+ Meet the spouse if the person is married. See how he or she feels about the possibilities. See how they treat each other.
+ Always ask about their hardest decision recently, and how they made it. What were the options?
+ Note if they hide anything. Once we hired someone who hid his tattoos in the interview, and revealed them on his arms after being hired. It was not the tattoos as such, but the deception.
+ Believe the record. People do not change much.
+ Ask open-ended questions, and keep probing: “Say more about that…” “How did that make you feel?” “Why did you stop talking about that?” “Would you handle that the same way today?”
+ Ask what were the best things they learned from others, either in an informal way or in a teaching relationship? You will learn how teachable or independent a person is.
+ Present a few case studies, the kind that happen in their areas of ministry, and ask what the issues are, and how they think they would handle this.
+ Watch their eye contact with your eyes.
+ Ask questions about the person they reported to previously. You will pick up their view of authority.
+ Ask what a typical work week looks like, or what they would hope it looks like.
+ Ask how they learn Scripture for personal reasons, and when they pray.
+ “Do you go to church on vacation?”
+ How much they watch television may reveal some discipline issues.
+ Always have a woman present for the interview. They have extra intuition and good perspective. Once I could tell a man was a bit irritated when a woman asked him something.
+ Watch how they eat.