THE BILINGUAL JOB FAIR BLOG

Five Questions I Like To Ask Job Candidates

June 16, 2009

Over the past twenty years, I have interviewed dozens of candidates to work in various positions within my organizations.  Because I like to be fair to every candidate, I have created a standard interview process which I follow every time.  I start with a first interview, with standard first interview questions.  Then I have standard second interview questions.  And finally, the third interview questions, along with a 30 to 45 minute written exercise.  If the candidates impress me each step of the way, and if they pass the written bilingual exercise, then, they are hired.

From the 40 interview questions I ask the candidates, I have five questions which are my favorites; because they tell me a lot about the person I’m talking to.  And that’s my goal in the hiring process, to get to really know the person.

1.“What are your two greatest strengths – which would make you an asset to the company?”

This question allows the candidate to tell me what they consider his or her two largest attributes to be, and I can see his or her passion (or lack of) about who they are.  I can also see if they believe in themselves, and I can tell if those attributes apply to each aspect of their lives or just to their business world.

2. “What do you consider to be your two greatest weaknesses.  Please describe in detail.”

This question makes the interviewee think on the spot and I can see how frank they are about describing their weaknesses.  I can also see if they have humility about their weaknesses.  This question can result in the interview lasting a short period of time, or the candidate going to the next step in the hiring process.  For instance, if I am looking for someone independent and organized and the person says that their biggest weakness is that they need to be more organized, then, I can not hire that person.  We would both be miserable working with each other.  Another example would be if I am hiring a sales person and the person shares with me that their weakness is that they don’t like to cold-call in person, or on the phone, that they don’t particularly like making sales presentations or do not want to travel.  These weaknesses would be detrimental for a sales position.  The stories about the weaknesses can make or break the interview.  Honesty comes through in the words and the eyes of the candidate.

3. “Recall an incident where you made a major mistake.  What was it and what did you do about it?”

Nobody is perfect, and I like to see what the person considers to be a mistake, and what they learned from it.  My favorite answers are the ones where the candidate has thought of their mistake to the point where they have really learned something, and when they go the extra mile and tell me what they learned from their mistake, along with why they think they wouldn’t make the mistake again.  Sometimes the person tells me about a personal mistake, and other times it’s about a business mistake.  I listen very carefully and try to connect with the person and with their story.  I look at their comfort level explaining the situation, how they handled the mistake itself, and how they handle themselves explaining the mistake.  I like when a person admits their mistake and notifies whoever has been affected by it.  Humility and humor is what will advance the candidate to the next round.  Since I do not want a person working on my team who considers herself or himself a ‘perfect person’, the interview will not get to the next stage if I sense a lot of ego or if the ‘mistakes’ are considered ‘too insignificant’ by the interviewee.  Personally, I like to work with people who learn from their mistakes and become better each and every day.

4. “Who is the person you admire the most in life – and why?”

I really like this question because it connects me with the personal side of the candidate I’m interviewing.  It tells me the attributes they look for the most in a person.  Do you know what the most common answers are?  Either “my parents”.  Or “my Mom”, or “my Dad”.  Or “My first manager”. And it usually follows with a personal story of a parent overcoming obstacles along the way and making it happen in their lives.  Or it can be a story about a manager of the candidate believing in the candidate and giving him or her business tools to succeed, or their fist chance in the business world.  I can again see the passion and the belief in oneself with this question, and with the answer.

5. “Tell me about yourself.”

This question gets asked in every interview.  It’s okay if the person pauses at first when they hear the question, and then proceeds to tell me a little about their personal life and about their accomplishments in the business world.  It’s okay when they don’t have enough experience but talk about their college accomplishments, their community service, the clubs or teams of which they have been a part.  I like it when the person is brief, to the point, while telling me good stories to portray who they are.  What I’m about to tell you is a true story.  One time I asked this question to a gentleman and he spoke non-stop for over 45 minutes about himself.  No, we did not have a second interview.  Although I like confident people, he believed in himself a little too much.  With this question, again, I can tell the person’s belief in herself or himself, their passion for life and for their career, how involved they have been in the community, college, community service, sports teams or in clubs.  I can tell if the person is a “people-person” or not.  The stories don’t lie.  The body language doesn’t lie.  The interview question “tell me about yourself” tells me all I want to hear; who the candidate is and if he or she should become part of our team.

Filed under: Interviewing

Tags: hiring, interview questions, preparing for an interview