What if the success of your next hire came down to asking better questions?
Too often, interviews rely on routine scripts that miss what actually matters: how someone thinks, adapts, and adds value to your team.
When hiring for technical roles, especially in remote setups, the right questions can reveal whether a candidate truly fits the role or just looks good on paper.
What difference can a few well-chosen interview questions really make? The truth is, they can define the failure or success of your next hire.
Having a clear strategy for the questions to ask interviewee candidates helps you dig beneath surface-level answers and uncover how they think, collaborate, and adapt.
Choosing the right questions during interviews gives you confidence, not just clarity.
Instead of relying solely on resumes or technical test results, well-structured questions allow you to assess how candidates solve real problems, communicate under pressure, and align with your company’s values.
This is even more important when hiring for remote roles, where self-management and communication skills often matter just as much as technical expertise.
Every question you ask becomes an opportunity to verify whether the person can thrive in your team's particular setup.
In a distributed team, cultural fit becomes just as critical as professional fit. When team members live in different time zones or come from different work cultures, misunderstandings can easily disrupt collaboration.
That’s why thoughtful interview questions should go beyond hard skills. They should explore a candidate’s work style, expectations, and ability to align with your company’s values.
Are they comfortable with async communication? How do they handle cultural differences in a team?
Questions like these help you avoid mismatches early on and ensure you're bringing in people who will strengthen — not strain — your remote culture.
The better your questions, the better your chances of making a hire that sticks. And in today’s competitive tech market, every great hire is one less expensive turnover to deal with later.
Sometimes, the best questions aren’t the most technical. They’re the ones that reveal how a candidate thinks, works, and sees their future. These out-of-the-box interview questions help you assess cultural fit, motivation, and mindset.
The key is knowing what each answer says about the person you’re about to hire.
“What do you know about our company, and why do you want to work here?” shows whether the candidate has done their homework and genuinely cares about the role.
“What are you looking for from this position?” helps you assess whether their career goals match what the role actually offers.
“Why are you leaving your current job?” gives insight into their priorities.
“What is your preferred approach to conflict resolution?” reveals how someone collaborates under stress.
“How do you like to be managed?” helps you understand whether your leadership style will match their expectations.
“What’s one fact that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?” gives them space to be authentic and can uncover hidden strengths or interests.
“How would your boss describe you?” and “How would a colleague describe you in three adjectives?” both test self-awareness.
“What sets you apart from other applicants?” is a direct way to assess confidence and unique skills.
“Tell us about a person or organization that you admire” shows how they think about leadership or impact. It also hints at what inspires them professionally.
“What current trends are you seeing in your profession?” helps you understand how well they are in touch with the industry.
“What new things have you tried recently?” highlights their learning mindset.
Every company has its own needs, so your interview script should reflect that.
What matters more than following a template is understanding the types of questions that uncover the right information.
Use this guide as a starting point, then tailor it to fit your specific context. By covering the following four areas, you gain a much clearer picture of whether a candidate is really the right match.
Start by finding out why the candidate applied in the first place. Do they understand what your company does? Can they explain how this role fits into their professional goals?
Questions about their interest in your team, product, or mission help reveal if they're looking for a job or a career move.
If someone is thinking strategically about how this opportunity will shape their future, chances are they’ll be more engaged and committed.
It also tells you whether their goals match what your company can actually offer, especially in a remote setup where alignment needs to be intentional.
Next, shift the focus to how the candidate defines their own career so far.
What roles have they played in past teams? What types of environments have helped them do their best work?
This helps you understand not just their experience, but how they operate and where they might fit within your current structure.
Keep this in mind: you're not simply hiring a backend developer or data analyst. You’re looking for someone who will interact with your existing workflows and influence your team dynamic.
Every candidate has strengths, but not all of them will make sense in your specific context. That’s why it helps to ask about what they think sets them apart from others with similar backgrounds.
Are they especially strong in mentoring junior developers? Do they excel at translating business needs into technical solutions?
These questions give you clues about the unique value they bring to your team, beyond the job description.
Finally, test how plugged in they are to the industry you’re part of. Whether you're in fintech, healthcare, or SaaS, understanding trends, challenges, and best practices in your space shows they’re thinking ahead and not just coding in a vacuum.
This kind of awareness often separates a solid hire from someone who can grow into a leadership role down the line.
Choosing the right questions isn’t just about warming up the conversation or checking off technical requirements. Use them as tools to uncover alignment, motivation, and whether the candidate has long-term potential at your company.
The questions you ask during interviews shape your team’s future. Whether you're hiring developers for a remote-first environment or building a cross-functional team, asking the right interview questions reveals who truly fits the role. Use them to find candidates who will grow with your company as it evolves.
Want to build a workplace where top developers choose to stay and grow? Watch Strider’s co-founder, Neal Kemp, share practical strategies for creating a culture that supports feedback, growth, and real collaboration.