While interviews are an important part of the recruitment process, more often than not, they become an exercise in which the interviewer focuses on the candidate’s technical skills. While analyzing technical skills is good, whoever does every job, no matter the rank, requires candidates to be adept at communication skills.
However, this is why companies now plan their interview, focusing on the candidate’s communication skills. And this approach has been backed by data from credible companies. For example, a McKinsey report has found that a team with good internal communication is likely to be 25 per cent more profitable.
Another report by Harvard Business Review stated that teams that were openly communicating with each other were to be 40 per cent better at coming up with innovative solutions. The final nail in the coffin is a report from the Sales Management Association, which found that having good communications within the company could generate 20 percent more revenue.
Thus, having employees with good communication skills helps improve the company in multiple aspects. However, what is the best way for an interviewer to check a candidate’s communication skills? Well, the best way remains to have a Structured interview format of questions that tests each candidate’s communication proficiency.
chances of being recruited for a job, there are other important things that companies also look for. One of the most important things is communication skills.
This is why companies emphasize communication skills when hiring employees for a role. So, what are the questions that a company must ask its candidates to determine their communication skills? We at BarRaiser have the answer.
Also Read: How To Choose An Interview Outsourcing Company
Communication Skill Interview Question
- Please elaborate on a scenario where you had to explain a complex work-related topic to your sub-ordinate. Give an example of how you ensured that the person understood the topic.
- Two of your colleagues are getting agitated over a specific system tool not working; how do you ensure they understand the tool’s workflow smoothly?
- Suppose you have to deliver negative news to your team; how will you approach this?
- Misunderstanding is common among work colleagues; how do you resolve such a scenario?
- Imagine a scenario where your superior advises you for changes in a project; however, according to you, this will impact quality. How will you communicate this to your superior and convince them?
- Tell us about a situation where effective communication was crucial to the project’s success. What were the strategies you followed to ensure it went well?
- What is the importance of written communication, and how does it help you communicate and facilitate work effectively? Explain with an example.
- Most of us work remotely; how do you handle communication challenges in such a setting? Tell us about a tool that has helped you a lot to overcome this challenge and how.
- Tell us about a situation when you had to change your communication style to convey yourself effectively to someone who prefers a different mode of communication.
- Please describe a situation where you had to resolve a conflict between two of your colleagues on a project. Tell us how you handled it effectively.
- Tell us about a scenario where you successfully persuaded someone in your team to see things your way.
- What is the importance of communication style for you? Do you often change the way you communicate with different stakeholders and team members?
- What are the key pointers one should remember to make sure their listener is attentive at all times while they are communicating something?
- Coordinating & communicating between various departments and teams is a crucial part of the job; how do you manage it?
- Tell us about a scenario when you had to lead a team; what was your initial communication, and how did you motivate your team towards the new objective?
Also Read: Best Tools in recruitment to look for in 2024
So far, these questions can help a recruiter look deeper into the candidate’s persona. We also realize some of these communication skill questions might not be important for the canddiate that you’re taking an interview with. Hence, we will keep updating this list with new quesiton to ask every now and then. Till then, feel free to drop your suggestion and let us know which question you asked your candidate.
FAQs
What Are Key Questions to Assess Communication Skills in Interviews?
Ask candidates to describe how they explained a complex topic to a subordinate to evaluate their ability to simplify and convey information clearly. Also, inquire how they resolved a situation where colleagues were frustrated with a tool to assess their problem-solving and communication skills.
How Can I Determine a Candidate’s Communication Abilities?
Determine a candidate’s communication abilities by asking how they would deliver negative news to a team, which reveals their approach to difficult conversations. Additionally, ask about how they resolved a misunderstanding with colleagues to gauge their conflict resolution skills.
What Communication Challenges Are Common in Remote Work Interviews?
Assess how candidates handle remote communication challenges by asking about their strategies for managing these issues and the tools they use. This helps evaluate their adaptability and effectiveness in remote settings.
How Can I Evaluate a Candidate’s Ability to Adapt Their Communication Style?
Evaluate a candidate’s adaptability by asking them to describe a situation where they changed their communication style to fit someone else’s preference. Additionally, inquire about their approach to leading and motivating a team to see how they communicate goals and inspire others.
While the above-mentioned questions are a great way to assess a candidate’s communication skills, the problem with them is that they are limited in number. However, creating new questions that are equally effective is a great challenge and is easier said than done.
Now, though, we have an amazing solution in our state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence interview assistant, BarRaiser. So, how does BarRaiser help an interviewer in making questions? So, before the interview, a recruiter has to instruct our AI bot to create an interview plan.
One example of this is as follows:
- Create a questionnaire for a single-round interview of a senior software developer with a minimum experience of eight years. The candidate must be well versed in LLM, AI, and Wordpress and must also have the necessary communication skills to lead the software team.
Using these instructions, the AI bot will create a structured interview plan with questions that will test the candidate’s technical and communication skills. During the interview, our Ai interview copilot will assist the interviewer during the entire interview process.
Our tool can also create new questions for recruiters during the interview. Our tool can do this in two ways: first, by going through the candidate’s resume, and second, by going through the context of the interview since the tool records and transcribes every interview.Using BarRaiser, we guarantee Quality hiring that will bolster Diversity and inclusion. BarRaiser is the best AI Interview platform that features Structured interviews, AI-generated interview notes, and tools to ensure quality hiring while eliminating recruitment bias. With BarRaiser’s support, you’ll be well-equipped to build a strong team of sales associates who will drive sales and deliver exceptional customer service.