I’ve spent the week helping a few partner companies interview for some key new hires. I’ve kissed some frogs and found a few princes (or princesses, as the case may be). And there is one way I can spot the probable superstars.

I base much of my hiring decisions on the quality of the questions candidates ask me. Here’s what I am looking for:

• The questions they ask. Do they ask smart questions? Do their questions show they are engaged and thoughtful about the role & responsibilities? Do they display natural curiosity?
• How they ask the questions. How you ask a question is almost as important as the question itself. Someone who spews a bunch of inquisition-like questions is a turn-off. I’m looking for style, rapport-building, and active listening.
• When they ask the questions. I start most interviews with “What questions do you have for me?”. What I am hoping for is someone to jump in and show their curiosity—about me, about the company, about the role…about anything. When a candidate doesn’t have any questions come to mind or can’t at least come up with a question or two, that’s a red flag. I’ve had interviews where the candidate essentially ended up interviewing me. When that happens, I learn more about a person than I ever could during a standard interview. Their questioning shows me how they think, what they value, their business acumen, their motivations, and their intentions.
• The conversational part of their questioning. Natural curiosity leads to good questions, which leads to more questions, which leads to responses and engaging conversation. If someone listens to your answer, they will ask a smart follow-up question or share a relevant tidbit in response to what you say. There will be an engaging dialog about the question, not just a rote question after a rote question after another rote question.

Good questioning & curiosity is a pass/fail part of the interview for me. If a candidate has soared through the entire recruiting process with flying colors but hasn’t asked any great questions during the process, it’s a fail. Sometimes a heartbreaking one for me when I really like someone and think they could be a strong fit…but this has to be cut and dry.

I know now from lots of experience hiring great fits and bad fits, the writing was always on the wall based on the questions they asked during the interview process.