What Is Your Biggest Management Strength
The answer to this manager interview question should describe the candidates biggest management strength and explain how it helps get the job done and benefits their team and your business.
Job candidates should understand how their strength integrates with the strengths of your team to form a cohesive unit.
A Disruptive Line Of Questioning
- How much is eight times nine?
- Can you write cursive?
- How long can you go without checking your cell phone?
- Name a state you have never visited?
- Name three cities located in that state?
As a behavioral and marketing psychologist, my approach is totally different from the same old same old ones from HR. Plus, many hiring managers have never been formally trained to interview qualified applicants.
Do the above questions and tasks appear easy? They arent. Try them yourself. Ask a coworker, one of your best employees, your spouse, even a neighbor, etc., to imagine they are a job applicant for any position of their choice. Administer the questions above to see how well they fare. The results may surprise you.
Would you hire a person who checks their cell phone every 12 minutes? Not me!
Give the applicant a pen and pad with the following directions, Using aminimum of five sentences. Yes, you may use more than five. Why do you wantthis job?
I want to see how the applicant organizes his/her thoughts, uses grammar and punctuation, etc., as he/she is going to be communicating with clients/customers.
What Are Two Of The Most Satisfying Accomplishments In Your Career Tell Me About Each Of Them
Not only does this question give the candidate a chance to flaunt some of their accomplishments, which will provide you some idea about their skills, but it gives you some insight into their personality and their goals. For example, someone who talks about the success of a project they worked on might be more team-oriented than someone who talks about an individual award.
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Whats One Essential Skill You Learned In Your Most Recent Job
When you hear the candidates answer, ask yourself, Will that skill bring value to my company? If youre unsure about their answer, ask follow-up questions about their other skills to see if they can fill a void in your business.
It should also raise a red flag if the candidate cant think of anything they learned in their most recent job.
We should never stop learning. And even something as seemingly mundane as learning how to stay better organized shows that the candidate is always looking for ways to improve.
Have You Applied For Any Other Positions
If the interviewee has been applying for other positions, is a good idea to see what types of positions they have applied for. Are the positions similar to your opening or totally different?
If you speak to a candidate who is applying for many different types of positions in many different fields it may give you an indication that the candidate does not really know what kind of job they want and are just seeing whats out there.
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If I Were To Poll Everyone Youve Worked With What Percentage Would Not Be A Fan Of Yours
If theyve enjoyed positive relationships with everyone they worked with, thats great. However, if they give you an actual percentage, that could speak to their honesty. Dig a little deeper to see whether they blame those coworkers for the issues they may have had or whether they have bettered themselves after reflecting on past experiences.
Tell Me About A Time You Had A Difficult Working Relationship With A Colleague What Was The Challenge How Did You Address The Situation And What Did You Learn From The Experience
In a perfect world, every employee can get along. Unfortunately, we dont live in a perfect world. Theres a chance that the candidate will end up working with someone that they dont get along with or have trouble working with. If theyve never had a problem with their coworkers before, thats fine. However, if they have and they were able to address the situation successfully, it speaks to their ability to adapt to their situation, even when its not the best situation to be in.
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Tell Me About A Time When You Worked On A Team And Had To Resolve A Conflict What Would You Have Done Differently
GP, from Entirely Money, and Drew DuBoff both said that this was one of their favorite interview questions. GP explained why anyone who wants to know how to interview someone well, should add this question to their repertoire.
No matter where you work, there will be some conflict or disagreement that you will need to work through. I want to understand how a candidate handles this part of the job to make sure they can successfully navigate challenging situations and come to a resolution that makes our company better. And I want to understand that they can do it in a manner that doesnt destroy working relationships.
The follow-up question will help you see their ability to self-criticize and identify improvement opportunities.
Testing Their Knowledge Of Your Organization
Finally, youll want to make sure that the candidate is serious about the position and that they are seeking a long-term position with your company. You can do this by asking them questions that test their knowledge of your organization. Candidates who arent able to answer satisfactorily probably didnt do enough research into your company. Not only does this show a lack of preparation, but it shows that they must not care that much. It means that this is just another job to them and nothing more.
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What Single Project Or Task Would You Consider Your Most Significant Career Accomplishment To Date
Lou Adler, author of The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired and Hire With Your Head, spent 10 years searching for the single best interview question that will reveal whether to hire or not hire a candidate — and this was the one.
A good answer to this question:
Candidates’ answers will tell you about their prior success and sense of ownership. A great answer will show they are confident in their work and professional choices while being humble enough to show they care about the company’s success. For example, if a candidate built a sales or marketing campaign they’re particularly proud of, listen for them to explain how the business benefited from it. Did it help the company sign a major client?
Make Sure The Questions Aren’t Too Personal
via: Unsplash / Jakob Owens
Personal questions are always great questions to ask but make sure that they don’t get too personal. Don’t ask about family background or personal issues like marriage breakup or how much their whole household earns per year. These questions will make the candidate feel really uncomfortable. They also won’t accept the position if they’re offered it.
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First Know What Youre Looking For
We cant start talking about how to conduct an interview or interview questions if we dont know the specific skills we want to assess. Interview questions will determine whether youll get enough useful insight to judge candidates suitability for the job. This means that your questions must be directly related to the job requirements. Otherwise, it will be challenging to compare one candidate to another on the criteria that really matter.
To do this, first determine what qualities you want to see in your new hire. Start with the job description . Ask yourself:
- Which requirements do I want to assess during the interview? Make a comprehensive list and select those qualities you can assess through interview questions. Some of your requirements can be evaluated more effectively at previous stages .
- What requirements carry the most weight? For example, you definitely want your salespeople to have great communication skills, but they might not need to have extroverted personalities. So, your interview questions should focus on communication skills, instead of extroversion.
For example, lets look at the complete list of requirements for the role of Content Writer. These exclude experience and education, which can vary considerably depending on the role and are elements you can evaluate directly from the job application phase.
Can You Describe The Working Culture Of The Organisation
Asking this question is a great way to assess the working environment of the company and it gives you the opportunity to discover whether you’ll fit in.
From the recruiters response you’ll learn if and how the organisation prioritises employee happiness, of any benefits on offer and what the work-life balance is like.
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Tell Me A Little About Yourself
Instead of diving right into the duties and responsibilities of the job, start by getting to know the person a little better.
Asking a personal question like this can help to set the hiree at ease. And you may learn things about their background that could help them perform well in the job theyre applying for.
Chhavi and Amit, from Mrs Daaku Studio, explained why they always begin interviews with this question.
This helps you understand how much the candidate is prepared for the interview, their background, and provide you with relevant elements to move forward with the interview in a meaningful manner. You will also learn a lot of interesting facts about them along with knowing how confident they are.
In his interviews, Tom Sylvester, from tomandariana.com, asks a similar questionSo What Is Your Story? Again, he says this question is all about learning more about the person.
Starting your interview off with this open question can tell you a lot. Obviously, you will get to know the person and their background, but you can also learn a lot more, such as where do they start, what do they think is important to share, how well do they communicate and tell their story, and even things like how they work and their core values.
No matter what kind of a job your hiring for, its a great idea to start with personal questions like these.
What Are Behavioral Interview Questions
Behavioral Interview questions focus on a candidates past experiences. They help employers gauge a candidates particular behavior in relation to skills, abilities, and knowledge.
An interviewer will have the candidate describe a specific work experience using situational questions revealing how they acted under similar situations.
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Tell Me About A Time You Disagreed With A Decision What Did You Do
No one agrees with every decision. Disagreements are fine it’s what you do when you disagree that matters.
Show that you were professional. Show that you raised your concerns in a productive way. If you have an example that proves you can effect change, great — and if you don’t, show that you can support a decision even though you think it’s wrong .
Every company wants employees willing to be honest and forthright, to share concerns and issues, but to also get behind a decision and support it as if they agreed, even if they didn’t.
If You Had A Million Dollars
If you were given a million dollars to start up a company, what would you do, who would you hire, and how would you make your company different from the competition?
This question allows the interviewee to showcase their abilities for strategic thinking and pushes the interviewee to think on their toes.
Gina Curtis, SHRM-CP, aPHR, Executive Recruiting Manager, JMJ Phillip Group
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Job Questions With Explanations
When you prepare the questions you want to ask someone about their job, you should also have an idea of why you’re asking these questions and what sort of insight you hope to gain from the answers. Consider the benefits asking these questions will likely have:
What would you do differently if you could go back in time?
What are your daily habits?
Where do you see the industry going in the future?
What should I be doing to improve my career prospects?
What professional associations are you a member of?
Unique Things To Ask In A Discussion
Unsplash / Evangeline ShawEvery candidate is trying to stand out from the crowd. Make sure you stand out from the sea of competitors with these unique interview questions.
Here are 4 interesting unique interview questions:
55. If you could be a superhero, what power would you possess?
Flying, invisibility? Who knows?
56. Room, desk, and car which do you clean first?
Be warned, people have very strong opinions on this one.
via: Pexels / Kaboompics .com
57. Would Mahatma Gandhi have made a good software engineer?
*Shrugs shoulders emoji*
58. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 how weird you are
Depending on your company, a 10 could actually be good.
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Now Consider These Factors To Help You Evaluate Candidates:
Now that you have a complete overview of the best interview questions to ask, theres one last thing to do: be prepared to answer common questions from candidates. Theyre interviewing you too, after all. That way, candidates can also get useful insight on whether your company is a good fit for their skillset and motivations and hopefully, youll get to convince the best among them to join your team. Happy interviewing!
Exciting Things To Ask To Break The Ice
via: Unsplash / Amy Hirschi
It can be difficult to know how to start a conversation. Don’t worry, these ice breaker questions will help.
Here are 3 interesting ice breaker questions:
48. How would people communicate in a perfect world?
You never know they might come up with the next best way of communication.
via: Unsplash / Genessa Panainte
49. If you were a Microsoft Office program, which one would you be?
There’s no right answer. It’s just a fun interview question.
50. If you won $50 million dollars, how would you spend it and what would you do?
Everyone has thought about it, so why not ask about it?
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Sales Interview Questions To Ask Sales Candidates
Achieving success in sales or any other field goes beyond just one factor. You need leadership with a vision, a product that addresses essential needs, and a dynamite strategy for bringing it to market for starters. But in order to make any of those things a reality, you also need talent.
These days, sales talent is especially hard to find. A historically tight labor market has taken leverage away from employers, and in most cases, proven sales reps are either happy in their current roles or expensive to hire away. According to SiriusDecisions, just 3% of high-performing sales reps are actively in the job market.
Thats why identifying talent has become crucial for B2B sales organizations. Finding the people who best fit your sales job openings whether its an external hire or an internal promotion depends partly on your ideal candidate profile, as well as the soft skills and competencies it should include. But having an effective sales interview process is just as important, if not more so.
Good Questions To Ask At An Interview
To make sure the employer knows you’re prepared and interested in the role make sure you have some questions ready to ask at the end of the interview
Your interview is going well. You’ve answered all the recruiters questions confidently and the session is coming to a close. One of the final things you’ll be asked will be, ‘Do you have any questions for me?’ To have a chance of securing the job, always say yes.
Having a list of questions to ask an interviewer makes you look interested, enthusiastic and engaged – all qualities that the employer will be looking for. It also gives you one final chance to further highlight your relevant qualities and experience.
Try to come up with at least four or five questions to ask the interviewer. That way, if one or two of them are answered during the earlier discussion, you have backups in place.
Avoid asking questions that focus too much on what the organisation can do for you. Save questions about salary and holiday allowance for when you’ve got a job offer. Also, stay away from questions that require a yes or no answer, as you’re likely to find this information on the company’s website.
While it’s ok to ask your interviewer to clarify certain points, avoid asking about anything that has previously been covered. You don’t want them to think that you haven’t been paying attention. If you need some inspiration here are some good questions to ask at an interview
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How Do You Believe That Your Current Skills Will Contribute To The Accomplishment Of Our Companys Goals And Mission
The candidates answer should reveal that they have some knowledge about what your companys goals and mission are as well as what they believe they can bring to the table in terms of not just the requirements of the job, but also skills like time management or leadership. Essentially, this is another way to find out how well the candidate will fit within your company culture over the long term.
Why Do You Think Youd Perform This Job Well
An answer to this question gives you insight into what the candidate has to offer and is essential for making an informed decision.
Asking why they think they would perform well as a manager in your business helps you understand their unique strengths, skills, and level of experience.
Armed with that knowledge, you can choose the best candidate that most closely matches the unique needs of your company.
The valuable thing about this question is that it often elicits a response that, while similar to the biggest management strength question, is different enough that it provides a more complete picture of the individual you are interviewing.
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