5 Personality Interview Questions with Answers to Get to Know Your Candidate

The hiring process isn’t just figuring out if the job seeker has the right skills, but also if they can mesh well with the team. You can do this by asking personality interview questions.

Personality interview questions aren’t about qualifications or credentials. Instead, they show you how a candidate will apply their knowledge, collaborate, and step up in tough situations. These questions gauge creativity, flexibility and teamwork, to find the hires most likely to fit in and flourish. You can also use these questions to assess soft skills listed in a resume—it’s easy to claim that you have a certain skill, but harder to prove it.

Personality questions are good tie-breakers between candidates who look equally good on paper. They also supplement widely-used personality tests that classify people into types based on generic questions. Many companies require these tests, but they don’t give you the whole picture. A good interviewer can observe non-verbal reactions, ask follow-up questions, and otherwise assess personality better than a simple test.

Personality interview questions are also important as in certain cases, a candidate’s attitude may be more important than their skills.

These questions show how our personalities affect our work and those we work with. Besides the actual content of their answers, look at how they answer. Are they direct or vague? Confident without being arrogant? Do they take the interview seriously and respect your time? How do they react to a surprise question?

What these tell you: This is a straightforward question, and should be easy to answer. It is meant to break the ice and help job seekers be more comfortable talking about themselves. Watch out for: People who have never offered to fill in, or who did but resent it. They may not be the team players and contributors you’re looking for.

What this tells you: Look for answers that are memorable or unusual, but still have substance. For sales or other client-facing roles, prioritise candidates who make an impression while staying professional. Watch out for “Canned” answers that sound copied; inappropriate or overly casual replies. Too many jokes may mean they won’t know when to get to business.

What this tells you: Besides the candidate’s strengths, this shows their objectivity about their career. Watch out for Zero successes, or too many. With no successes to share, they may be too junior or simply lack confidence in the role. If they oversell their wins, they could be dishonest or credit-grabbers. Also, always counter-check references.

What this tells you: What motivates them—problem-solving, recognition, helping others, or material rewards? Knowing this, you can assess whether they will last long in your company. Watch out for: Bored, indifferent replies. Candidates should have a core reason to be enthusiastic about the industry. Without one, they’re likely to see only the downside.

What these tell you: Employees with a healthy work-life balance are motivated to work efficiently, set realistic deadlines, and fix the causes of repeated time and cost overruns. Watch out for: Limited outside interests and consistent, excessive overtime. These can be signs of someone who makes work their life and thus may have unrealistic expectations of the workplace.

There are also questions not to ask. Personality questions are good, personal questions are not. Some questions are inappropriate at an interview: age, religion, marital status, gender preference, and plans to have children (or not). If these factors are truly relevant, they should be included in the job description for HR’s attention, not left for a face-to-face interview. If you have doubts, ask your HR or legal department to review your questions ahead.

With these open-ended questions, you can dig beneath the resume, to assess qualities that no test can predict. A job seeker’s answers indicate the energy they will bring to the team. With these questions and your judgement as an employer, you can identify good hires with the personality and soft skills to become a valued part of your company.