- What are your expectations for me in this role?
- What’s the most important thing I should accomplish in the first 90 days?
- What’s the performance review process like here? …
- What metrics or goals will my performance be evaluated against?
Everybody wants to hire the best candidate, right? While some companies are really stellar at the hiring game, most are not. Finding and filtering out the best applicants can be incredibly hard and time-consuming.
And most companies out there hire their top choice only for it not to work out in the end. In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, over 80 percent of turnover is attributed to bad decisions in the hiring process.
In other words, it often takes a different or innovative approach to filter out the best people for your business, and the interviewing process plays a key role here.
If you keep asking the same typical “screening questions” as everyone else, you’ll always get the “right” answers if the applicant completed at least a little of their due diligence.
But that doesn’t help you to get to the core of their personality or to evaluate if the candidate is the right fit for your company culture. And for us here at Hatchbuck, culture fit is everything. To uncover that perfect fit, you’ll need to get into the nitty gritty with your questions. Here are a few helpful questions that I have used in our interview process to help us land rockstar candidates.
How to Answer the Question, “Tell Me About Yourself” | Christine vs. Work
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Resignation numbers have remained abnormally high in the U.S. between July 2021 and October 2021, with millions of Americans quitting their jobs — which also means there are millions of new openings up for grabs. If you’re entering the market for the first time, or just looking to make a change, use this guide to prepare for your next interview.
Below is a list of 10 common job interview questions, along with answering techniques that will help you dazzle your prospects, and hopefully, secure the role you want.
Could you tell me about yourself and describe your background in brief?
Interviewers like to hear stories about candidates. Make sure your story has a great beginning, a riveting middle, and an end that makes the interviewer root for you to win the job.
Talk about a relevant incident that made you keen on the profession you are pursuing and follow up by discussing your education. In the story, weave together how your academic training and your passion for the subject or industry the company specializes in, combined with your work experience, make you a great fit for the job. If you’ve managed a complex project or worked on an exciting, offbeat design, mention it.
Example: “I come from a small town, where opportunities were limited. Since good schools were a rarity, I started using online learning to stay up to date with the best. That’s where I learned to code and then I went on to get my certification as a computer programmer. After I got my first job as a front-end coder, I continued to invest time in mastering both front- and back-end languages, tools, and frameworks.”
What is your ultimate failure? What did you learn from it?
This is important. Why? In her book ‘Mindset,’ Carol Dweck identifies two categories of people. Those with a growth mindset and those with a fixed mindset.
The former ones are more successful and make a great part of the team. That’s because they see failures and challenges as growth opportunities.
“What Is Your Biggest Strength?”
As tempting as it may be to list every buzzword possible, interviewers will have heard them all. Leave a lasting impression with an anecdotal response that demonstrates the skills they’re looking for in a candidate. For example: “I have been known to work well under a tight schedule. In my current role…” You can also use situations from different points in your career.
Keep in mind the tips from the prompt above and use the S.T.A.R Method to structure your response:
If you’re invited to an interview, whether by phone or in person, it means your resume has already convinced the hiring manager that you meet the baseline requirements for the job. This question is an opportunity for you to “wow” them by demonstrating the kind of value you can bring to their organization. Career changers can leverage specific examples to highlight transferable skills. Use the S.T.A.R. Method for any behavioral questions, also known as “Tell Me of a Time” questions. Typical behavioral questions seek examples of leadership, problem-solving, or growth.
FAQ
How do I interview a candidate for HBR?
- Could you tell me about yourself and describe your background in brief? …
- How did you hear about this position? …
- What type of work environment do you prefer? …
- How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations? …
- Do you prefer working independently or on a team?
What are the 5 hardest interview questions?
- Avoid easy-to-practice questions. …
- Be wary of historical questions. …
- Assess their ability to solve a problem. …
- Evaluate whether they’re forward-looking. …
- Assess a candidate’s ability to learn, adapt, and innovate. …
- Avoid duplication. …
- Allocate time for selling.
