The unholy truth in Human Resources is that interviewing is mostly a big, stupid joke. Whether it’s behavior-based interviewing or a selection process based on flawed psychology, almost all methods of interviewing are both contrived and silly.
That being said, I’m totally intrigued by a theme that has emerged on Frank Roche’s blog. His curiosity is piqued when writers talk about how to take ‘the measure of a man‘ in one or two questions.
- First, Frank quotes Clarence Ewing at G.L.I. Press who wrote about the only interview question that matters.
- Then Frank wrote, “Here
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Yes, there is one question and credit this to Dan Pink, “Are you Lucky?” Very open-ended answer and has a million possibilities.
But in real life, travel to an interview and be there for only 5 mintues seemed so short. So here are the questions I would also ask:
“What pop culture icon inspired you to go into this field?”
“Can you do this job?”
“Crosby or Ovechkin?”
The final one is a closed question, but there is only one answer.
On the last day of the year comes the best title for an HR post in 2008. Fabulo!
Um, the light…it’s because a guy nearly hit me yesterday. He blew the light by 5 seconds at a minimum. Scared me. Made me think I’d like to know why people do that.
When I was interviewing for my current position there were a couple phases. The first was with the hiring manager to assess my ability to adequately fill the position. The next was with HR. The HR manager came in with the
who do you love?
“If you had one do over in life,what would it be and why?”
I have asked every candidate since my first interview in HR this question. Some pretty amazing answers…not sure if I can say it’s a deal maker or breaker, but in about 5-10% of the time it is…Laurie how would you answer that question? If I like your answer I might just hire you!!!
Happy New Year!!!
M
The husband keeps tempting me to start using questions from Blade Runner. “So (insert random candidate name here), you’re in a desert, walking along in the sand, when all of a sudden you look down and see a tortoise. It’s crawling toward you. You reach down and you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t. Not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?”
I need to find the replicants somehow.
let’s see…two months ago we were renting a nice house in another state and looking forward to getting pregnant again. one month ago, my husband lost his job and we packed up everything and moved back to our home state. now we’re living in a singlewide until my husband can find a job in the city (i work part time at home and stay with our daughter).
i have to say, the idea of one question making or breaking you in an interview is both interesting and stomach turning. my hubs has had two interviews so far where he totally thought he had the job and didn’t. we have wasted a lot of time wondering exactly what it was they were looking for that he didn’t have. he’s a good employee, hard worker, smart, loyal, has good degrees, etc. it’s depressing and makes it harder to get up for the next interview.
i have to say i think the kitten question is my favorite. we have two cats that we love dearly – and my husband is a republican. so na-na!
@colio2007 you could run into some serious legal issues asking that question.
I do think most individual interview questions are mostly a joke, but they do help weed out the thoroughly stupid and they are part of a process that can help give you at least a picture of person. Most of my interview questions fall into one of three categories.
Technical
If you could be one person in the history of the world, who would that be?
Since most people I’m dealing with have a College degree of some kind. I ask them how and why they chose the college they attended. Gives me an early picture as to how in control of their own world they were at the time and how they’re thinking as evolved or not evolved as we continue the discussion.
However, I think I’ll add “Do you like kittens?” Shouldn’t need to know anymore than those two answers. This is going to make me so much more efficient in 2009.
I like to ask, “What do you think of those stupid questions people ask in interviews, like how many M&M’s does it take to fill a school bus?”
I once spoke to an owner operator of a successful franchise his key to selecting top employees for his restaurants – his response was compelling. “I only have one question in my interview. Have you ever played a musical instrument and in what capacity?”
His anecdotal research found that if you played an instrument and you played in a band you were a perfect hire for his company. The reality of his question: it takes discipline, hard work, and dedication to play an instrument, in a band it takes teamwork and the ability to be able to follow a leader as both an individual contributor and a team player.
It’s a brilliant question and has a ton of validity to performance unlike most of the questions posed in the other posts.
Something to consider.
TF
@Tracy Is that a hockey thing? Ovechkin?
@Frank I’ll bet five bucks that a cell phone was involved in your incident. Sheesh, I’m glad you are safe!
@Larry You know how I feel about psych tests, right?
@col That is the a thoughtful question with infinite answers. What if someone answers, “Myself”? Is it narcissism or a healthy ego?
@Mark Oh that’s a great topic for a blog post!!
@HR Minion Oh dear god, let me ask you this — was Daryl Hannah better in Blade Runner or Kill Bill?
@Maya Oh, what a story. I just discovered this site — pass it along to your kitty-loving husband: http://www.damnineedajob.com/ and GOOD LUCK TO YOU in 2009. Keep us posted.
@Corey In a perfect world, Cols question would be awesome. Also, I just blacked out when you wrote about SQL.
@Michael Who would YOU be?
@nelking I’m all about getting to the heart of the matter. The college/evolution question is good because it gets people talking — but kittens are at the core of man’s existence.
@Jenn How many M&Ms does it take to fill your belleh? (Answer: for me, my belleh is infinite.)
@TalentFreak I’ve never played a musical instrument, although I’ve tried to learn. Interesting approach, though. (PS – Anecdotal evidence scares me.)
I think asking someone about their favorite book and why gives a TON of information about them as a person. It’s the first thing I do when I go to someone’s house; look at their book collection.
But then, I love books, so I guess that tells more about me than anything else.
TalentFreak, anecdotal research? Anecdotal information has zero validity thus it is anecdotal. That question is not brilliant. It is the most asinine interview question I think I have ever heard of.
Hayden, what if the candidate tells you that their favorite book is the bible?
“What is your purpose in life?” is a very telling question. Also, “What is your passion?” is a question in a similar vein that will reveal much”.
I will also engage an individual in “Talk Story” (as we call it out here in Honolulu), to gauge how “deep” the individual is (or isn’t).
From these questions, I can cull traits, behaviors, values, and some degree of personal maturity.
Naturally, I pepper these more personal and probing questions and techniques with other questions that are targeted to the position in question ala BBI.
Why ask a question when you can just observe the shoes? The shoes say everything. Like the shoes I’m wearing to dinner tonight. They are black suede fringe 5-inch open toe masterpieces. They would tell any employer that I am FIERCE. Or perhaps that I am a tramp with rococco taste. Either way, that’s all they need to know. Happy New Year!!!
@Hayden and Bruce- I was actually asked that question and oddly it was for a receptionist position for a media company. I did mention the Bible because those are my beliefs, but I also mention some pop culture books and my favorite book in HR: Moneyball. I didn’t get the job because I was obviously overqualified, but was finding my first job.
@Laurie – yep, it’s a hockey reference.
Laurie, would love kitties but am highly allergic. Would that disqualify me? Would you give partial credits for my dog(s)?
And Peopleshark, I have had a series of foot surgeries so I can’t wear my cool shoes – have to wear dorky shoes so as to not reinjure my tootsies.
I don’t think that I could make a good decision on just one question. I am fascinated by people and like to hear their stories – how they got where they are, what they have done, what they enjoy, what they hope to accomplish. We are also a very philanthropic community so we have a lot of people who do volunteer work – and that is very interesting too.
Happy New Year.
@Hayden I don’t know many <25 who read books or remember novels from school. I wonder if that kind of question will be outdated at some point in the near future. Like asking someone if they’ve seen the latest ‘talkie’?
@Bruce Be warned: I love using anecdotal information when it furthers my point of view.
@Alan Is personal maturity an objective quality that can be measured?
@Peopleshark Oh crap, I’m wearing Dearfoam slippers, right now. On the other hand, I just placed an order for a new pair of Frye boots. So I’m not a total loser.
@Tracy My new nickname for you? MONEYBALL.
@hrMaven I’m allergic to kitties and I have five. I take Zyrtec, Nasocort, Singulair, and I keep an inhaler handy. Also, I’m getting allergy shots in 2009. JUST HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT THIS JOB?
Oh man I am in big trouble, I have been wearing crocs for almost a decade, that’s right, before they became so mainstream that they can be purchased at a HALLMARK store in the mall. What can I say? My tooties are addicted no matter how hideous they are.
I better not lose my job any time soon.
And if someone told me their favorite book was the Bible I would ask specifically what teastament and what book…possibly have them say a verse from memory (anyone can say THE BIBLE).
I think interviews weed out the bad more than they identify the good.
@HR Underling I once told a friend of mine, “You’ll never get ahead in life wearing crocs.” She responded, “Who said anything about getting ahead?” So wear those crocs with comfort.
@RachL So do drug tests.
Single questions might be fine if there was only one aspect of the person that mattered to you.
“Can you do the job?” is important. So is “Tell me stories that show you’re not a jerk.” So is “Convince me that you’re going to bring the passion to this job that I want, because I’m very particular about who I hire and I’m not going to hire just any old competent non-asshole.”
I would have to say Blade Runner though the husband says she’s hotter in Kill Bill.