Third-round

How third-round interviews work

So you’ve done your initial candidate screening, conducted your second-round interview and now you’re onto your third. Congrats!

But what next?

The third-round interview is usually where you’ll use a combo of competency-based and situational interview questions to figure out how your candidates deal with complex situations. 

At this stage your ideal candidate will take creative approaches, be a proactive, motivated, holistic-thinker and share your company values.

Third-round interview questions

• What is your ideal work day?
• What resources/training would you love to have?
• Have you ever dealt with an emergency task out of your regular job duties? What happened and how did you manage it?
• Delivering an average project on time or delivering a perfect project late: What’s best?
• How can you help us increase revenues, reach more customers and build new products?
• What do you hope to learn in your first five months here?
• What’s the most challenging project you’ve worked on so far? Why was it challenging and how did you ace it?

Candidates to look for

• They really want it: Look for enthusiastic candidates who will stick it out long-term.‍
• They’re respectful: Your ideal candidate needs to fit in with your team. Look for great team players who respect your policies and can adjust to your way of working.‍
• They can take feedback: Look for flexible candidates who are open to criticism. Future high-performers should want to learn from their mistakes.‍
• They’re motivated: Look for candidates who understand the scope of responsibilities—even if they aren’t keen on every part of the job, they need to be motivated and willing to learn.‍
• They’re not perfect: Combine info from all previous interview stages to make your decision. Don’t look for perfect candidates, prioritize the most important criteria according to the role.

Candidates to avoid: 

• They’re unprepared: At this stage, candidates should have some solid questions about your company. Candidates who have done their research show they care.‍
• They lack team spirit: If they take credit for their team’s achievements or struggle to give credit where it’s due, they probably aren’t going to fit in easily.‍
• Contradictory answers: Avoid candidates who say they’re organized and also describe situations where they’ve been rushed for time. Instead, look for candidates who show steady behavior. ‍
• They’re passive: Look for boredom or lack of interest and note if they don’t ask any questions. You’re looking for a candidate who is enthusiastic about your company.‍
• They present last-minute requests: Candidates who mention potential deal breakers at the last minute are probably irresponsible and lack the pro attitude you need.