An Information Quest: Interviewing Tips

An Information Quest: Interviewing Tips

When you lead a quest for useful information during an interview, you are leading a crusade. If done correctly, your journey will uncover an applicant’s motivations, values, and beliefs – – – in addition to technical knowledge, expertise and overall competencies. The key to your successful crusade is to ask probing, open and appropriate questions that allow the applicant to reveal their true self and underlying strengths and weaknesses.

One of interviewers’ biggest mistakes is to talk too much. What is “too much”? If you are talking more than 20% of the time, you are disempowering the candidate and reducing the depth of information from which you’ll make your hiring decision.

Make sure you are not rushing to “sell” the job to the candidate, by explaining the job duties, benefits and perks. Instead, go into the interview with at least five questions that have follow-up questions associated with them.

For instance, one question is: “What are your reasons for leaving your current job?” Then follow up with “Tell me more about that last reason you mentioned.”

Here are some questions you can use. Remember, your job is to actively listen and probe for a deeper understanding of what makes the candidate “tick”.

1. “What is the most important contribution to the bottom line (or your department’s achievements) that you made in your last (or current) job?” Then, follow up with “Tell me more about that contribution.”

2. “What specific guidelines do you use in making decisions related to _____.” Fill in the blank with customers, vendors, or employees. Follow up with “Please give me an example of how you use these guidelines?”

3. “How would your boss (or last boss) describe your people management style?” Usually, their answer is more about how they see themselves, rather than what their manager would say. This question gives you insight into what the candidate values, and, also whether they are willing to reveal negative attributes of their own people management style. Follow up with “What do you mean about ______.” Or, “Tell me more about _____.”

Once the interview is done, consider the following questions that you ask yourself.

1. Will this candidate be able to perform the essential functions of the job?

2. Will this candidate fit without our employee team in terms of their values?

3. Will this candidate bring diversity to our employee team so we develop creative solutions?

4. Will this candidate sustain their motivation to continually improve their performance?

The more effective you are in interview preparation, the more successful you will be in your quest for the best match to the job and to your team.

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