Virtual Assistant: Interview Questions

I should be hearing from the soon about the next step: 3 candidates to interview. Exciting!

As suggested by the Virtual Staff Finder staff, I have been reading and listening to Chris Ducker’s tips on the hiring process. In his Outsourcing to the Philippines podcast, he outlines several interview questions. Many of them surprised me, but that shouldn’t be terribly surprising as I don’t have much experience interviewing candidates who will work for me. I might be as nervous as they are … maybe more. Here they are as best I could scribble them down.

1. Why are you looking to leave your current job?
2. What do you know about my organization?
3. What are you looking for in a new role?
4. What experience do you have in relation to what I do?
5. Does your skill set meet my requirements?
6. What have you done in the last 12 months to improve your skills?
7. How long would you expect to work for me should you get the job?
8. If I were to hire you today, what would make you an asset to me and my company?
9. Tell me about yourself. What do you like to do on the weekends?

Wow, writing these down reminds me how long ago it’s been since I interviewed for a job (have had my own company for almost a decade now). But they’re very good questions: open ended, direct, and I think it’s going to be clear who has experience, is confident, and is comfortable talking about themselves.

What kind of problem solvers are they? How will they approach a challenge?

I’m not sure how to ask this in a telephone interview, but I’m also looking to figure out their preferred means/method to accomplish something. How would they go about it? Where might they start? In other words, what kind of problem solvers are they? For example, if I’d like to get a widget into the top right sidebar of a theme, how would they do it?

1. Built into theme: figure out that it’s built right in. Just add a widget. Done!
2. Find a WOO plugin/add-on: does the theme offer a plugin or add-on that might work? Did you search for one?
3. Find a plugin: is there a third-party plugin out there that does what we need? Is it any good?
4. Find custom code: if the first options get us nowhere, resort to custom code.
5. Write code from scratch: if there’s just nothing, write some code from scratch.
6. Question the task: maybe if the first options get us nowhere, question whether this is the best solution.

Any other questions I’m missing?