI interviewer asks your questions in a phone or video interview and scores each answer using the same fields as this guide. For each custom interview question you set what you are looking for, what a strong answer (5) and a weak answer (1) sound like, a weight from 1 to 10 and up to 2 follow-up questions. Every candidate gets the same questions, and you review the scores, recording and transcript in one report.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best interview questions to ask candidates?

The best interview questions ask for a specific past example or a realistic job scenario, such as "Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work. What did you do next?" Ask every candidate for the same role the same core questions, and score each answer against criteria you agree before the interview.

How many questions should you ask in an interview?

Plan for about 5 to 6 core questions in a 30-minute interview and 8 to 10 in a 45 to 60-minute interview. Leave time for follow-up questions and for the candidate's own questions. Fewer questions with good follow-ups give you more evidence than a long list asked quickly.

What is a STAR interview question?

A STAR interview question asks for a real past example, such as "Tell me about a time you handled several urgent priorities at once." A strong answer covers the Situation, the Task, the Action the candidate took and the Result. Listen for what the candidate did personally and an outcome you could verify.

How do you score a candidate's interview answers?

Use a 1 to 5 scale with anchors written before the interview: what a strong answer (5) and a weak answer (1) sound like for each question. Score each answer straight after the candidate gives it, then combine the scores, weighting the questions that matter most for the role.

What questions should employers avoid in an interview?

Avoid questions about age, marital or family status, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability or health, and in many US states and cities, salary history. Ask about the job instead: for example, ask whether the candidate is legally authorized to work in the country, not where they were born. Check the employment law where you hire.

Can AI generate interview questions for a specific role?

Yes. InterviewFlowAI's free AI Interview Question Generator writes role-specific questions from a job title, seniority level, interview focus and job description. Each question comes with its intent and what to look for in the answer. You can then run the questions as a scored AI phone or video interview.

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