The JobSync Blog
Are You Ready for Your Candidates' Questions?
November 15, 2011
After a thorough review of applicants, you’re ready to bring in several candidates for a job you can’t wait to fill. You have your list of questions ready, waiting to see what’s really behind the candidates’ resumes. And you’re pretty confident that you’ll be able to handle all of your applicants’ questions with ease and eloquence. But are you truly on top of all the questions your candidate might ask you?
Most interviewers expect typical questions asking what the responsibilities of a position are or what a typical day would be like in this position. And they know a lot of candidates will be wondering about the prospects for growth and advancement and what the interviewer likes about working for the company. However, more and more sophisticated candidates are treating the interview as a chance to interview you, too. This approach is not only designed to gain a more detailed sense of what it would be like to work at your company but also to show how serious they are for a position. Such questions might include:
1. What do you foresee your company’s biggest challenges will be in the coming year? The interviewer is trying to gain a sense of the state of the company, and by extension, what it might be like to work there in the near term. A savvy interviewer will preface this question with research they have discovered through public resources. And while every company faces a number of challenges, you should obviously use discretion sharing inside information when addressing this question.
2. What would be my first priority in the first few months if I were to get this job? The interviewee is trying to determine what is the primary job responsibility that they cannot fail at early in the job. The candidate is also conveying how serious he is about the potential job and is ready to hit the ground running.
3. Thinking back to people who have been in this position previously, what differentiated the ones who were good from the ones who were really great? This is a favorite question of consultant of Alison Green. As she once explained to ABC News, “This question excites managers because it signals that you care about being not just good, but truly great.” She also explained, “They've generally never heard anyone ask it before.”
Serious interviewers can be expected to ask such subtle questions. Given the high level of competition for extraordinary candidates, serious answers could very well make a difference in your successful recruiting of employees who actually will help your company overcome its biggest challenges in the coming year.
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