What Kinds of Questions Best Get Beneath the Surface of a Potential New Hire?

There is a debate among interviewers about what kinds of questions are most likely to dig beneath the surface of a candidate’s thinking and experience to uncover their true abilities and attitudes. 

Some prefer the wacky questions like, “Who do you admire more…Mickey Mouse or Goofy…and why?” Others prefer to stick with the more standard queries like, “Tell me about a challenging situation at your previous job and how you handled it.” 

We see the value of both. To us, it seems a matter of what kinds of competencies you are seeking for the job opening and what type of employee would fit best in your culture. Here is our advice:

• Off-the-Wall Interviewing QuestionsThe so-called “wacky” questions come as a surprise and a candidate is not able to prepare for them. So they test the candidate’s ability to think on their feet, show some humor and personality in their answer, and give insight into how they might react at work when the unexpected happens and they are somewhat stressed. When hiring for fast-paced, stressful and “think on your feet” environments, these questions can actually make sense when determining a candidate’s ability to perform under pressure.  
  
  Glassdoor recently ran a list of the top 10 oddball interview questions.  Airbnb reportedly asks “What would you do if you were the one survivor in a plane crash?”  If this question can be linked back to skills and behaviors needed to succeed at Airbnb, then it seems like a great question.  Maybe employees at Airbnb need to be resourceful, or deal with crises, or be grateful for what they have.  And Spirit Airlines supposedly asks “Describe the color yellow to somebody who's blind.”  Perhaps clear, compelling and empathetic communication is an important success attribute.
  
  
• Behavior-Based Interviewing QuestionsThe more standard behavior-based interview questions can provide valuable insight into a candidate’s real qualifications for the job as well as their underlying values and experience. Following behavior based interviewing training, you can probe further to be able to predict how the candidate would actually behave on the job. For more structured competencies and cultural fit, this is often a better line of questioning to use.

The bottom line.  Determining a prospective new hire’s cultural and job fit is not easy.  The farther you stray from behaviors, competencies and values that actually have to do with the job, the farther you stray from finding talent that will thrive in your unique organizational culture.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/behavior-based-interviewing-training/