Fellow hiring managers,
Of course if you ask a candidate a question like "Our SE role has about 40% travel - is that ok with you?" - they are going to say yes, whether it's okay or not - so you really didn't learn anything about them. Yes/No or leading questions don't do you any favors during the interview process - but they are popular and I still get them when I'm the candidate.
Here are a few better options to really get inside the head of an SE candidate:
Tell me about the STRONGEST leader you've directly reported to....I don't need their name, but I want you to describe that person's characteristics and why you felt they were a strong leader. (They almost always give me the leader's name).
Conversely, tell me about the WEAKEST leader you've directly reported to. What were their characteristics. (They rarely give me the leader's name :-) )
Sometimes the candidate just described my leadership style (or my manager's style) as similar to their STRONGEST leader - and once in a while they describe my style as the one they felt was weakest. From this question you get a feel for what they prefer - and you can also extrapolate some of the candidate's strengths and weaknesses. A few candidates try to be politically correct and tell me that none of their leaders have been weak - but I point out the question didn't ask for weak - just for the weakest. At which point they feel it's okay to pick someone out and respond.
3. If you started a new job tomorrow, what's one task you do today at your current job that you would like to bring with you and continue doing?
4. Conversely, if you started a new job tomorrow, what's one task you do today that you would be very happy to give up doing and NOT take with you?
These questions give me a lot of insight into what work they like to do and what work they don't like to do. (FYI - RFPs are a big favorite to NOT bring over).
5. In all of your career, when were you the most satisfied with your work? This could be a whole job, or a project, or just a segment of time at a job. Can you describe why it was the most satisfying?
6. Conversely, in all of your career, when were you the least satisfied with your work. Can you describe why it was the least satisfying?
All of these questions are designed to get the candidate to really open up about what they enjoy and what motivates them - and what doesn't. You can then match their likes/dislikes to your environment and see if they might fit or not. Just be honest with yourself about your environment and what it does/doesn't offer.