When you are hiring a new employee, it can be difficult to come up with the right interview questions.
Sometimes the conversation needs to go into sensitive issues.
You need to make sure that the candidate is the right fit, but at the same time, you might be reluctant to bring up some delicate topics.
This especially applies to remote workers who come from different cultures and backgrounds. How do you know if your questions are OK to ask?
Well, one of the benefits of hiring Eastern European candidates is that you can be a little more direct than usual.
Here are 5 examples of sensitive job interview questions that are completely okay to ask your Eastern European candidates.
Any Questions About Salary
In some countries, there is a certain reluctance when talking about how much money somebody should be making.
When talking to candidates from Eastern Europe, directness is usually the best way to go about it.
The salary needs to be determined during the interview process, especially if you did not list a specific amount in your job post.
One of the great things about hiring remote workers from Eastern Europe is that you can get a great worker for a lower cost. However, never underpay your remote employees.
If you want to get quality results, you need to be fair and offer a competitive salary.
Otherwise, your workers will feel exploited and will look for better opportunities. This will lead to a higher turnover rate.
That’s why you always need to make sure that your candidate is satisfied with the salary you are offering.
You can ask them openly what salary they were paid in their previous role and what salary they are looking for now.
How Good Are Your English Speaking and Writing Skills?
Since it is potentially discriminating, this question can be problematic in most English-speaking countries.
In the case of Eastern European countries, this question is completely fine to ask.
Even though most Eastern European workers have great English skills, there are always some people who don’t move beyond the basic level.
And good English skills are usually necessary if you are running a remote team.
Depending on the position, you will always need workers with different levels of English skills.
Content writers and customer support staff obviously need to have great writing and speaking skills. For some other roles such as designers, it is not that important.
Yet, keep in mind that your employee will still need to effectively communicate with the rest of the team.
Determine what you need and openly ask your candidates about their skills. Many will answer with their level as defined by the British Council that has a simple grading system for English language skills. This is a common way of assessing English skills in European countries. The levels range from A1 to C2 and you can check out what each of these levels means here.
However, if your candidate’s language skills are important to you, you shouldn’t rely only on their defined proficiency level. Assess their skills through a test task and by simply looking at how they communicate with you throughout the hiring process.
Are there any responsibilities that may make it difficult for you to work?
The problem with interview questions such as these is that they can be used to determine one’s religious beliefs, marital status, or if they have children.
On the other hand, these kinds of questions are necessary for remote workers that come from different countries. And especially those who work from different time zones.
Coordination of staff is incredibly important for a smooth-running remote organization.
The more information you have about their schedule and their commitments, the easier it will be for you to make a productive work plan for your team.
Feel free to ask your Eastern European candidates about their schedule and commitments and make sure that you are on the same page.
Why is there a gap in your work history?
This question is completely fine to ask – but not as necessary as you might think.
If you are hiring a worker from the US, a gap in work history or frequently switching positions might signal that your candidate is not that great at holding a job.
However, in Eastern Europe, work is often sporadic and difficult to find. For this reason, you shouldn’t be too sensitive when it comes to gaps in someone’s resume.
Instead, you should ask for examples of previous work or offer a paid test task.
That should be more than enough for you to make a smart hiring decision.
Will we need to provide any equipment for you?
Questions like these are usually avoided to minimize the chance of socioeconomic discrimination.
However, depending on the type of work, your potential employee might need additional equipment. This is especially true for IT and tech industries.
The more equipment a candidate has at their disposal, the less time they will lose with trying to get their hands on it and set it up.
If the candidate is from Eastern Europe, this question becomes even more important.
There could be a lack of availability for certain specialized equipment or long delivery times that would hamper their productivity. Being open to help out your employees in this way will ensure a greater loyalty of your remote employees.
Most Eastern European job seekers looking for remote work will have their own computer adequate for most work. But if you’re looking for someone to do specialized tasks such as video editing with specific software, you may need to discuss that with them.
These are our 5 examples of sensitive job interview questions you can ask your Eastern European candidates. It is important to note that you should still ask these questions with a fair degree of judgment.
It is in your best interest to hire the most qualified person for the job, so try to be friendly and ask questions that your candidates will feel comfortable answering.
And if you are interested in hiring a new candidate from Eastern Europe, we have thousands of high-quality remote workers right here at JobRack. You could find a great addition to your team for a lower cost than you may think. Click here and post your job ad now.
