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Types of questions
Open Questions: these are framed to encourage an expansive response
Example Advantages Disadvantages
how…., who…, what…,
when…, where…,
describe…, explain…, in
what way…,
could you tell us
about….,
how did you apply your
training to your work?
• encourage the
applicant to do most
of the talking
• may turn up
unexpected areas to
pursue
• allows applicant to
talk about topics in
their own words
• good for exploring
opinions, attitudes
and feelings
• can be difficult to
phrase succinctly
• can leave the
applicant floundering
and unsure of the
expected answer
Closed Questions: these are framed to elicit yes/no answers
Example Advantages Disadvantages
do…, did…, can…, is…,
are…, have…, will…,
would…
how long did you work
there?
• can be used to good
effect to obtain or
check specific,
concise information
• useful when you
want to gain quick
confirmation of basic
facts
• can be used to
regain control from a
talkative person
• are useful for
clarifying a vague
response
• can be used to direct
the interview to
specific areas or to
introduce a more
open question
• too many closed
questions can seem
like an interrogation
• can disadvantage
shy or nervous
candidates by not
encouraging them to
expand
• not appropriate if
you are trying to get
the interviewee to
talk in depth about
their experience or
attitudes
Probing Questions: this type of question helps to get under the surface of an
initial answer. Having got the interviewee talking, the interviewer can use
probing questions to bring out more detail. While the same questions are
asked of interviewees, the use of probing questions will vary according to the
interviewee’s response.
Example Advantages Disadvantages
how, who, what, when,
why, where, describe,
explain, in what way
• particularly useful for
encouraging people
to concentrate on
specific points, for
clarifying
uncertainties, testing
the validity of a more
general response
and seeking
evidence
• if overused, can
leave the applicant
unsure of the
expected answer or
feeling that they
must have given an
incorrect response
Hypothetical Questions: these are questions that set up a possible
situation or problem and ask the interviewee for a possible course of action
Example Advantages Disadvantages
“suppose we went
ahead with this plan
of action and it failed.
How would you
handle the situation?”
• useful for
checking
theoretical
knowledge
• good for
examining an
applicant’s
response to a
situation where
they would not
have had the
experience but
may have the
knowledge of
how to deal with
it
• don’t reveal much of the
interviewee’s actual
experience
• need to be carefully
phrased to avoid confusing
the interviewee and should
be avoided if they involve
explaining lots of
background information
before the interviewee can
attempt a reply
• tend to elicit text book
answers
• can be little correlation
between what people say
they would do and what
they actually do in a given
situation
• internal applicants may
have advantage if it is too
situation or context specific
Leading Questions: this type of question suggests the expected answer
Example Disadvantages
“Surely you didn’t agree
with that?”
“Of course, you would
want to investigate
further wouldn’t you?”
• tend to reveal more about the interviewer than
the interviewee because their effect is to
encourage or possibly compel the interviewee
to say what the interviewer wants to hear,
rather than what the interviewee thinks
• they are based on assumptions on the part of
the interviewer
Multiple Questions: these questions have two or more distinct parts,
each requiring an answer
Example Disadvantages
“What do you think of
this issue? Do you
agree with it, and if not,
why, and what other
issues would you see as
being relevant to this
specific case?”
• while some types of multiple questions may
be useful for certain senior level jobs in testing
cognitive skills, the panel must be very careful
how they use them – they are generally not
recommended
• confuse interviewees
• indicate a lack of clarity and planning on the
part of the interviewer
Heavily Prefaced Questions: this type of question gives so much
background and scene-setting that it is hard for the candidate to work out
what the question is
Example Disadvantages
“One of the many difficulties
encountered by counter staff is
harassment by members of
the public when they are
aggrieved by our policy
regulations. This can have a
profound effect on staff which
is quite important too but
which I won’t go into at the
moment. Could you tell us
something about how you
think you might handle any
supervision problems
associated with this job, say, if
one of your staff came to you
about a problem such as
feeling unable to cope?”
• confuse interviewees
• indicate a lack of clarity and planning
on the part of the interviewer
Trick Questions and Stress Tactics
Disadvantages
• reaction to stress in an interview is unlikely to predict reaction to stress on
the job. A person may cope poorly with stress resulting from face-to-face
confrontation in an interview but cope well with stress associated with a
heavy workload
• a stressful interview may lead to the loss of potentially good recruits
because of the poor impression they gain of the interviewers or the
organisation as a whole