At some point in your career, if you’re lucky enough to manage a team, you’ll be tasked with conducting an interview with a candidate. If you can remember the first few interviews you had, and how nervous you were, it’s equally the same on the other side. When you interview a candidate for the first time, it could come out ingenuine, rehearsed, or potentially worse, like you never making eye contact and looking at your notes the whole time.
Well, here are a few questions to help you feel at ease and get a real understanding of the candidate in front of you.
- What companies do you admire?
This can help get a sense of their values, and what they care about. If they list a few companies known for their sustainability, for example, or a company like GE who takes training and development very seriously, you can start building a mental picture of what’s most important for them. - My personal favourite question to ask: do you read?
No interviewee would ever say “I don’t learn” or “I don’t believe in continuous learning.” However, you can quickly learn if their words match their actions. If they say yes they read, but can’t think of any books or blogs they regularly read, or are currently reading, you can get a sense if they’ve been truthful during the interview. Also, if they don’t read, listen to podcasts, or partake in online or in-person learning programs, how exactly are they keeping up with the industry you’re trying to hire them for? - Can you tell me about some challenges you’ve had in your career?
I like this question for a couple of reasons: If they’ve had no challenges or can’t think of any, would you want to hire them? Have they really never had any challenges or roadblocks? Are they keeping something from you? A cloud of trust may burst. On the other hand, if they talk of the challenges they’ve had, and how or what they learned from them, I don’t know about you, but I want them on my team! Note: if the candidate is just out of University or still in school, rather than ask about challenges in their career, you can ask about challenges during their schooling or even personal setbacks they’ve had. - What do you need to work on?
If they say they don’t need to work on anything, run. Seriously, if they can’t think of one thing to work on, would you really want them solving some of the issues you hand them to solve? The answer to this question usually provides a view into their self-awareness. Being self-aware is a quality not everyone has, or can come about easily. For those that are self-aware, it’s a huge advantage, and if a candidate can pinpoint the exact areas they still need to learn from or focus on, that’s a huge positive. - In your career, have you been lucky up to now?
Shout out to Michael Leblanc for this gem, which he shared with me during a podcast I did with him on The Voice of Retail. Here’s Episode 80 if you want to have a listen. Michael mentioned he had read that question in a book by author Daniel Pink, and I love it! This can really highlight if your candidate is a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of person. Depending on how they answer and what they say, it can also get a look at how humble they are. - What personal or professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
I like to ask this towards the end of the interview. I want to gauge their confidence level in sharing something that’s likely not on their resume, and leaves them feeling good about the interview. Also, pay particular attention to if they are talking about a team accomplishment, do they always use “I” or “We.” It’s nice to have them interchange the two.
