What Are Your Greatest Strengths To A Company
The ability of a candidate to talk about their strengths and still maintain their humility is a strong indicator of a winning personality.
This also gives the interviewee a chance to explain and align their strengths with the position they are interviewing for demonstrating attributes that will contribute to the companys goals.
Be Flexible With Your Time
Group interviews and assessment centers are usually held at fixed times. But, one-candidate interviews can be flexible. Let candidates pick a time when they will be free of other responsibilities and able to focus on their interview. To avoid an avalanche of back-and-forth emails, give candidates various times to choose from in your first message.
If youre inviting remote candidates , they may be in a different time zone than your interviewers. Scheduling tools, like online calendars, will probably convert invitations to the right time zone. But if youre adding time-slots manually, make sure to double-check.
Move the right people forward faster
Easily collaborate with hiring teams to evaluate applicants, gather fair and consistent feedback, check for unconscious bias, and decide whos the best fit, all in one system.
When You’re Asked To Interview Job Candidates Applying To Be Your Boss What Should You Ask
Editor’s note: Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions about workplace and management issues-everything from how to deal with a micromanaging boss to how to talk to someone on your team about body odor.
A reader writes:
Our department was asked by our director to have an informal-type “interview” with two of the finalists in line to fill our manager position . We are a small department of eight people, and we are tasked with “being unemotional” and to have “facts” as to why we prefer one over the other. Yet, we were told to not assume that this will make a difference in who is hired.
What do you think of this? We are thinking that this is a effort to make us feel good – that we have some say – yet we all know that that in fact is not the case.
And since we have to go through this exercise, could you give us some ideas of interview questions that can be judged unemotionally and allow us to give some useful feedback to the director?
Very often when I’ve asked people for their input about candidates, I’ve received responses more along the lines of “I liked Susan best,” and then have had to pull out details from them. So I’ve learned over time — and maybe your boss has too — to be clear up-front about what kind of input will be the most valuable.
As for what to ask the candidates when you meet with them, here’s a list of questions you could consider pulling from:
Use the list above as a starting point. Good luck!
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What Would You Change If You Could Go Back
I also like to ask candidates about a particular action they took in the past that they would change if they could go back. The reason I ask this question is that I am interested in finding out a persons experiences. While a resume will often boast the candidates achievements, I prefer to discover the potential employees grit in overcoming diversity and challenges.
Steven Azizi Business Owner Miracle Mile Law Group
What Do You Hope To Gain From Working Here
Pay attention to whether applicants focus only on their immediate needs, like a paycheck or short commute, or if they mention longer-term goals. This can help you determine if you’re dealing with someone just looking for a job versus someone who wants to build a career with your company. If candidates discuss career aspirations, see what they know about the organization beyond whats published on the websites About Us page. That can tell you a lot about how interested they really are in your company.
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To Summarize The Interview System
Inputs: Job Description, Team Needs, Work Environment, Interview Questions
Outputs: Rejected candidate, hired candidate/new employee
Process Steps:
Do You Have Any Questions For Me
This question typically wraps up the interview. Most candidates who are interested in the job will be prepared with a few relevant questions for a hiring manager. However, if the discussion was long and detailed, the candidate may have already asked their questions. In a case like this, its OK if a candidate doesnt have a list of questions at the end of the interview.
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Assessing The Candidates Desire Factor
Theres no excuse for candidates not having researched your company, its achievements, competitors, and challenges prior to an interview. Still, some will go out of their way to articulate their understanding of who you are and why theyre so excited about joining your firm.
What youre really trying to get to here is whether the candidate wants a job or whether they want this job. Try questions like these to isolate those who are hungriest for the opportunity that you offer:
- What do you know about our organization?
- Why would you want to work here?
- In your mind, what makes us stand out from our competitors?
- If you were to accept this position with us today, how would you explain that to a prospective employer five years from now?
- How would this role with our company provide a link to your future career progression?
Set Specific Interview Questions
After determining the critical success factors and the desirable qualities to assess in a candidate, set the specific questions to elicit the right answer. Interview questions might be close-ended, open-ended or a mixture of both. Asking both types of questions gives all candidates the opportunity to present more information about themselves. Asking the right questions enables you to get crucial insights into a candidate’s behavior, background, experience and opinions on relevant workplace issues.
Related:
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Ready To Hire: What To Do After You’ve Selected Your Employees
Once your interviews are complete, it’s time to decide who will get the job. Many managers and executives may call the candidate to extend the job offer verbally, but follow-ups are still done with a written employment offer letter, which provides a hard copy of the applicant’s acceptance.
Job offer letters, however, should still be written in a tentative manner until all the legal documents, nondisclosure agreements or other necessary items are signed.
Background And Work Experience Interview Questions
Here, we get into the more traditional interview questions, where youll get into the nitty-gritty about what makes this person qualified to perform the tasks at hand.
In a sense, these should be the easier questions as they should demonstrate clearly whether or not the job candidate has the necessary skill set you are looking for.
Be sure to ask enough questions that you get a well-rounded view of their skills, and provide opportunities for them to show you their aptitude. Most of these questions will require tailoring, depending on the position you are hiring for.
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Know What You Want In Your Ideal Job Candidate
If you dont know the skill set required for the open position, chances are you might not ask the right questions, which may confuse the candidate. Make a list of what youre looking for and then ask pointed questions so that when the candidate walks out the door you know whether or not they are a viable choice.
Test Reaction To Stress
A job might put a person under stress and their ability to thrive under such pressure needs to be tested. At least, the reaction should be passable because the company doesnt want an employee who freezes under stress. This is where tricky questions like these come in:
What were the things you did not like in your previous company?
What were the things you did not like in your previous boss?
Have you ever been criticized for your work? Why?
How well do you handle criticism?
If there are any gaps in their employment history, they should be examined and cross checked with them. Also, body language should be noted. Do they appear nervous? Do they maintain eye contact? Are there displaying any nervous habits like tapping fingers on the table? And most importantly, are they hiding their nervousness well?
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Why Did You Leave Your Last Job And What Have You Been Doing Since Then
Even with a low unemployment rate in the job market, it isn’t unusual for highly competent people to find themselves out of a job, leaving them with gaps in their employment history. While its important to ask about this, dont come off as accusatory. Asking in a neutral, diplomatic way is key, but do try to get specific, factual answers that you can verify later. Candidates with a spotty employment history, at the very least, ought to be able to account for their extended periods of unemployment and demonstrate productive use of that time getting an advanced degree or professional certificate, for example, or volunteering for a related cause.
What Would You Do In A Difficult Work Situation
For my second question, What would you do in a difficult work situation? From the answer, I would expect to learn whether or not they will have patience, wisdom, and leadership skills in handling difficult questions. Some people answer nervously on the spot or might not be able to think of an answer, in which case, I can ask them to give me an example of where this might have happened, so they will be able to answer easier. I can then use that example as the substance for making my final decision. Character is so important.
A lot of people can be trained in certain positions at your workplace, so if their degree doesnt necessarily match what youre hiring for, that shouldnt be as big of a deal, depending on how intricate the job is. When hiring, finding someone with good character is like finding gold. Of course, you obviously want to factor in intelligence, as well. However, everything else, as far as job training, usually can fall into place with someone with good character and moral standards.
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How Do You Deal With Tight Deadlines
For interviewees, their most ideal answer should be a version of this: I review a list of tasks and analyze what are the most urgent and critical matters. I put the most urgent ones on top of the list.
Next, I focus on each task with complete concentration until I finish it before moving on to the next urgent task.
Conduct A Telephone Prescreening Interview
If your list of candidates that you’re interested in interviewing is still too long, you may choose to conduct a telephone prescreening interview with the remaining candidates. This can help you assess whether a candidate’s skills, experience, qualifications and salary expectations are suitable for the position. Telephone interviews can help determine which candidates you would like to meet for an in-person interview. A telephone interview is beneficial for the following reasons:
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It clarifies gaps or information on the candidate’s resume.
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It evaluates a candidate’s phone etiquette and communication skills.
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It reveals if a candidate is still available for the job.
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It may allow you to invite quality candidates for an in-person interview.
Related:Guide to Pre-Screen Interview Questions
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Be Conversational And Friendly
An interview is not an interrogation so a friendly but firm tone should be employed. The interview should be held in a conference room or a place where there are minimum distractions and the atmosphere should be comfortable. If the interview is being recorded, the interviewer should tell the interviewee about this and show them the positioning of the camera or the recording device.
The interview should start with certain warm up questions and before getting into the position specific part, the interviewer should brief the prospective employee about the companys history and might restate the things mentioned in the job description, if required. Some interviewers also like to test the person by asking general questions related to the company they are applying in. This is to check if they have done their homework.
If there are certain things which were not present in the job description but seem important to mention, then they should be stated as well. After that, the interviewer can get into the job profile and questions related to it.
Where Do You See Yourself In The Next 5 Years
An ambitious professional with a clear set of goals for the short, medium, and long term, is an invaluable asset to the company. This is true especially if they parallel their career growth with the company they are interviewing at.
As they grow professionally and financially, the company grows and expands too.
During the interview, confident job seekers will discuss that they seek a company with upward mobility as they help the company prosper.
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Why You Should Think About What Questions You Ask
Though you may think some questions are interesting, or that they might be applicable to the job role, you might actually find that these questions dont allow the applicant to do anything but reiterate the information from their CV. Which means you wont find out anything new about them, their skills or their history and more importantly you wont get a feel as to whether they will fit into the role and company. Asking the right questions can help you to quickly find out everything you need to know about the applicants skills, job and cultural fit and experience, helping you gain the most from the interview stage. The information you learn from the answers you receive to these questions will help you to decide which applicant is the perfect selection for you.
My Recruiting Philosophy & Method Matchingcandidates & Firms
I am going to digress for a second and share my philosophy ofrecruiting. When I am working with a candidate, I only select one firm that Iwill introduce them to. If both the candidate and company like what they hear,then there is no reason to introduce them to any other company. How do I makethat determination? Continue reading, and youll find out. When I first take ona new client, I do a 45-minute drill down on everything about that firm inorder to understand what makes that firm tick. Your job as a potential employeeis to do the exact same thing within the first interview. You now will be ableto do the above, then determine what is important to you by reviewing the 15key interview questions to ask below.
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Why Did You Choose This Profession
This is one way to separate candidates who are a good short-term fit for your company from good long-term fits. You could select the worlds greatest entry-level accountant, but then learn later that the individual decided two years ago to pursue a career in medicine and is only an accountant now to pay for medical school. The question gives the candidate a chance to convey a passion for the profession and cite specific educational and occupational decisions they made that show their passion.
How To Interview A Potential Employer
Youve read the job description, but the interview is the time to read between the lines. Find out as much as you can about the company you may work for before you take the job. It could save you time and frustration down the line.Related: Top 3 Interview Questions You Should AskWe all know to have questions prepared when we head into an interview. It makes us look interested and on the ball. But the list of questions you ask a potential employer should be as much about you interviewing them, as them interviewing you.
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How To Select Candidates For The Job Interview
Your starting point, before scheduling a job interview with a candidate, is to review each candidate’s cover letter and resume.
When faced with 100 to 200 candidates, it’s important to use tools that separate the great candidates from the many. These will help you select the best candidates for the job interview. They will also help you prepare your list of questions to use to telephone screen candidates and then ask during your onsite or online job interviews.
How You Run Meetings
How you run meetings? Has it changed in recent years?
A great candidate will have a basket of tools and tricks that they have developed over time to help accomplish the work at hand. No one tool is right for every purpose or need, so the candidate should show that they are open to experiment over time and seek to learn from others what works best to achieve desired outcomes.
, CEO at Ladders, a leading job search site.
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Career Goal Interview Questions
Finally, get a sense of where your job candidate sees him or herself going in life. What is their required salary for the current position, and tentative career trajectory? What are their big-picture dreams?
Answers to these questions will reveal a lot about your interviewees longevity as an employee, and their long-range goals. If they mention that theyd like to move up within the company, that could signify that theyre ready to work hard and could potentially be built into your business as an integral, foundational memberbut what if you dont have a vacancy for them to grow into?
Again, the right answers will depend on your business and the role you are hiring for, so keep that in mind and have a sense beforehand of what the deal breakers arefor example, if you know youd rather hire someone for the long haul, and they tell you that their five-year plan involves starting up their own company within the next few years.
