Comments on: How do you interview?

By: Bottom 5 Interview Questions : Slacker Manager

Bottom 5 Interview Questions : Slacker Manager — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:56:14 +0000

[...] talked about how to do a great interview, but now, I’m going to share how NOT to interview someone for a job. If you ask these questions, [...]

By: J.D. Meier

J.D. Meier — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:01:55 +0000

I like the 3 key questions Fergus O’Connell suggests in How To Run Successful Projects III:

What have you done?
- what was the greatest moment of your life?
- tell me the three things you’ve enjoyed doing most in your life
- what was the biggest setback?

What do you want to do?
- what do you definitely not want?
- if you could pick any job in the world what would it be?
- how would you like your career to go?
- what drives you?
- are you a task-oriented or people-oriented person?
- what do you do in your leisure time?
- what would someone else day about you?
- how are you are for the job?

What are you like?
- describe your personality
- are you the kind of person that if I asked you to do a job I can regard it as done?
- what strengths and weaknesses would you bring to the table?
- say something negative about yourself
- what do you like to read?

By: Louisa

Louisa — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:19:25 +0000

Great post! The questions you outlined are such great interview questions, and are questions everyone should prepare for before an interview. I work as a recruiter in Boston for Hollister and can’t wait to show this post to some of my candidates. Thanks so much!

By: Shawn Gupta

Shawn Gupta — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:46:05 +0000

I think these questions are great for the applicant too. I’ve been interviewed with these types of questions before, and it eased my concerns. A big part of my nervousness when I had been interviewing for jobs was what the team’s dynamics were, and whether I’d be a good fit. It’s very comforting and helpful to know that my potential manager is curious and cares about me as a person!

By: Riaan

Riaan — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:52:43 +0000

This is pretty much the way we hire new developers. The technical know how we require is quite specialized, so we try to find somebody that will fit well with the team, and basically go with on the job training to get them up to speed on the technical side.

By: Jon Smith

Jon Smith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:01:30 +0000

Phil:

Great stuff. I ask a couple of these questions myself when interviewing candidates, and often, it’s these questions that tell me more about how a person will fit on our team than any 20 minutes of talking about technical experience. I manage a technical support staff, and they are all very passionate about many things other than troubleshooting and creating support tickets. When they talk to our customers about these things, it really makes for a great experience and not just a boring “something’s broke, how do I fix it” call. And when they talk to one another about these things, they become more engaged and really gel as a team. The things people think aren’t applicable in an interview are often the things that really set them apart from other candidates.