The job interview is commonly compared to a first date, where both the hiring manager and the candidate are sizing each other up. So asking the right questions is imperative. These days a lot of dates start out with an online connection; you’ve gotten to know a little bit about the person ahead of time. But that first face-to-face meeting is when to determine whether the person you met in writing meets expectations, or not.
Jeff Haden, a popular business writer with a renegade style, says these four job interview questions will give you revealing glimpse of the candidate:
-Tell me about the last time a customer or co-worker got mad at you.
-Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the last six months.
-Tell me about a time you knew you were right but still had to follow directions or guidelines.
-Tell me about the last time your workday ended before you were able to get everything done.
Each of these questions are behavioral-based questions, designed to help you see a clearer picture of how the candidate thinks and acts in certain situations; for instance, how well do they handle stress, do they give credit to co-workers, are they motivated, are they creative, do they learn from their mistakes? Most recruiters agree that these indicators are perhaps the best way to predict how someone will perform after you hire them, and whether they’ll fit into your company’s culture.
For some managers, character—and making sure it’s a good fit—is even more important than experience. If you are a job seeker, be prepared for behavioral based interviewing with examples of the type of person you are. Recruiters call it the STAR technique. First, you think of a situation/task, then tell the action you took to deal with the situation/task and finally, the result of that action.
Haden urges hiring managers not to be afraid to dig. Follow up with more questions to get the facts and fully understand what happened. Haden describes the signs to watch for when interviewing.
Looking for more ways to get to the heart of a candidate? CEOs of some interesting small companies recently shared their favorite interview question with the Huffington Post. Read your best job interview questions for some great questions.
Online career giant Monster.com lists lots and lots of potential interview questions. Read “The 50 Toughest Interview Questions to Ask and Answer” to see a great list. Experts on that site recommend predetermining success factors for a position and carefully scripting your questions. They also say try answering some of the questions yourself, to get a sense of what feels right.