Small business owners usually run their business by themselves at the beginning, but with a growing customer base, they move on to employees. Having a few employees working for you can help ease the workload and get tasks done easily. Here, let’s know some Interview Questions For A Small Business.
So for that, a small business owner must select the best candidate from those who will give the interview. With the help of a few sample questions and tricks on how to prepare for the interview, you can draft the best questions for the interview.
Why Is Interview Preparation Essential For Small Business Owners?
Small business owners need to prepare for the interview process just like a big firm would. So being ready with the perfect questions is essential for these small business owners well before the interviews take place.
It can help them a lot with picking out the right candidate or candidates that they require to help out in their firm. If they do not prepare well for the interview, they might not be able to assess the candidates as accurately as they needed to.
It would only lead to the poor choice in candidate selection, which can be too harmful to the business. It is why a complex interview process is essential for small business owners to ensure only the best candidate.
General Questions To Ask A Potential Candidate
The questions in an interview for a small business have a few similarities to regular interviews, and similarly, some differences. These similarities are usually with the regular questions that you would get asked about.
These general questions usually inquire about your basic information or even your skills and qualifications. But you still need to prepare appropriate responses for these questions since they would still be present.
So here are some of the basic questions that you would get asked at an interview with a small business or other interviews:
- If you had to talk about one of your strengths at work, what would it be?
- Can you tell me about one of your weaknesses at work and how you deal with it?
- Can you highlight the essential points in your resume to me?
- Why do you think that you are the perfect candidate for our business?
- Do you think you have the skills that you require in this field?
- Do you have previous work experience in any other firm or business?
- Do you know how to use office tools like MS Office and more?
- What is the most essential value while working for you?
- Do you consider yourself a person who can manage time well?
- What are the merits of these businesses according to you?
Detailed Questions To Ask A Potential Candidate
Now that we have gone over some general questions that you might get asked, we will now look at some more complex ones. These questions include a little more wit and practice to answer since they are harder.
These questions, though more difficult, can also help you determine which candidate truly has the skills. It would be a better test of their skills and interest in the work and help you get a deep insight into it.
So here are some detailed questions that you can ask or prepare for in an interview for a small business:
- Can you tell me about the skills that make you the right fit for this work?
Asking a candidate for their skills is an ideal way of finding out how aware they are about themselves. It would help the owner assess how much the candidate can contribute to the firm. Additionally, you could answer this question by highlighting the skills that make you the best choice.
- How did you hear about this work and why did it stand out to you?
Knowing why the candidate chose the small business over more work opportunities is ideal for the owner. Many people might not be as serious or dedicated to the work as you might wish they were. So the candidate who answers this question well is probably here to stay as an employee.
- Why did you consider working with our business?
The aim of the candidate while they chose your company can make or break the deal with them. Many candidates do not understand that there would be a difference between working in a firm and a business. So the clearer the candidate is on why they want to work with you, the better they are for the post.
- Can you work just as efficiently even if you have a shortage of budget or time?
Small businesses may not always bring the most ideal circumstances for work. Since the manpower is low and the orders may still be high, employees might need to cover that shortage. A candidate who can confidently admit that they can work under the pressure or at least will try is the one you might be looking for.
- Do you have previous experience in working for a start-up like ours?
Having experience is always preferred in the job, but for small business owners, having experience in other businesses might be extra beneficial. As a candidate, you might not necessarily have such experience, but you can just communicate that. Having experience might give you leverage since you would have a better grasp of the industry.
- Why did you choose a small business over a firm?
Not everyone might prefer their desk jobs at their firms, which is why they turn to business instead. But it’s a boon when the choice is merely a choice and not something is done out of adversity. As a candidate, having an ideal and impressive answer for this question is essential to ace the interview.
- How can you appeal to our customers to choose to buy from us?
Knowing your way around communicating with potential customers is essential for small businesses. Even though you might be interviewing for a desk post, you might need to deal with customers, so having communication skills is a bonus. You can answer the question by being honest about how you can promote the business to a buyer.
- If you meet a customer with whom you have differing opinions, what will you do?
Dealing with customers also means dealing with ruder customers, and you must keep your cook with them. Managing customer complaints or issues is crucial in a small business, so your problem-solving skills are put to a test. With your answer, you can wow the employer and tell a way to deal with customers that work for you.
- Are you usually a lonely worker or do you prefer working with a team?
Knowing your working style is essential for the employer so that they know which post or work you are ideal for. With many candidates, many people will be choosing different answers for this. It will help an owner decide where to place these employees and if they are fit for work or not.
- What can you bring to the business that we should hire you for?
You, as a candidate, can appeal to the employer by stating your skills and qualifications. Try to mention the things that make you an efficient worker and relate them to the business too. A well-framed answer may take some time to make, but it will surely raise your chances of getting selected as an employee in the firm.
Questions To Ask Small Business Owners
Apart from the questions that your employer might ask you, you can also ask some questions of your own. These questions could be related to anything about their work and business that you might be curious about.
Since you might not be as familiar with what questions you should ask a small business owner, we can give you an idea. Though the questions won’t be entirely different than the regular questions you would ask any other employer, there would be some unique points.
Here are some questions that you can ask the small business owner or interviewer after giving your interview:
- How did your journey in this business begin?
By asking about their path to the origin of the business, you can get precious information. Small business owners might not seem like it, but they’re very driven people. Their start of the road where they decide to do something better is an inspiring event that could teach you a lot about them.
- Which incident or thing in life inspired you to venture into this line of work?
The source of inspiration or motivation for a person that starts their own business is varied for everyone. What might inspire you to work in the industry might not inspire the owner. So you can find out about their motivation and learn more things from it, look at things from a wider perspective.
- What keeps you motivated in this business every day?
Just starting a small business is not a challenge, the biggest challenge is to keep it going. Despite all the hurdles and issues in the way, if a business owner can repeatedly pick themselves up, then it would be inspiring. And who knows, someday it might become the reason why you get motivated and go to work each day.
- How do you think your business will be in the future?
Working for a small business is a slightly risky option since the workflow might not be as consistent as that of a firm. But by listening to the vision of the future from your employer, you can see if you have matching ideas or not. Then you can decide if you want to join the business for the long term as an employee or if it is temporary.
- Are you satisfied with working in a smaller business?
Every small business owner usually might have had the chance to go work as an employee in a large firm. But they willingly chose to remain in their smaller business, so there must be a valid reason behind it. You can find out their source of wanting to work for their own business.
- What do you like the best about working for this business?
Again, you might not be very familiar with the pros and cons of working for a small business. But you can find out the benefits of working for a small business through the owner. They can tell you what keeps them tied to their work and what are the good things about working this way.
Some extra questions are:
- How can I improve my skills to be of more help to the business?
- If you face challenges in your line of work, how do you overcome them?
- What are the motto or values that you abide by in this business?
- According to you, how can I become an efficient and contributing employee?
Conclusion
Small business owners know the importance of finding the perfect employees to support them in their ventures. It is why they need to draft the questions for the interview well so that they can evaluate the candidates better.
Similarly, the candidates can also prepare a few questions for their employer to ask in the interview. So you can take a look at the sample questions we have compiled for you and then use them to draft your questions for the interview.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can small business owners prepare for the hiring process of candidates?
The preparation of the hiring process, especially for small business owners is essential since it is crucial to hire the perfect candidate. Owners or even candidates can refer to sample questions and answers to prepare for the interview before the interview day.
- What is the need for preparation regarding an interview for a small business?
Since small businesses cannot afford to hire many candidates, the ones they choose must be efficient. So the interview process must be crucial to test the candidates and select the fittest one.
- Can candidates also ask questions to small business owners?
Yes, candidates can inquire about the things they wish to know about in the interview. They can ask questions related to the business or other aspects of it from the business owner or interviewer.
