Even during a global pandemic, there has been quite a lot of dynamic activity in the field of hiring and recruitment. For instance, several companies let go of their workforce, while others have ramped up their hiring activities.
The increase in hiring activities is particularly apparent in companies that provide essential services, eCommerce stores, and digital technologies. Thus, you may have seen a significant rise in the demand for digital marketers or wordpress developer for hire.
At the same time, the mode of recruitment has transitioned from physical interviews to virtuals platforms. For instance, companies are using Google Forms to collect candidate database. While video conferencing software like Zoom and Skype, registered a spike in its user base due to digital interviews.
Hence, if your organization is hiring employees during the pandemic, here is a list of a few Skype interview questions that you may ask:
Table of Contents
What Have You Discovered About Yourself During the Pandemic?
A typical ice-breaker in most interviews involves, “tell me a little bit about yourself.” But given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, several individuals may have been presented with the unique opportunity to introspect and self-evaluate their skills and potential.
Hence, you may follow up on the traditional opening with this follow-up question. It gives an overview of the emotional intelligence and preparedness, especially while facing a crisis.
Look out for qualities that depict their resilience, attitude, and motivation that has helped them through the pandemic. If they have utilized this opportunity to acquire a new skill or master the existing ones, it adds another brownie point in their kitty.
What is Your Work From Home Strategy?
This question will generally divide the candidates into two main groups. On the one hand, you will have individuals who have some amount of experience working remotely. While for the others, it would be a first time experience.
Regardless of the category to which these candidates may belong, it would help you to formulate an effective onboarding strategy. The candidates may offer you some brilliant inputs on what they expect from companies and how they have been working from home. You will get an overview of the resources available at their disposal to carry out the job at hand.
Look for someone who plans on having a dedicated WFH station along with a well-defined routine. Such questions will help you and the candidate tackle the ongoing issues and help prepare for the future where remote working may emerge as the new normal.
Would You be Willing to Work On-Site Once the Pandemic is Over?
Even though a significant chunk of the workforce operates remotely, they may have to adapt to attending office in the time to come. Hence, employees must be willing to transition to the traditional office setting after the pandemic is over.
Hence, companies must advertise posts as “remote” if they are exclusively looking for individuals who do not have to come to the office. Only some positions may function well remotely, while others may require the employee to visit the office premises.
For instance, marketing and sales could work over a collaborative platform. However, an ios developer for hire may have to visit the office and work with the designers to execute the design.
Asking this question in the early stages of the interview screens out the candidates who may not meet the company requirements in the future.
How Have You Been Spending Your Time Since the Lockdown?
Candidates who were already employed even during the lockdown may have witnessed their workload lightening. Hence, engaging them in a conversation of how they have utilized this extra time may help you understand their passions. Further, it also grants access to their ability to adapt to changes and deal with stress proactively.
How do You Plan on Handling Work-Life Balance?
Several individuals are coming up with new and innovative ways to ensure that they can enjoy working from home without losing productivity. Thus, someone who has the perfect formula for maintaining a work-life balance would be in a better position to manage their time and lead by their organizational skills.
It gives you a peek into how they plan on working even when they are not monitored by the team members that sit around them. Candidates do not necessarily have to be available every hour of their shift, as long as they can display and justify that the breaks and activities that they participate in are contributing to their productivity.
Have You Used Slack/Google Hangouts/Microsoft Teams Before?
Companies have already been using digital communication and collaboration tools extensively, even before the pandemic struck. Now, it becomes even more critical than ever to use these tools to get work done.
Hence, depending on the technologies that you use, you can question the candidate on how adept they are at using it.
Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
While you may have asked the candidates questions about their pandemic experience, they may want to do the same to you. It grants them an opportunity to assess your preparedness during the pandemic and how you resolved the issues that it presented.
One of the most sought-after questions in this regard would be relating to your onboarding process. Remote working opportunities will have to emphasize onboarding so that the employees can stay productive right from day one.
Some companies are also providing the necessary resources, such as sharing VPN access, providing company-sponsored devices to help their staff.
Explain at length all the initiatives that you have taken to ensure employee safety and all the proactive measures that you decided to maintain business continuity. In this manner, you present your company as one of the best destinations for the candidates.
Concluding Thoughts
Companies are using video interviews to select the right candidates that are worth hiring. While candidates will naturally practice before the camera, the HR team should also do their homework.
These questions diverge from the typical interview questions involved in the recruitment process and grant the candidate more opportunities to prove their worth.
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