A recent article on LinkedIn presented the “Favorite Job Interview Questions" from 13 CEO's. The article was interesting in several respects because it provides great insights into questions being asked. In addition, it offers a “scorecard" on the quality of interviewing today. While some CEO's scored very well with their questions, other didn't and the final score shows quality interviewing on the losing side. I'll use a simple scoring scale, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2. Let's begin with the first six questions.
1. Why have you had X number of jobs in Y years?
Not a good start for the quality interviewing score, -1. The question is too general, could be perceived by an already nervous candidate as threatening, and is unlikely to elicit the “full picture of a candidate's work history" as claimed. If this is just heading for a thoughtful review of a candidates work history – with a question asking why the person left each job -- fine, but the danger here is that another interviewer thinks this is a clever question as is.
2. If we're sitting here a year from now celebrating what a great twelve months it's been for you in this role, what did we achieve together?
This is a very good question -- +2. It is a question very consistent with the outstanding hiring process developed by “performance-based hiring" expert Lou Adler. So, the total is +1 after two questions. There is a caution: the CEO states the question shows if the candidate understands the “role." But that is not portrayed very accurately as part of many hiring processes – it is going to be more likely the company's fault if the answer is insufficient. It's the company's responsibility not to just describe the “role," but to provide very clear “performance-based" expectations for the first year.
3. When have you been most satisfied in your life?
It's a -2, so the overall score is -1. There have been several authors who have suggested clever, often sarcastic answers, to bad questions. I can think of several possibilities here. The overwhelming majority of candidates are not skilled and sometimes poorly prepared for interviews. It's rarely something they do every day. It's likely the answer to this question would be completely irrelevant to the position being applied for. If I could resist giving a sarcastic answer to this question like, “When I was 10 years old riding my bike," I'd probably respond with some cliché answer like, “When I am working hard to get my job done."
4. If you got hired, loved everything about this job, and are paid the salary you asked for, what kind of offer from another company would you consider?
This may surprise some, but I'm giving this a -2, particularly because the CEO says that this will tell if the person is motivated by money or love of the work – or if they can be bought. But that's not true. Again, this type of question invites cliché answers like, “If that were true, I wouldn't consider another offer." But what about this answer from a really well prepared and honest candidate: “I would consider an offer from another company that offered me advancement with work that would challenge me even beyond what I was doing here with an even higher salary." Isn't that what the CEO is hoping to be offering the candidate? The total score is -3.
5. Who is your role model and why?
This is definitely a -2 only because I can't give it a lower number. It's likely to lead to answer that is at least somewhat irrelevant – and an even greater concern is that it may lead to an answer that invites discrimination based on religious, political, or… The CEO says it reveals how “introspective" the candidate is – I doubt that in part because I know several people who might answer this question by saying either their mother or father. Not sure it's very introspective, but it's certainly possible it's a very honest answer. Current total: -5
6. What things do you not like to do?
Another -2! This is way too general, again leading to cliché answers or responses that are irrelevant. It is likely responses might be things like, “I don't like working on teams where everyone isn't contributing to the best of their abilities." Sounds good, but I can see some interviewers interpreting that as negative. It's just a bad question that can be easily replaced by “peeling the onion" about accomplishments in the candidates recent positions and asking fact-finding questions about the struggles of the position, or what they'd do differently. It's not looking good as this approaches halftime: - 7
The next six questions represent a bit of a comeback for quality interviewing – this might go to overtime.
See more on “Bad Interview Questions" at www.212-careers.com
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Jim Schreier is a management consultant with a focus on management, leadership, including performance-based hiring and interviewing skills. Visit his website at www.farcliffs.com.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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