How do you feel when you need to interview for a new post? Nervous? Anxious about making a mistake?

Don’t worry, you’re in the majority! Most people have concerns about making decisions based on how a person comes across in a false work situation. Remember, the interviewee has prepared well, is on their best behaviour, wants to make a deliberate positive impression and will not moan, complain or make you feel anything other than they are the best person on earth for the job.

How do you make it easier for yourself to make the right decision? Well, the quality of your questions will help you assess the best candidate.

Don’t be content with just asking a question, getting an answer and moving on. Ask an initial question, then put on your interrogator’s hat and probe deeper.

Fully understand the situation described, determine exactly what the candidate did and did not do, and find out how things turned out. Follow-up questions don’t need to be complicated: “Really?” “What did you do then?” “What did she say?” “What happened next?” “How did that end up?” All you have to do is keep the conversation going. Remember, an interview is really just a conversation.

When devising your questions, identify the intent behind it. Here are some of my favourites:

1. “Tell me about a time a customer or team member got mad at you.”

Your intent here is to evaluate the candidate’s interpersonal skills and ability to deal with conflict.

Remember, make sure you find out why the customer or team member was mad, what the interviewee did in response, and how the situation turned out both in the short- and long-term.

Listen out for whether the candidate pushes all the blame and responsibility for rectifying the situation onto the other person. What you want to hear is how they dealt with the problem and how it was fixed.

If the candidate shows they were able to admit they made a mistake, took responsibility for it and learned from it, those are the signs you need to determine if they are a good candidate for the position.

You need to know that the candidate focused on how they addressed and fixed the problem, not on who was to blame.

Another good question:

2. “Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the last six months.”

The purpose here is to judge the candidate’s ability to reason, problem solving skills, judgment, and sometimes even willingness to take intelligent risks.

What you’re looking for are interpersonal skills and decision-making skills. You are looking out for the candidate weighing up the pros and cons of the situation, and how they solved the problem, so you can judge their thinking and innovation skills.

Here’s another:

3. “Tell me about a time you knew you were right… but you still had to follow protocol or the boss’s instructions”

Here, you are judging the candidate’s ability to follow… and possibly to lead. You are assessing how they deal with tough situations and rectify them in the end. What you want to hear might be that they did what needed to be done, especially in a time-critical situation, then found an appropriate time and place to raise issues and work to improve the situation.

You need to determine if their manner is one that would fit in with your processes, and how anything that happens that they don’t agree with affects their motivation.

And another:

4. “Tell me about the last time your workday ended before you were able to get everything done.”

You’re trying here to assess commitment, ability to prioritise, ability to communicate effectively. You want to know the level of commitment the candidate shows without them saying they would be a martyr to the job. Evaluate a candidate’s answers to this question based on your company’s culture and organisational needs.

There are many others, of course, but I’ve found these to be helpful in assessing the qualities of people I’ve interviewed.

Forget opinion-based questions, and concentrate on facts, as many interviewees have read books on how to be interviewed and can guess their way through many of the stock questions. Check their CV and make sure it matches with their accomplishments. Your questions will determine how factual their background is.

Let me know how you get on with your next interview!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Follow us here on Twitter

When interviewing a candidate for a new role, you have to make sure that you give yourself the best chance to find the best person for the role.

We often use gut-feel to make decisions as to whether people will fit the role effectively, and there’s no doubt that the emotional connection you make with the individual will play an important part in your final decision.

But how can you make sure you find out as much as possible about the candidate and create a good foundation to make the right decision? Naturally, the best questions will uncover the background and any hidden challenges that may be lurking underneath the mask that every candidate puts on at interview time.

So, what are some of the best questions to ask that will get you the most information and highlight whether this is the right person for the job?

Here are a few examples:

* How did you prepare for this interview? (Look for skills that are relevant to the new role)

* What aspects of your current job do you feel would be useful in this role?

* What achievements had you made that would prove useful to this job?

* What challenges have you solved that shows characteristics you will bring to the role?

* What has been your experience in dealing with….? (Then describe challenges in the role)

* How would you deal with this situation, and why…? (Then describe the situation)

* Tell me about a time when you dealt with a big challenge in your current role

* How would you make sure you became very effective in the role in the quickest possible time?

Naturally, each role will have its specific, personalised questions relating to the role, but these questions should help you achieve a good, rounded-out picture of the candidate, and identify the skill-sets they will bring to the role.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Follow us here on Twitter

How many times have you employed someone based on their CV and the way they come across at interview, then learned to regret it some time later? It may be that they don’t really fit in with the team, haven’t really got the skills they claimed to have or the job role isn’t what they expected.

Interviewing someone simply because they have a good CV may cause problems. Experience shouldn’t be ignored, but it’s not a reliable indicator as to whether someone can give you the outcomes you want.

The CV just tells you about the past. What you’re really looking for is what they can do for you in the future!

It doesn’t matter how long they have been in your industry, or how long they have been in the type of job you’re trying to fill. You need to establish whether they can give you the results you need.

The relevant questions you can ask at interview should include;

• How are you going to generate more business for us?
• What will you do to improve our brand image and awareness?
• How do you demonstrate the skill-sets you say you have on your CV?
• How will you increase customer loyalty?
• What talents do you add to my team and how will you demonstrate them?

You should concentrate on the factors that you will ultimately be judged on, so you need people who can assist you in delivering those results. Your success will be measured by how your people perform, so create questions at the interview that will give you clear indicators the person is aiming for the future rather than relying on past history.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

You’ve decided that two candidates for an important role in the department should be invited back for a further interview. Both have similar experience and backgrounds…both would fit in well with your team. Here are some questions that might help you differentiate between them.

“You need to convince me you’re the right person for the job. What can you tell me that would make me say ‘yes’?”

This will prove their selling-of-self abilities. What you want to hear is why not hiring them would be the biggest mistake of your life. You’re listening for passion and enthusiasm for the future role they will play for you. Listen out for the skills, qualities and abilities that would make a real difference to your team. If they are just a clone of what you already have, maybe you need to probe deeper to find the value in hiring them.

Another question that might test them is: “How do you think our company values and vision sets us apart from our competition?”

This deeper question will tell you how much preparation they have made and how they think they can fit in with the culture of your company. It also provides insight into how they view your strengths and weaknesses against the competition.

You want to employ people who go beyond the typical preparation of their own strengths and weaknesses. You want people who have already shown commitment and forward-thinking by highlighting their value to you and your team.

You also want to see how the candidate’s reaction to adversity might have affected them, as this may differentiate personal qualities you are seeking. So, asking what some setbacks in their past may have taught them helps you identify how robust they might be in dealing with difficult situations within their role.

You might ask, “What have any major setbacks you’ve experienced taught you?”

Be prepared for silence after this question, as they may have to dig deep. But wait for their response, as it will tell you how they learn from experiences, just the kind of person you want in your team. By the way, if they say they can’t remember any setbacks, probe deeper, as a person who hasn’t been taught lessons from something going wrong may not have the characteristics or thinking skills to help the department steady itself after problems are encountered.

The answers to these questions just might help you differentiate the candidates, and give you an insight as to who would prove more valuable to you in the long run.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Interviewing new job candidates may seem like a bore but it really can be a fun an enjoyable experience. Here you are, with a complete stranger in front of you, and you can ask (almost) anything you like.

Some organisations have a standard set of interview questions they ask. Others leave it up to the manager or HR representative conducting the interview. If you fall into the latter category, you’ll have to come up with your own interview questions.

I’ve found that there are 8 main categories of questions you can ask a potential new employee. They fall into groups as follows:

• Factual – ask the candidate to tell you a bit about himself on a personal level;
• Exploratory – ask about his or her education and previous job history;
• Challenging – ask about the candidate’s perceived strengths and weaknesses;
• Leading – give your views on a situation and then ask the candidate what he thinks;
• Hypothetical – give an example of a potential situation and ask how the candidate would handle it;
• Open or closed – you can ask questions that require “yes and no” answers or more “open ended” questions; though the latter are often more informative;
• Alternative seeking – these types of questions test the candidate’s problem solving or critical thinking skills; or
• Provocative – ask the candidate something thoughtful, insightful, or off the wall and see how he reacts.

Remember, the point of the interview process is not to prove how tough or difficult you can be. Doing so will simply make the candidate want to look elsewhere. Make sure the interview process is fun and enjoyable – for both you and your potential new employee!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”