Interviewing Job Applicants - What Questions Do you Ask?

I hired some people when I was de-facto manager of a mid-sized hostel. I didn't like long interviews, as I don't think they suit most functions in a hostel. Usually I'd just ask couple questions to see whether the candidate really had some experience (when that was required). Most of my applicants were students or people coming with the "oh it is so cool to work in a hostel", so then I'd just try to investigate if the person knew what a hostel was and had some basic social skills.

Then I did like Gray: 10-day paid trial. If I felt the person was good on the 5th day or so, I'd sign them already.

We'd also take 2-3 folks every semester via a Holiday Visa program that accepted other young ppl from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US and a handful of other places. Then, it was a bit more tricky, as we couldn't offer a "trial" for someone paying decent money to travel abroad. In such cases, I'd ask about:

- previous work experience, if any (I was uncomfortable to be the first ever place where the girl would work, 9000km away from home, so a McJob attendant experience, at least, was required lol)

- why they were choosing my hostel (I'd prefer someone who did a basic job of checking our website and understanding the very basics of our vibe)

- if they were ok with some very specific demands of the job (I'm not fussy about that, it was most to have them conscious that I expected them to be responsible while working)

In both cases (present and distant candidates), I'd be concerned about how they "fit" the hostel vibe and the already existing staff. Hostels have a high turnover in general, but you manage your hirings, you can keep an upbeat tone and a nice atmosphere despite people coming and going.

Some really helpful questions and approaches on here! As a small hostel we're limited to volunteer staff only, and often have to source volunteers online since our guest pool is also smaller. I've been chatting with potential candidates via Skype but wanted a way to screen them better BEFORE setting up the Skype interview, so created this online application using Google Docs to send to potential candidates. All the responses are automatically recorded in a spreadsheet within Google Docs.

I've already incorporated some of the questions suggested in this thread but would love additional feedback :)

- Ali
CamelBackpackers Hostel Manager

[P.S. The form is structured so that it launches different pages depending on their answers. For example, if they answer "Yes" to having had hostel work experience it launches a series of questions about that experience, whereas if they answer "No" it moves into asking about other Customer Service experience that could still be relevant to this environment]