45 performance-based interview questions to hire top performers

Recruitment is a complex process with lots of moving parts that you need to get right. And in all this, the way you conduct interviews plays a crucial role. 

To evaluate candidates’ skills in depth, you need to strike the right balance between role-specific and more general interview questions – but also between situational and performance-based interview questions. 

In this article, we’ll give you our list of the best interview questions you can ask applicants to evaluate their past performance. 

You’ll also find our guidelines on what to expect from candidates and how to use skills tests strategically to improve your hiring process – and find the best person for every role, every time.

What types of interview questions should you use during interviews?

To make the most of your interviews, we advise to use a mix of different types of questions, such as: 

• Performance-based (behavioral) questions, such as: “Tell me about a situation in which you…” or “Can you tell me about a time when…?”

• Role-specific, technical questions, such as: “What is…?”, “Please define…”, “What’s the difference between… and…?”

• Situational questions, such as “What would you do if…?” or “How would you handle the following situation:...?”

• Questions requiring self-reflection, such as “How would you rate your skills in…?” or “What would your teammates say about your skills in…?”

• Questions related to specific competencies and soft skills, such as communication, leadership, teamwork, and more; for example, “What’s your approach to leading a cross-functional team?”, or “What’s your strategy for diffusing conflicts?”

The right mix of questions, along with pre-employment skills testing will enable you to accurately assess the skills of candidates and make strong, data-driven hiring decisions.

Why should you use performance-based interview questions to assess applicants’ skills?

Performance-based interview questions, also known as behavioral questions, enable you to assess a candidate's past behaviors, achievements, and actions. 

They give you a window into how a candidate might perform in specific situations at your company, offering insights into their problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability skills. You can use them to get concrete examples of what the candidate has achieved in the past; if needed, ask follow-up questions to get all the details. 

Of course, past behavior is not everything: A candidate who’s inexperienced but highly motivated and driven is likely to achieve more than someone who has more than 10 years of experience but is bored at their job. 

However, when you combine performance-based interviewing with other types of questions and skills tests, you can reliably predict future performance and behavior – and hire the best candidates for any role. 

45 performance-based interview questions to hire the best talent

Below, you’ll find our selection of the best 45 performance-based questions you can ask applicants during interviews, split into nine categories, along with our advice on what to expect from candidates and how to assess their answers. 

Communication skills

The questions below enable you to assess candidates’ communication competence in past situations, their capacity to adapt their communication style to different audiences, and their skills in managing difficult interpersonal situations. 

1. Tell me about a time when you had to explain a complex concept to someone with no knowledge in the area. How did you approach this?

2. Give an example of a time when you received negative feedback about your communication style. How did you respond?

3. Tell me about a time when you had to persuade a group to take action that they were resistant to.

4. Give an example of a successful presentation you gave. What made it successful?

5. Tell me about a time when you had to deliver bad news. How did you go about it?

Use those questions to gauge how well a candidate can explain complex ideas, handle feedback, persuade others, present ideas, and deliver difficult messages. 

With them, you’ll be able to evaluate your candidates’: 

• Proficiency in verbal and written communication

• Ability to listen and engage in productive dialogue

• Strategies for ensuring their message is understood by everyone

To go a step further, combine the questions above with one of our communication tests (ideally before the interview phase):

• Communication for all roles

• Communication (Intermediate) for more senior positions

Problem-solving and critical thinking

Here, you’ll find five questions to assess candidates’ past experience in identifying issues, analyzing problems, and devising effective solutions. 

1. Describe a situation where you identified a potential problem and resolved it before it became a major issue.

2. Give an example of a complex problem you solved. Explain your thought process.

3. Describe a time when you used data to solve a problem. What data did you use and how did it help you come to a solution?

4. Give an example of a time when your initial approach to solving a problem failed and how you adapted.

5. Give an example of a time when you had to balance multiple competing priorities while solving a problem.

These questions enable you to explore how applicants have used logical reasoning and creativity to overcome challenges. The best answers will show candidates’: 

• Analytical skills

• Process for gathering and evaluating information

• Resourcefulness and adaptability when faced with setbacks

• Ability to prioritize competing demands

To evaluate those skills in depth, you can use the following skills tests before the interview stage: 

• Critical Thinking test to identify candidates with strong analytical skills

• Problem Solving test to evaluate candidates’ ability to define problems and make correct decisions

• Time Management test to assess applicants’ capability to prioritize tasks

Teamwork and collaboration

The questions below focus on helping you figure out who is a great team player: capable of working effectively with others, contributing to team success, and resolving conflicts. 

1. Tell me about a time when you had to work closely with someone whose personality was very different from yours.

2. Describe a situation where you helped a team member who was struggling.

3. Give an example of a time when you had to mediate a conflict within a team. What was the outcome?

4. Describe a situation where you had to sacrifice your personal interests for the team's benefit.

5. Describe a situation where you had to lead a cross-functional team.

These questions help you evaluate candidates’ experience with collaborative projects, their ability to support and uplift team members, and put team goals above personal interests. 

Expect candidates to share examples that show their team player qualities, their role in improving group dynamics, and their capacity to contribute to a positive workplace culture.

Leadership

The questions below enable you to uncover candidates’ experience and capacity for leadership and team management, including their ability to inspire and guide others, make tough decisions, and address performance issues. 

1. Give an example of a time when you showed leadership in a team setting without having a formal leadership role.

2. Give an example of a difficult decision you had to make as a leader. How did you arrive at your decision?

3. Describe a time when you had to manage a poorly performing employee. What actions did you take?

4. Tell me about a successful project you led. What was your strategy for managing the team?

5. Describe a situation where you had to delegate a critical task. How did you ensure it would be completed successfully? What was the result?

Use those questions to explore candidates’ leadership style, decision-making processes, and strategies for boosting team morale and performance. 

They’re ideal for evaluating candidates for leadership positions, such as CTO, HR director, sales manager, and more.

Expect candidates to: 

• Discuss their leadership philosophy

• Provide insights into past management decisions

• Offer information on specific metrics they use to measure success

• Explain how they address issues, such as low performance and conflicts

Complete these questions with a Leadership and People Management test to identify the most skilled leaders in your talent pool. 

Adaptability and flexibility

The next five questions aim to assess a candidate's ability to adjust to new situations, work under changing conditions, and remain effective amidst uncertainty.

1. Tell me about a time when you had to quickly adapt to a new role or environment. How did you manage?

2. Give an example of a time when you had to work on a project with unclear guidelines. How did you proceed?

3. Tell me about a time when you had to change your approach halfway through a project due to new information.

4. Describe a situation where you had to learn a new skill or technology quickly. How did you ensure your success?

5. Describe a time when you had to be flexible in your planning to accommodate last-minute changes.

Use these questions to gauge how well candidates can: 

• Adapt to new environments and requirements

• Change their working style to fit team dynamics

• Navigate complex projects with vague parameters

• Learn new tools, skills, and technologies

Expect candidates to share instances that show their resilience, flexibility, and proactive approach in tackling challenges and adapting to new circumstances.

Initiative and innovation

The following five questions enable you to explore candidates’ experience in evaluating (and seizing) improvement opportunities and their abilities to encourage innovation and creativity.

1. Describe a situation where you saw an opportunity for improvement and took the initiative.

2. Give an example of an innovative solution you developed for a problem.

3. Give an example of how you encourage members of your team to contribute with innovative ideas. 

4. Tell me about a time when you had to take a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?

5. Describe an instance where you challenged the status quo for the betterment of the organization.

Use these questions to understand how candidates initiate change, assess their willingness to take calculated risks, and see what their approach to encouraging innovation is. 

Look for answers that show courage, leadership, and a certain willingness to “move fast and break things” – especially if you’re hiring for a startup or a scaleup company. 

Integrity and ethical judgment

Below, you’ll find questions that’ll help you assess applicants’ moral compass in past situations and their ability to remain true to their values. 

1. Tell us about a time when you noticed a colleague doing something unethical. How did you handle the situation?

2. Can you share an example of a time when you had to make a difficult decision that involved a moral dilemma?

3. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to enforce a policy or rule that you didn't agree with? What did you do? 

4. Have you ever discovered a mistake that worked in your favor? How did you address it?

5. Have you ever had to speak up against wrongdoing in the workplace? What happened, exactly?

These questions are designed to probe candidates’ stance on ethical issues in the workplace and give you an idea of their actions in past situations requiring integrity. 

They allow you to assess whether candidates are capable of upholding honesty even when it might not be in their immediate benefit and whether they have a strong sense of integrity and transparency. 

Questions that assess applicants’ integrity are ideal for managers, officers, and directors.

Look for answers that demonstrate candidates’ commitment to ethical principles, their ability to make tough ethical decisions, and their courage to speak up.

To go a step further, use our Business Ethics and Compliance test to evaluate applicants’ awareness, judgment, and knowledge of ethical issues at the workplace. 

Data and data analysis

The following performance-based interview questions are designed to evaluate candidates’ proficiency in data analysis techniques and their ability to communicate findings effectively. 

1. Tell us about a project where you had to collect and analyze large datasets. What tools did you use and what were the results?

2. Give an example of a time when you identified an error in a dataset. How did you discover it and what did you do to correct it?

3. Give an example of how you've used data visualization to deliver important messages to various audiences.

4. Can you share an instance where a predictive model you created significantly impacted a project’s outcome?

5. Can you tell us about a time when you had to work with incomplete data? How did you proceed and what challenges did you face?

When interviewing for roles that involve data analysis, data science, or data management, it's crucial to assess candidates’ skills in working with data and their ability to make data-driven decisions. 

These questions can help gauge a candidate's technical skills, analytical thinking, and practical experience with real-world data challenges. 

The best candidates will show expert knowledge of data tools and methodologies, discuss their approaches to analyzing and interpreting data, and demonstrate their capacity to translate data insights into actionable strategies.

Combine these questions with our Working with Data or Data Storytelling tests for deeper insights into applicants’ skills. 

If you need more ideas for data analytics questions, check out our interview questions for data analysts or our behavioral questions for data analysts.

Sales performance-based questions

In interviews for sales positions, it's essential to evaluate candidates’ past sales performance, their approach to building relationships, their strategies for overcoming objections, and their ability to close deals. Here are some questions you can use to do this: 

1. Tell me about a time when you exceeded your sales targets. What strategies did you use to achieve this?

2. How do you approach a new lead? Walk me through your process from research to initial contact.

3. Tell me about a time when you had to sell a product or service that was new to you. How did you become proficient in selling it?

4. Give an example of how you've used customer feedback to improve your sales approach.

5. Describe a situation where you collaborated with the marketing team to increase sales. What was your role and what was the result?

We’ve picked questions that help you uncover candidates’ experience and effectiveness in sales, their understanding of the sales process, their ability to assess customer needs, and their capacity to improve based on feedback. You can use them for B2C and B2B salespersons.

Look for proof of candidates’ strategic thinking in sales planning, their past achievements, and their negotiation skills (which you can also assess with a Negotiation test. 

Use performance-based interview questions strategically to hire the best talent

Candidates’ past experiences and performance are just a part of the picture. To build a skills-first hiring process, you have to use different types of questions and, importantly, use skills tests early on.

Placing skills tests at the top of your recruitment funnel enables you to prioritize competencies from the start. By doing so, you filter candidates based on their ability to perform well, instead of on their resume-writing skills.

This way, by the time candidates get to the interview stage, you already know they've got the chops for the role. You can therefore focus on how their past experiences and potential align with what you need. 

Check out our free plan to start evaluating applicants’ skills and talent today – or sign up for a free 30-minute live demo with one of our team members to see whether TestGorilla is the right platform for you.