I’m astounded by the number of business owners who don’t develop a formal list of questions when interviewing prospective employees. Rather, they conduct a general conversation to get a gut feel for an applicant.

This approach doesn’t allow you to compare applicants evenly and is a poor business practice. Rather than getting to know an applicant, your goal should be to evaluate her ability to do the specific job. To discover this, you need a fixed set of interview questions for all applicants. Here are five questions you should always include.

Five Critical Interview Questions

1. Tell me two or three key responsibilities from your previous position.

2. What was your single greatest achievement in that role?

3. What skills/education/knowledge did you need to achieve success in that role?

4. How did that role prepare you to take on greater responsibilities?

5. How will this new position help you reach your long-term goals?