Q: If I were to ask one of your colleagues to describe you, what do you think they would say? - This is another way of asking about character, strengths and wea

Q: If I were to ask one of your colleagues to describe you, what do you think they would say? - This is another way of asking about character, strengths and weaknesses, but you get a much more honest answer when you ask it this way. You also get insight into a person's self image. Q: If you were interviewing a candidate for this position, what criteria would you use to evaluate them? - We are trying to get insight into their values (eg. for a programming position we want to hear things like Commenting, Reuse, Readability, Test coverage). And if we hear those things we know we aren't going to have to battle to instil those values. Q: What appeals to you about this job? - You see whether they have bothered to research the position (if they haven't it says a lot about work ethic). You also get a sense for whether they are excited about the prospect of working at your company - for a startup it's very important that they are excited about what you are doing. Q: What concerns you about the prospect of working here? - If they say "nothing concerns me" you know they either generally don't think things through enough, or are possibly putting a positive spin on everything just to land the position (in which case you need to wonder about how honestly they answered your other questions). We prefer hiring people who aren't ready to dive in without thinking. This kind of question also gives you an idea of whether they are willing to communicate with you openly and honestly.