hire the right administrative professionals: 12 questions to ask in interviews.

This question helps you understand if the candidate would be happy working for your company. If you have an open work space with a lot of hustle, for example, someone who's ideal space is a quiet office may not be an ideal fit.

It's a question you should be asking for you are looking to hire administrative professional these days, as remote work has become the norm. Even if you prefer administrative staff to work at the office, they need the ability to work cooperatively with remote teams and vendors.

Open questions that let candidates show off some of their personality are a good idea in any interview. Asking someone what they love most about a type of work can help you determine whether they understand what your position really is and whether they might enjoy it long-term.

This question tells you a lot about how a candidate perceives admin work. If they come up with a skill you'd never even think of, it might indicate they have a completely different outlook on the work than you do — which can be good or bad depending on the situation and context.

Being able to explain the tools and resources they use to get multiple things done and keep all the balls in the air is important. You want to hire administrative professionals that have already figured out what works for them. Otherwise, you'll have a less experienced admin pro relying on trial-and-error to figure it out — while they're on your clock.

Base this question on your specific business needs. Administrative staff in a sales organization should be comfortable using CRM software, for example, while data entry staff in a financial firm would need to be familiar with accounting software. You don't necessarily need candidates who know your exact system; consider asking them to talk about the systems they have used to see if there are cross-over skills.

Word, Excel and PowerPoint are often musts when you're hiring administrative professionals. Even if you don't use those exact tools, you probably use something like them. An admin candidate that can't handle at least basic spreadsheet use may not be an ideal fit for many jobs.

From time-management apps to tried-and-true tools like planners and bullet journals, organizational tools are critical supports for successful administrative professionals. If your candidate can't talk about a few tools they like easily, they might not have thought enough about how important organization is.

It's not just that your applicant was able to solve an issue or correct a mistake — though that's definitely important. How they worked it out tells you a lot about their interpersonal skills and whether they're a good team player.

Administrative assistants and other similar staff often have access to sensitive information or need to be part of discreet communications. Asking an applicant to demonstrate those skill sets with a story from their past can be helpful for evaluating their ability to fit into your team.

How someone deals with conflict — whether they're proactive or reactive, what actions they took and how the issue was resolved — are important considerations. They help you understand how someone will work with existing team members.

Reporting to multiple people can be challenging and requires a wide variety of skills — from tact and strong boundary setting to excellent communication and organization. If an administrative professional successfully juggled this situation in the past, it can speak well about their ability to deal with multitasking and communication issues in the future.