7 Problem-solving Interview Questions to Find Great Candidates

With the business environment becoming increasingly complex in these uncertain times, it’s important for an organisation to build sustainability and longevity.

A company can work toward this by increasing resilience and reducing risk by selecting job candidates who can face challenges and overcome adversity by asking them these interview questions on problem-solving.

The importance of problem-solving skills among employees must be emphasised as something crucial and necessary for an organisation’s continued success. Adaptability is a key part of problem-solving, for interview questions on adaptability, click here

Problem-solving skills are a skill set of soft skills that help you analyse a situation, determine the nature of the problem and its root cause or causes, and find feasible and effective solutions.

Some problem-solving skills are critical thinking, lateral or ‘outside of the box’ thinking, analysis, research, communication, creativity, initiative, and leadership. Employees who have these skills are more likely to be able to think fast, analyse situations quickly and accurately, and respond strategically to challenges such as tight deadlines, sudden changes on the part of management and client, and external problems with workable solutions.

As such, they can help the company achieve internal goals and targets while helping reach organisational sustainability and resilience.

Ask candidates these problem-solving interview questions to find out about their thought process, decision-making skills, and self-confidence to follow through:

What this shows: How well the candidate thinks and answers under pressure, and whether they have experience with problem solving. A confident, well-thought, and detailed answer will assure you that the person is familiar with this skill and has given thought to what the situation entails.

What this shows: The candidate’s answer will tell you about their job history and experience, how well they handled stressful situations, and whether they are able to act proactively and with confidence.

What this shows: If they are resourceful enough and have lateral or ‘out of the box’ thinking skills that will help them tackle the problem from another angle other than the obvious. Their answers will also give clues about their strength under pressure.

What this shows: Their answer will reveal whether they can conduct an analysis of the situation, find out the problem’s root cause, and come up with solutions to correct the flaws in the process or team and ensure that it will generate good results upon identifying the proper procedure or action.

What this shows: This question elicits information on the candidate’s truthfulness, as well as their values and whether they abide by them. Their answer will also show you whether they have the courage to stand up for what they believe in or if they will go with the flow.

What this shows: Their experience at problem solving and their ability to think fast, creatively, and in a stressful situation. Their answer will also give you ideas on whether they can be relied on during crunch time.

What this shows: If the candidate has the initiative to take control of and assess the situation, determine the best way of handling it, and communicate their solution to their teammates.

This will also reveal how they are likely to act when on their own – will they slack off or step up? Will they wait for their team leader to return and fail to meet the deadline, or will they take charge and make sure the job gets done on time?

You can ask similar problem-solving interview questions that are particular to your organisation. Use these questions to determine how well your candidate can deal with problems under pressure and stress, with limited resources, and other constraints. Employees who you can rely upon to step up and solve problems will help you meet goals and ensure better organisational outcomes.