The Five Best Interview Questions You Aren't Asking
- By Gaby Mergenthal
- Published 25/02/2010
- Career
- Unrated
Gaby Mergenthal
Gaby Mergenthal is the Executive Vice President of Innovative Employee Solutions, a San Diego-based company specializing in payroll and HR administrative services for the contingent workforce. Ms. Mergenthal has more than a decade of experience in the recruiting and staffing industries.
View all articles by Gaby Mergenthal
Too often, many of us end up hiring the candidate who's best at the interview, but may not be best at the job. We tend to rely heavily on instinct and good first impressions, and favor candidates who give us the smoothest, most polished answers. As a result, we often end up hiring the most articulate interviewee, but not necessarily the one most likely to succeed long-term in the position. So how do you fine-tune your screening skills to separate the good interview from the truly great candidate? One way to begin is by giving your interview questions an overhaul: weeding out those that are no longer helpful, and adding new ones that provide insight into how a candidate is really likely to perform in a position.
For help, I turned to Barry Deutsch of Impact Hiring Solutions. Barry has 15+ years of experience in executive search practices, and his "You're Not the Person I Hired" workshops have helped thousands of companies understand how to find and hire the right people. When it comes to interview questions, Deutsch says, most people are missing the mark by continuing to do the same old things they've always done. "The majority of hiring managers and executives tend to use the same, standard list of mundane questions," he says. "In fact, most executives will tell you that their list of interview questions is based on what they were asked in their own interviews years (or even decades) before."
Below, Deutsch offers a list of some common interview questions to stop asking, along with the 5 critical ones that provide worthwhile insight and will hopefully keep you well-supplied with outstanding talent.
Questions to STOP Asking
By now, the list of standard interview questions has become so commonplace that candidates arrive at interviews with their equally standard answers already prepared and memorized. "Canned questions get canned responses," Deutsch says, "and the trouble with the standard series of interview questions is that all they really measure is a candidate's ability to answer them." Common examples of such questions include:
• Tell me about yourself. This is commonly the first thing asked in an interview, and has little purpose other than to waste time while settling in. "The question is confusing for the candidate," says Deutsch. "What exactly should they say about themselves? Should they start with kindergarten and work their way up to the present, or talk more specifically about a recent work experience?" From the interviewer's perspective, the question is typically nothing more than a way to buy time. "Most hiring managers don't even hear the answer to this one," he says. "Instead, they're using the time to review the candidate's resume, or in some cases to read it for the first time."
• What is your biggest weakness? "Everybody knows this one is coming," Deutsch says, "and everyone prepares a similarly-themed answer: listing a 'weakness' that's actually a strength." We've all heard them before: supposed 'shortcomings' such as "I'm a perfectionist," "I take on too much," or "I drive my team too hard." Predictable questions like this one are another waste of time and are ineffective at helping you determine whether a candidate can actually perform in the position for which you're hiring.
• One of the core responsibilities of this job is (fill in the blank). Can you do that? Too often, an interviewer will outline a performance expectation, a core value of the company (i.e. "teamwork,") or some element of the corporate culture, and will follow up by asking whether the candidate thinks he or she can accept or meet the requirement described. Leading questions like these tend to elicit only one answer: the one you want to hear. Deutsch refers to these as "stupid behavioral questions," because the question itself gives away the answer or behavior you're looking for. "No candidate is going to tell you they can't work in a team (even if it's true)" he says, "after you've just outlined teamwork as an important element of the job."
5
Key Questions to START Asking
"Whether a company is looking to hire a CEO or a manager, they want to hire the best and the brightest," Deutsch says. Asking a series of strategic, insightful questions is a proven way to go beyond those first impressions of a candidate and truly determine whether or not they have what it takes to be a top performer. Below are the 5 questions Deutsch recommends asking to determine whether a candidate has what it takes to succeed. The first three test an interviewee's experience, while the final two test his or her ability to perform in the position for which you're hiring:
• Give me an example of an instance in which you demonstrated high initiative. A defining characteristic of top performers is their ability to take initiative," Deutsch says. "They don't wait for opportunity to come to them. They'll step up to the plate, and be ready to perform." An employee with high initiative is likely to not only meet objectives, but go the extra mile for their employer.
• Give me an example of a time when you've executed a project flawlessly. While many people are skilled at setting strategies, few can actually implement them from start to completion. "Getting the job done and done well is critical," says Deutsch. "Many people like to overanalyze things. Top performers do the analysis required, and then go on to get the job done." The types of answers an interviewer should be looking for are ones that clearly demonstrate a candidate's ability to fulfill obligations: budgets hit, projects completed on time, metrics and measurements achieved, etc.
• Tell me about your biggest team accomplishment in difficult circumstances. This question can help you determine whether a candidate has the ability to motivate others - an especially critical component of any management position. "No one can do it all," says Deutsch. "Top performers know this, and get the job done by utilizing the talents of others." And asking a candidate to point out leadership in the midst of difficulty helps separate the good from the great. Explains Deutsch, "we are all good leaders in good times, but the best leaders are able to motivate people even when circumstances aren't the best."
• One of the critical components of this position is ______. Can you describe your most comparable accomplishment? This question reveals whether a candidate understands the expectations and roles involved in the job for which they're applying. It also reveals his or her track record of performance and accomplishments over a period of time, and determines whether that track record is similar in scope to the objectives of the job for which you're hiring. Truly outstanding candidates can clearly demonstrate a history of consistently high performance and can apply that experience to the objectives of the job ahead of them, which according to Deutsch is a "critical component of any qualified employee."
• How would you go about implementing ______ in this position? Using the same critical component example in the question above, the way a candidate answers this question reveals whether he or she is adaptable - specifically, whether they can adapt to the work environment of the position they're interviewing for. "Things rarely go as planned," Deutsch says, "and great employees must be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Change is a given; what counts is whether a person is able to change along with it." A great candidate can demonstrate an ability to adapt their past accomplishments to fit your client's current environment and resources. If they can't do that, then regardless of other talents they probably won't be successful.
According to Deutsch, everything else in an interview should ideally stem from a candidate's answers to these 5 core questions, via a process he refers to as "peeling the onion." The fact is, most candidates are prone to embellish and/or exaggerate their experience and accomplishments. In order to determine whether they've really accomplished as much as they claim, peel back the layers of their answers with a variety of follow up questions. "Probe deeply for the why, when, how, and what," Deutsch says. "Keep asking for examples, don't accept superficial statements, and don't let up until you feel you have a clear visual picture of what the candidate has actually accomplished."
For help, I turned to Barry Deutsch of Impact Hiring Solutions. Barry has 15+ years of experience in executive search practices, and his "You're Not the Person I Hired" workshops have helped thousands of companies understand how to find and hire the right people. When it comes to interview questions, Deutsch says, most people are missing the mark by continuing to do the same old things they've always done. "The majority of hiring managers and executives tend to use the same, standard list of mundane questions," he says. "In fact, most executives will tell you that their list of interview questions is based on what they were asked in their own interviews years (or even decades) before."
Below, Deutsch offers a list of some common interview questions to stop asking, along with the 5 critical ones that provide worthwhile insight and will hopefully keep you well-supplied with outstanding talent.
Questions to STOP Asking
By now, the list of standard interview questions has become so commonplace that candidates arrive at interviews with their equally standard answers already prepared and memorized. "Canned questions get canned responses," Deutsch says, "and the trouble with the standard series of interview questions is that all they really measure is a candidate's ability to answer them." Common examples of such questions include:
• Tell me about yourself. This is commonly the first thing asked in an interview, and has little purpose other than to waste time while settling in. "The question is confusing for the candidate," says Deutsch. "What exactly should they say about themselves? Should they start with kindergarten and work their way up to the present, or talk more specifically about a recent work experience?" From the interviewer's perspective, the question is typically nothing more than a way to buy time. "Most hiring managers don't even hear the answer to this one," he says. "Instead, they're using the time to review the candidate's resume, or in some cases to read it for the first time."
• What is your biggest weakness? "Everybody knows this one is coming," Deutsch says, "and everyone prepares a similarly-themed answer: listing a 'weakness' that's actually a strength." We've all heard them before: supposed 'shortcomings' such as "I'm a perfectionist," "I take on too much," or "I drive my team too hard." Predictable questions like this one are another waste of time and are ineffective at helping you determine whether a candidate can actually perform in the position for which you're hiring.
• One of the core responsibilities of this job is (fill in the blank). Can you do that? Too often, an interviewer will outline a performance expectation, a core value of the company (i.e. "teamwork,") or some element of the corporate culture, and will follow up by asking whether the candidate thinks he or she can accept or meet the requirement described. Leading questions like these tend to elicit only one answer: the one you want to hear. Deutsch refers to these as "stupid behavioral questions," because the question itself gives away the answer or behavior you're looking for. "No candidate is going to tell you they can't work in a team (even if it's true)" he says, "after you've just outlined teamwork as an important element of the job."
5
"Whether a company is looking to hire a CEO or a manager, they want to hire the best and the brightest," Deutsch says. Asking a series of strategic, insightful questions is a proven way to go beyond those first impressions of a candidate and truly determine whether or not they have what it takes to be a top performer. Below are the 5 questions Deutsch recommends asking to determine whether a candidate has what it takes to succeed. The first three test an interviewee's experience, while the final two test his or her ability to perform in the position for which you're hiring:
• Give me an example of an instance in which you demonstrated high initiative. A defining characteristic of top performers is their ability to take initiative," Deutsch says. "They don't wait for opportunity to come to them. They'll step up to the plate, and be ready to perform." An employee with high initiative is likely to not only meet objectives, but go the extra mile for their employer.
• Give me an example of a time when you've executed a project flawlessly. While many people are skilled at setting strategies, few can actually implement them from start to completion. "Getting the job done and done well is critical," says Deutsch. "Many people like to overanalyze things. Top performers do the analysis required, and then go on to get the job done." The types of answers an interviewer should be looking for are ones that clearly demonstrate a candidate's ability to fulfill obligations: budgets hit, projects completed on time, metrics and measurements achieved, etc.
• Tell me about your biggest team accomplishment in difficult circumstances. This question can help you determine whether a candidate has the ability to motivate others - an especially critical component of any management position. "No one can do it all," says Deutsch. "Top performers know this, and get the job done by utilizing the talents of others." And asking a candidate to point out leadership in the midst of difficulty helps separate the good from the great. Explains Deutsch, "we are all good leaders in good times, but the best leaders are able to motivate people even when circumstances aren't the best."
• One of the critical components of this position is ______. Can you describe your most comparable accomplishment? This question reveals whether a candidate understands the expectations and roles involved in the job for which they're applying. It also reveals his or her track record of performance and accomplishments over a period of time, and determines whether that track record is similar in scope to the objectives of the job for which you're hiring. Truly outstanding candidates can clearly demonstrate a history of consistently high performance and can apply that experience to the objectives of the job ahead of them, which according to Deutsch is a "critical component of any qualified employee."
• How would you go about implementing ______ in this position? Using the same critical component example in the question above, the way a candidate answers this question reveals whether he or she is adaptable - specifically, whether they can adapt to the work environment of the position they're interviewing for. "Things rarely go as planned," Deutsch says, "and great employees must be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Change is a given; what counts is whether a person is able to change along with it." A great candidate can demonstrate an ability to adapt their past accomplishments to fit your client's current environment and resources. If they can't do that, then regardless of other talents they probably won't be successful.
According to Deutsch, everything else in an interview should ideally stem from a candidate's answers to these 5 core questions, via a process he refers to as "peeling the onion." The fact is, most candidates are prone to embellish and/or exaggerate their experience and accomplishments. In order to determine whether they've really accomplished as much as they claim, peel back the layers of their answers with a variety of follow up questions. "Probe deeply for the why, when, how, and what," Deutsch says. "Keep asking for examples, don't accept superficial statements, and don't let up until you feel you have a clear visual picture of what the candidate has actually accomplished."