Hiring the right employee, the first time around, is one of the most important things you do as a manager and a leader. Costly hiring mistakes can be devastating to your bottom line, morale and overall business success.
As you interview candidates, you have two goals. The first is to assess their skills and ability to do the job. The second is to gauge their personality, attitude and values for cultural fit. And most experts agree that when it comes to importance, culture takes the lead.
A New Take on Behavioral Interviewing
You’re probably familiar with behavioral interviewing – as you should be. Asking candidates how they have handled relevant situations in the past is critically important as you hone in on the required competencies and your definition of an ideal hire. But adding some unique questions to the mix yields more thoughtful information – so use a combination of both for optimal hiring success.
Try these insightful, “off-the-cuff” questions to get a glimpse of the unrehearsed candidate in unguarded moments. There are no right or wrong answers. More importantly, questions like these provide candidates with the opportunity to demonstrate quick thinking, creativity, poise and personality.
- “What do you not want to be doing in five years?” Flip the traditional question around. A candidate’s response will provide insight into the type of work or environment that would be demotivating to them.
- “Why should we not hire you?” Another flipped question. Use it to determine if an individual has a realistic view of their own abilities, limitations and areas for potential growth and development.
- “Let’s play a word association game.” Choose several key words that relate to different aspects of your company culture and the job itself. Ask a candidate to share their first response to a word, and then have them expand on their answer. This rapid-fire process helps you to assess a person’s instinctive reaction regarding a word/situation.
- “What’s the biggest misconception people have about you?” This question probes a candidate’s level of self-awareness and willingness to be honest and vulnerable. Are they capable of understanding and managing the way they are perceived by others?
Partner with the PrideStaff Fresno team as you perfect your interviewing, candidate selection and overall hiring processes. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.