| I've been doing a lot of job interviews lately. Evidently, | | | | What books have you read lately? |
| the market being flooded with applicants is one of the | | | | AKA, are you willing to learn? The question is about |
| side effects of the crisis. My organization, instead of | | | | books. Internet, TV ads and Vogue don't count (they |
| laying people off has been steadily hiring and this is due | | | | will tell you something about that person's personality, |
| to the high turnover rate of the industry. | | | | though). If the person likes reading it will open you a |
| As any other organization, we have a "hiring protocol" | | | | huge window into their worlds. This is a big source of |
| to follow. I'm not going to get into the details of it since | | | | information. And way better than asking about hobbies. |
| it is not relevant to the purposes of this article. My role | | | | If you didn't have any financial obligations, what would |
| in this process is as a hiring manager. Due to the | | | | you be doing with your time? |
| particularities of the process I only get to interview the | | | | AKA, are you a couch potato? Some people will tell |
| applicant once. This means I only have approximately | | | | you: "I'd travel the world for the rest of my life or I'd |
| one hour to make an assessment and give the go | | | | open a bar on the beach in Maldives". There's nothing |
| no-go. | | | | bad with this, only that it may not be the wingman you |
| I divide the interview in two parts. The first one is the | | | | are looking for. |
| mandatory Behavioral Interview Questionnaire. During | | | | If the CEO or someone very senior in the organization |
| the second one, I've been given wings to conduct the | | | | comes to you with an urgent problem, how would you |
| interview at will. I always plan some of my questions in | | | | handle it? |
| advance with the information I gather from the | | | | How fast are you when the house's on fire? This |
| person's resume and paperwork. | | | | question investigates if a person is able to make |
| The interviews I have been doing were conducted to | | | | decisions on the fly and through the right channels. For |
| fill a specific position, which led me to become a lot | | | | instance, some might prefer someone that if asked to |
| more structured in the way I carried them out. I | | | | do something for a big boss would first run it through |
| acknowledge that some of the questions I've been | | | | you. Others might prefer a proactive asset that could |
| using have triggered cliché answers. Boring, mulled, | | | | provide a solution without losing time (CEOs are |
| rehearsed and artificially flavored ones. So I thought, | | | | always in a hurry). |
| "maybe I'm asking too many cliché questions". | | | | How long will it take before you make a positive |
| Another issue is that given the limited time to assess | | | | impact? |
| the fitness of a candidate, (or the fitness of the | | | | This is one of my favorites. It usually takes 30 days to |
| position for that particular person) at the end of the | | | | learn the environment and from three to six months to |
| interview I ended up with a lot of useless or shallow | | | | learn the job and be up to speed. Of course times |
| information left me with very few worthwhile variables | | | | vary depending on the job. Here you'll also be |
| from which to base my conclusions. | | | | assessing self confidence and the image of self that |
| The goal is to always challenge the candidate. Put him | | | | the applicant has. |
| through stressful situations to test his structural | | | | What makes you think you had anything to do with |
| sturdiness, then let him relax with an "easy" or "filler" | | | | that achievement? |
| question to then again make him fall and see how he | | | | Reality check. Your resume says fantastic things |
| gets his stuff together again. This speaks a lot about | | | | about you, now, how involved were you in this? Can |
| how the person reacts to not only stressful situations, | | | | you articulate the steps that made you an important |
| but also to dynamically evaluate how his mind works. | | | | part in this accomplishment? |
| But yet again, without useful responses the decision | | | | What are your weaknesses and some of your |
| you make might not be the best one. That's why I did | | | | failures? |
| some research and put together a list of | | | | When you ask the typical question about strengths |
| unconventional (some funny) questions to mix and stir | | | | and weaknesses, point to specific scenarios where |
| into your job interview. | | | | the person failed. This will give you a glimpse of how |
| Why have you been out of work for an extended | | | | the applicant deals with failure, how it affects his/her |
| period of time? | | | | morale, and how he prevented a reoccurrence. |
| If the person you have in front of you has been | | | | How many people were on your team, and how many |
| "chilling" for the past couple of years/months, he or she | | | | were laid off? |
| would better have a good answer for this one. | | | | This one lets you know how well or bad positioned |
| A year from now, what is going to keep you at this | | | | was that person in the team. And the follow up |
| company? | | | | question, |
| This one is particularly a good one in high turnover | | | | Why do you think you were selected for the reduction |
| environments. But before making this question, you | | | | in force? |
| need to make sure that the person fully understands | | | | This one can trigger a wide array of answers. From |
| the job he's looking forward to take. It will also help you | | | | the plain "I don't know" to a twenty minute rant about |
| give him information about the job that he is not taking | | | | the former employer. This answer usually doesn't look |
| into account. Truth be told, there are not many jobs | | | | good unless the person has a darn good argument to |
| where an applicant is absolutely sure of what he is | | | | support his position. |
| getting into, unless he worked that position before or if | | | | And last but not least, |
| the tasks involved in the job are simple or well known | | | | If you could be a super hero, which one would you be? |
| (ie. Telemarketer). This is not the usual "how do you | | | | This one digs deep into the unconscious. It will allow |
| see yourself in X years" (a friend of mine once | | | | you to see the person's ideals, what he stands for, his |
| answered "sitting right there" pointing at the | | | | MO and how he'd like to see himself (how he sees |
| interviewers chair. FYI, he didn't get the job). It doesn't | | | | himself in some cases). |
| involve aspirations or desires, it prompts to dig into | | | | Acknowledgements: |
| what motivates the person and how will that work in | | | | Thanks to Meridith Levinson and Dean Shutt for the |
| this particular job. | | | | inspiration! |