In the first blog in this 2-part series, we’ve looked at some of the questions to avoid. Now let’s look at some questions that can really aid your search for the best lab informatics candidate.
What makes a good interview question?
Sometimes, it’s as easy as taking a bad question and flipping it around, to get a more insightful response. So, what are some of the most thought-provoking questions you can ask candidates?
Situational questions
Situational questions are especially useful, as they require candidates to think on their feet and result in varied responses. This can give you a great insight into how a potential lab informatics candidate might respond to a certain situation, or how they make a decision under pressure.
These questions involve presenting a scenario and asking the candidate how they would react. For example, you could ask a candidate applying for a business analyst role ‘Tell me how you would approach gathering requirements ahead of a LIMS upgrade project’. Or, you could ask a potential project manager ‘How would you respond to a situation where the customer wants to reconfigure their ELN in the late stages of an implementation?’. The candidate will likely draw on past experience and it can be quite obvious if they haven’t got that, which is helpful to know.
Skills-based questions
While possessing skillsets specific to a type of software or vendor may not always be essential to a role, skills-based questions are especially important in lab informatics as a high degree of technical expertise is a necessity in many cases. A good question for someone working in computer systems validation could be ‘How would you ensure that a computer system complies with FDA 21 CFR Part 11 regulations?’ or ‘What kind of risk mitigation strategy would you put in place for a LIMS system?’.
Behavioural questions
Behavioural questions, like situational questions, are scenario-based but evaluate an interviewee’s attitude – which can be make or break for a candidate, if their approach doesn’t align with the values of the business. Questions such as ‘You disagree with a colleague’s handling of a recent job, what would you do?’ or ‘You find that a colleague has made a mistake which could potentially set the project back a number of weeks, how do you help to resolve the issue?’ are helpful in not only seeing how your candidates might behave under pressure, but also in determining how much of a team player and / or leader they are.
Carefully crafted questions lead to success
Interview approaches differ not only from company to company, but from interviewer to interviewer, while objectivity and consistency should be built-in as much as possible. However, before interviewing your next lab informatics candidates, make sure you’ve prepared questions and situations specific to that role that will help you identify the candidate that stands out from the rest, for all the right reasons. The team at 32 Stripes can support you in finding the perfect candidate for your vacancy. For more information about how we can support your recruitment needs, contact us today.