Expert Advice - March 2005

The All-Important Job Interview

Three Key Questions To Ask

by William Werksman

As an employer, critical to your success is selection of the "right person" for the job. Proper analysis of a prospective candidate’s resume and references is only part of the process. Many business owners unintentionally miss opportunities to gain valuable insights by not asking pertinent questions in the interview process. Asking the right questions and listening keenly to the candidate’s answers will help you gauge a potential fit.

Your questions, the candidate’s responses and your analysis of those responses may ultimately be the deciding factor in hiring the best candidate. Beyond the simple and routine interview questions, here are three questions (and the reasons "why") geared to assist employers in the selection process:

Motivation: "Which elements would you change at your current company that would make you stay there?" The goal of this question is to establish the candidate’s motivation for making a change. The candidate is obviously interested enough to prepare and come to the interview. Now let’s find out what is driving that interest. Asking the candidate to specifically list desired areas of change will give you insight into the general parameters of the candidate’s unhappiness with the current employer or job situation. While no job is ideal, the candidate’s responses can indicate how he or she deals with stress, interpersonal relationships and recognition issues tied to compensation. As a prospective employer, you want to be certain that the responses to do not raise any significant red flags that could potentially carry over to your company.

Adversity: "Tell me about a specific challenge or setback you have faced." Instead of asking the candidate to simply list his or her most significant accomplishments, we are focusing here on ability to overcome adversity. By detailed a particularly challenging situation or setback, we are seeking to understand that person’s capacity to problem-solve, use available resources and build teamwork both up and down the corporate ladder. Employers should listen carefully to the response in order to ascertain the candidate’s ability to think critically and succeed independent of supervision. This should allow you to better understand and analyze judgment and reasoning skills as well.

Culture/Work Environment: Ask the candidate to finish the following sentence: "I’d describe my current work environment and company culture as …." This open-ended format will allow you to better understand not only where the candidate is coming from, but also how and if he or she will fit into your corporate culture. When conducting interviews, allowing the candidate to finish the thought gets a more unrehearsed response. Those are the responses you need to assist your decision. Adding a new member to your team should always be a win proposition for the company. You must add value to your organization by hiring not only the most qualified candidate for the role, but the best fit culturally as well. Nothing is more destructive to a potent and capable business unit than adding a "bad apple." Focus on the candidate’s answers and assess if that individual will fit culturally into your group.

Going beyond "standard interview questions" will allow employers to hire more successfully and retain key performers to build a profitable team. Identifying and hiring top performers will add value to your bottom line today and tomorrow.

William Werksman
William Werksman of Resource Partners manages a staff of executive recruiters out of his firm’s Las Vegas headquarters and oversees 56 career-related Internet sites.