Interesting interview questions

[LaMadrilena]

I'm interviewing people for jobs over the next few days. It's a pretty low-level office-based role, but does need bright, coherent people who can use MS Office, write reports that don't need me to check grammar/spelling, and can think for themselves.

Can anyone recommend any good interview questions that have worked well?

I've been interviewing for years, but I hate it and don't seem to get any better at it...

Thanks! xxx

Can you give them an in-tray exercise?

This is something we use when we have lots of applicants who are qualified (as I expect you will have) and we need something else to help us decide. We ask them to bring to interview an object that describes them and prepare to talk about it for a couple of minutes. We've had some amazing insights into people's personalities and passions and it has helped us find people who would fit into our team.

'Tell me about someone who has inspired you '. Relaxes them and gets them talking. You can get a feel for them and how they'll fit into the team

What's the most valuable piece of feedback a colleague has ever given you?
Usually results in very interesting/insightful answers

Thanks for the replies! I'll keep the inbox tray exercise for next time, I haven't been organised enough this week. I really like the one about the most valuable piece of feedback, and it has definitely thrown up some good answers.