96 Great Interview Questions To Ask Before You Hire - 2nd edition

CHAPTER 1 For Openers: Five Traditional Interview Questions and Their Interpretations Let's begin by examining the most often used interview questions and putting a new spin on their interpretations. These questions have stood the test of time, and we should consequently recognize their value in the candidate assessment process. Their inherent weakness, of course, lies in their overuse. Most of us can remember being asked these very same questions during our own past interviews. And job-finding books and career magazines abound with suggested responses to help candidates ''steer clear of the interview questioning snare'' vis-a-vis these popular queries waiting to trip them up. Our exercise in this first topic, however, isn't to employ questions just because they've been around for a long time. And it's certainly not to offer candidates an opportunity to practice their well-rehearsed lines! We will, instead, offer new interpretations in reading candidate responses. 1. Tell me about your greatest strength. What's the greatest asset you'll bring to our company? Why Ask This Question? The ''greatest strength'' question works well as an icebreaker because most people are fairly comfortable talking about what makes them special and what they like. Every job candidate is ready for this one because it gets so much attention in the career press. Job candidates are also aware that this query is used as a lead-in to a natural follow-up question (which is much tougher to answer): ''What's your greatest weakness?'' Still, the greatest strength question isn't a throwaway because it can reveal a lot about an individual's self-perception. So let's open it up for a moment. Analyzing the Response There are two issues to watch out for in measuring a candidate's responses: First, candidates often give lofty answers with lists of adjectives that they think you want to hear and that actually add very little value to your meeting. Second, a candidate's strengths may fail to match your unit's needs, and as such could weigh as a negative swing factor in the selection process. Red Flags.Watch out for people who give long inventories of ''fluff adjectives'' regarding their nobler traits, such as hardworking, intelligent, loyal, and committed. Adjectives are nothing but unproven claims. They waste time and delay getting to what you really want to get out of this meeting, which is concrete proof of how the individual will fit in and contribute to the team. Consequently, you'll have to keep the candidate on track by following up on these adjective lists with requests for practical applications. For example, when a candidate says that she's proudest of the fact that she's a hard worker, you might respond: ''Hard workers are always good to find. Give me an example of how hard you work relative to your peers.'' or ''Hard work usually results in above-

CONTENTSAcknowledgments ixIntroduction: The Parable xiPutting Candidates at Ease and Building Rapport xxiPART I: Interview Questions to Identify High-Performance Candidates 11: For Openers: Five Traditional Interview Questions and Their Interpretations 32: Achievement-Anchored Questions: Measuring Individuals' Awareness of Their Accomplishments 113: Holistic Interview Queries: Challenging Candidates to Assess Themselves 194: Questions About Career Stability 285: Searching for Patterns of Progression Through the Ranks 386: Likability Equals Compatibility: Matching Candidates' Personalities to Your Organization's Corporate Culture 477: The College Campus Recruit 588: MillennialsThe Future Generation of Your Workforce 679: The Sales Interview: Differentiating Among Top Producers, Rebel Producers, and Those Who Struggle to the Minimums 8510: Senior Management Evaluations: Leaders,Mentors, and Effective Decision Makers 10111: Pressure Cooker Interview Questions: Assessing Grace Under Fire 11012: Generic Interview Questions Known to Challenge Candidates in the Final Rounds of Hire 118PART II: Selecting Candidates and Making the Offer 12713: Reference-Checking Scenarios: Administrative Support Staff 12914: Reference-Checking Scenarios: Professional/Technical Candidates 13815: Reference-Checking Scenarios: Senior Management Candidates 14816: Preempting the Counteroffer: Steering Candidates Clear of Temptation 16017: Making the Offer and Closing the Deal: Questions to Ensure That Candidates Accept Your Job Offers 168PART III: Key Interviewing, Reference-Checking, and Recruitment Issues 18118: Staying Within the Law: Interview Questions to Avoid at All Costs! 18319: Telephone Screening Interviews: Formats and Follow-Ups for Swift Information Gathering 18820: Getting Real Information from Reference Checks 19521: Background Checks 20022: Reinventing Your Company's Employment Application 20723: Recruitment Brochures: Engaging Invitations and Introductions to Your Company 21424: Maximizing Your Recruitment Resources 220Interviewer's Checklist: The 96 Questions 227Index 233About the Author 241