The Interview Mistake Small Businesses Make (And How to Fix It)

January is one of the busiest times of year for hiring. Job ads go live, interviews get booked, and business owners are suddenly switching gears from finding candidates to choosing between them.

At this stage, the quality of your interviews matters more than ever.

The mistake: Turning interviews into presentations

One of the most common interview mistakes we see is simple – business owners talk too much.

It’s completely natural. You want to explain the role, sell the business, and make sure the candidate understands what’s expected.

But when you do most of the talking, the interview becomes a presentation rather than a decision-making tool.

And that’s when important signals get missed.

What you actually need to learn in an interview

A CV tells you what someone has done. A good interview should tell you how they work.

Strong interviews help you uncover:

• How someone approaches new or unfamiliar tasks
• How they respond when things don’t go to plan
• How they communicate under pressure
• How they define a “good” day or week at work

These traits are far more predictive of success than confidence alone.

High-impact interview questions you can use straight away

Once you’ve covered the basics of the role, shift the focus back to the candidate with open, scenario-based questions.

Here are questions that consistently provide useful insight:

Learning & adaptability

• “Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly to do your job properly.”
• “How do you usually get up to speed when something is new to you?”

Problem-solving

• “What’s a work problem you didn’t expect, and how did you handle it?”
• “Tell me about a mistake you’ve made at work and what you learned from it.”

Ownership & accountability

• “When things go wrong at work, what’s usually your first step?”
• “How do you prioritise when everything feels urgent?”

Work style & expectations

• “What does a good week at work look like to you?”
• “What kind of support helps you do your best work?”

You’re not looking for perfect answers. You’re listening for clarity, self-awareness, and how responsibility is handled.

A simple interview rule of thumb

If you find yourself talking more than the candidate, pause and ask another question.

The goal isn’t to fill silence, it’s to give candidates space to show you how they think.

Final thought

Once you’re interviewing the right candidates, asking the right questions makes all the difference.

A few small changes at the interview stage can significantly improve the quality of your hiring decisions, especially during the busy start-of-year period.

Getting to better interviews, faster

At Recruit Shop, we support small businesses across Australia and New Zealand by handling the time-consuming parts of recruitment including writing job ads, advertising roles, and screening applicants.

Our flat fee recruitment service is $2,995 + GST. There are no percentages, no hidden costs, and most roles are filled within 28 days. If you don’t hire, you’ll receive $1,000 back or we’ll continue working on your role for another month at no cost.

Once you’re interviewing the right candidates, asking the right questions makes all the difference.

If you’re hiring this year and want to reach the interview stage faster with candidates who already meet your brief, Recruit Shop is here to help.

👉 Want to see how we can help you find and shortlist top candidates for your next role? Fill in your details below and we will get in touch