■ what the candidate has or has not done – ‘What did you do
then?’
■ why something took place – ‘Why did that happen?’
■ when something took place – ‘When did that happen?’
■ how something happened – ‘How did that situation arise?’
■ where something happened – ‘Where were you at the time?’
■ who took part – ‘Who else was involved?’
Capability questions
Capability questions aim to establish what candidates know,
the skills they possess and use, and what they are capable
of doing. They can be open, probing or closed but they will
always be focused as precisely as possible on the contents of the
person specification referring to knowledge, skills and capabili-
ties.
The sort of capability questions you can ask are:
■ ‘What do you know about...?’
■ ‘How did you gain this knowledge?’
■ ‘What are the key skills you are expected to use in your
work?’
■ ‘How would your present employer rate the level of skill you
have reached in...?’
■ ‘What do you use these skills to do?’
■ ‘How often do you use these skills?’
■ ‘What training have you received to develop these skills?’
■ ‘Could you please tell me exactly what sort and how much
experience you have had in...?’
■ ‘Could you tell me more about what you have actually been
doing in this aspect of your work?’
■ ‘Can you give me any examples of the sort of work you have
done which would qualify you to do this job?’
■ ‘Could you tell me more about the machinery, equipment,
processes or systems which you operate/for which you are
responsible?’ (The information could refer to such aspects as
output or throughput, tolerances, use of computers or soft-
ware, technical problems.)
■ ‘What are the most typical problems you have to deal with?’
■ ‘Would you tell me about any instances when you have had
to deal with an unexpected problem or a crisis?’
How to Interview 113