How do you know that you are making a good hire? How can we increase the chances of a quality hire? While there is no guarantee with any interview process, the questions we ask during the interview can improve the odds of making a good decision. Rote question-and-answer interviews are boring and don’t reveal much about the person. Focus on questions that get the candidate thinking, talking, engaging, and bringing out the person under the interview mask they are wearing. Their response to these questions will usually reveal much about who they are and how they will fit in your organization.
My favorites are not related to the job function or their experience but to the person, their drive, their thinking skills, and their cultural fit. While I have a list of over 25 questions to use as needed, here are my three favorites.
𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮?
This question is intended to get the candidate to think beyond the interview and provide insight into how they can apply tools, experience, and creativity to a problem. They may struggle for a moment if they are not fans of superheroes, but most know the most common ones, such as Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Iron Man. Based on this question, there is so much that can be learned about a person and how they will function.
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧?
The result of this question will often help you determine if the candidate has a growth mindset. I have found that books, classes, blogs, and podcasts have contributed to much of my personal growth and expansion of knowledge in my career.
𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙗?
Work ethic is a significant factor in a person’s ability to perform in our modern work environments. This question helps to understand the candidate’s attitude toward work and their drive to work hard for the company, team, and themselves. We all know that the things we do when we are young will be easier when we are older.
For more learning on hiring, I suggest The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni and the Ideal Team Player Hiring Guide.
Credit for the third question goes to Jason Magee, the CEO of ConnectWise.