by Dona DeZube, President at DeZube Publications Corp.
No one wants to be told they sound like a broken record, so I won’t say that to you. I will however share with you why these questions will streamline your interview process and allow the best to be identified faster. Remember, your candidates have been to this rodeo before.
If you are new to recruiter or a recruitment Jedi, I am here to tell you there is no perfect way to interview, but asking the wrong questions make your Time-to-Fill longer and you frustrate the hiring managers with not-so-good candidates. My hope is you can pepper in a few, if not all, of these questions in your game. ~The Organic Recruiter
The best interview questions tell you about the person behind the resume, revealing the job candidate’s personality, strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, skills and abilities. The best interview questions also benefit job seekers by giving them an opportunity to speak to details that don’t fit on a resume.
While a savvy interviewer always includes questions tailored to the position, our list of the 10 best questions works across a variety of industries and job descriptions:
- From everything you’ve learned about this role, me and our company, tell me how you feel you’d make a contribution.
This interview question sorts people into two categories: contenders and also-rans.
- Why should we hire you?
This sets them apart from the intense competition in today’s job market.
Faced with a big stack of resumes telling a similar story, this question helps you determine the best candidate.
An interviewee who does a great job explaining how her unique experience, education, industry credentials, and personal interests will power your business will do the same thing for your company once hired.
If you could start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Asking a candidate to explain the major decisions he has made, highlighting the positive and negative, reveals the person’s ability to make calculated decisions based on past professional and personal experiences.
It also lets candidates share their vision for the future and their ambitions.
- When I contact your last supervisor and ask which area of your work needs the most improvement, what will I learn?
“No amount of finesse will influence this answer because when the supervisor is brought into the conversation, the candidate knows the truth will come out anyway. Essentially, it’s the same question as ‘what is your biggest weakness,’ phrased in an unexpected way.”
- Describe the best boss you ever reported to.
This is a great interview question because it tells you about past relationships.
Tell me about what motivates you.
If what drives the interviewee matches the position and your corporate culture, you have a winner.
- What frustrates you?
When the candidate then talks about past frustrations, he reveals details about his personality, diplomacy skills and ability to work on teams.
- Tell me about the toughest negotiation you’ve ever been in.
The best negotiators answer this question by laying out both sides of the problem and then explaining how they aligned the issues or followed a process to a mutually-agreeable solution.
- How do you involve your staff when an important company strategy decision needed to be made?
The candidate’s answer tells you whether a manager is secure enough to involve others in strategic decision-making, says Jayne Mattson, senior vice president, Keystone Associates, Boston, a career management firm.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
With this question, it’s not what the candidate says but how she says it that’s important, says Joey V. Price, CEO of Jumpstart HR, a managed HR services firm in Washington, D.C.
“If you see someone’s eyes light up at the thought of the future, then you can tell this is a very ambitious person who knows where they want to go and will do everything in their power to help ensure your organization gets them there.”
For the complete article – http://bit.ly/10bestInterviewquestions
