Virtual interviews amid COVID-19 have taken many of us by surprise... they're not so easy after all! From technology troubleshooting to asking questions that really help your understand your candidate's skill set and behavioral norms to best fit an open role, virtual interviewing is something we're all working to improve at. 

One of the fastest ways to make your virtual interview a better process and lead to a successful outcome? Ask the right questions!  Maybe years before COVID-19 arrived, our team at Sales Recruiters was conducting virtual interviews as part of a standard screening process for candidate selection. When it comes to flopped interviews that have dogs barking in the background and internet connections that just kept dropping, we've seen our share of virtual interview whoas. While there are a lot of aspects of a virtual interview you can't control when meeting with potential candidates, the one thing you can control is being prepared... prepared with questions that help you make the best hiring decision possible in the current work-from-home world. 

Here are five interview questions we've been asking hiring mangers in interviews long before COVID-19:

1.As a manager, have you ever found an employee whose talents had previously gone unnoticed by the organization? If yes, can you tell me about that? What did you do after you noticed the individual had special abilities?

2.As a manager, what methods would you use to keep informed of your employee’s activities? How would you use this information in charting your department’s direction?

3.Even a successful operation has room for improvement. In what areas would you want the employees under you to improve in the next six months? What can you do as a manager to facilitate that improvement?

4.Give me an example of a difficult prospect or client you won over. How did you do it?

5.Have you ever had to risk losing a client in order to correct a misperception about service or a misunderstanding about your product? If yes, what were the circumstances?