MM Missed Connections: Did I just interview you?

[y4m]

You're in Atlanta.  You asked me MM's favorite "do you have any concerns about me I can address"  I was psyched to see that question out in real world use, but then had the distinct feeling that we might know each other from here…  Do we?  

[ESF]

::looks around to see who cops to being an internet poster to a potential employer::

[y4m]

Hey--if the potential employer is also an internet poster, you could also call it networking!

[ESF]

Jan 24, 2014 12:58:48 GMT -5 y4m said:

Hey--if the potential employer is also an internet poster, you could also call it nestworking!

FIFY

I once interviewed at a poster's place of work, so it can work!

[Deleted]

As an interviewer, I stand by my hatred of that question.

Why wouldn't the interviewer have already addressed their concerns?

[womet]

Interesting. I wasn't me though. And FTR, I never ask that question.

[Balki.Bartokomous]

Jan 24, 2014 13:01:35 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

As an interviewer, I stand by my hatred of that question.

Why wouldn't the interviewer have already addressed their concerns?

Because not all interviewers are good at interviewing.

[atarianna]

It was me.

No, kidding.

[protozoa]

It wasn't me, but when I was searching my recruiter advised me to ask that question.

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2014 12:55:52 GMT -5 y4m said:

You're in Atlanta.  You asked me MM's favorite "do you have any concerns about me I can address"  I was psyched to see that question out in real world use, but then had the distinct feeling that we might know each other from here…  Do we?  

Not me, but i love that question. I also like the question, "so how do I stack up as a candidate?" 

[definitelyO]

that would be pretty awesome/random if it was someone from here!

[Deleted]

Would a MM cameo be a plus or a minus?

[y4m]

It would be a plus, clearly!!

ETA: well clearly in 99% of cases

[lime]

Jan 24, 2014 15:30:37 GMT -5 @shenanigans said:

Jan 24, 2014 12:55:52 GMT -5 y4m said:

You're in Atlanta.  You asked me MM's favorite "do you have any concerns about me I can address"  I was psyched to see that question out in real world use, but then had the distinct feeling that we might know each other from here…  Do we?  

Not me, but i love that question. I also like the question, "so how do I stack up as a candidate?" 

Only the sucky candidates ask this question IME. 

LOL @ the title of the post. 

[Deleted]

Obviously hire her!

[ESF]

Jan 24, 2014 16:05:28 GMT -5 y4m said:

It would be a plus, clearly!!

ETA: well clearly in 99% of cases

You mean you don't want to hire .Erin?

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2014 15:30:37 GMT -5 @shenanigans said:

Jan 24, 2014 12:55:52 GMT -5 y4m said:

You're in Atlanta.  You asked me MM's favorite "do you have any concerns about me I can address"  I was psyched to see that question out in real world use, but then had the distinct feeling that we might know each other from here…  Do we?  

Not me, but i love that question. I also like the question, "so how do I stack up as a candidate?" 

You aren't being serious, are you?

[MrsE]

LOL someone I interviewed this week asked me the same thing!!

[hamster]

Jan 24, 2014 16:34:25 GMT -5 @applesauce said:

So I have an interview next week. Should I ask this question or not???

I asked, and he told me it was a great question. I was hired.

However, I felt very confident in my position as a candidate and to be able to address any concerns. I wouldn't have asked otherwise.

[wise_rita]

I want to know from interviewers why you do or do not like the 2 questions posed in this thread.

[chickadee77]

I asked the question in the OP at my interview, and after getting hired, was told that they really appreciated it, considering they typically just get a deer-in-the-headlights look. It also opened the door for some more natural dialogue, since they had a script from which they needed to work without much room for spontaneity unless initiated by the applicant. So, it worked for me, lol!

Though I would never ask how I stack up against other candidates. Maybe there's a strategy there, but it's NMS.

[luvmagoldn]

Jan 25, 2014 8:31:28 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

I asked the question in the OP at my interview, and after getting hired, was told that they really appreciated it, considering they typically just get a deer-in-the-headlights look. It also opened the door for some more natural dialogue, since they had a script from which they needed to work without much room for spontaneity unless initiated by the applicant. So, it worked for me, lol!

Though I would never ask how I stack up against other candidates. Maybe there's a strategy there, but it's NMS.

I would never answer the " how do I stack up" question. If you say they are great then hire someone else you've opened the door for the person to wonder why they weren't hired. Was it because I'm a woman? Over 40? Because I'm not white?

No good can come to the employer for answering that question.

[M]

I asked that question (before GBCN days) at my last interview and got the job. Hundreds of interviews and this was the only time I've ever asked it. I was also pretty confident she liked me because we were talking about non-interview related stuff for most of the hour. Weirdest interview I ever had.

[katrana]

As an interviewer, I hate that question. I work in an academic environment, and we often get many applications for the job, all of whom could probably do the job sufficiently. It usually comes down to picking the best fit with the team/group, nothing experience-wise. So, it would be really awkward to tell them that to their face.

I have gotten that question before, but really only from weaker candidates we were just not clicking with. The better candidates have a higher EQ and can "read" the body language of the interviewers (or at least, are more confident). We usually say something like: you have good experience in the field, but we still have a number of candidates to interview, and we will contact you to let you know by xx date.

Questions I do like- "what are the best and worst things about working here" (if asked to a potential peer, not hr), questions about the area they aren't from here, etc ("fit" questions).

[y4m]

It's a confident question that gets the interviewer a little off balance and likely gets you a little insight into how they are thinking about you. It also invites a pretty honest dialogue.

[Deleted]

All these people saying they would never ask that question - what would you ask then?? Saying "are you serious" and then no helpful follow just sucks.

[Deleted]

Jan 25, 2014 10:23:42 GMT -5 @heyitsme said:

All these people saying they would never ask that question - what would you ask then?? Saying "are you serious" and then no helpful follow just sucks.

There are like 900 questions about the role, company, culture, etc. that I ask.

I'd feel like an asshat asking "Do you have any concerns about me that I can clear up?"  (I would feel like even more of an asshat asking "How do I stack up as a candidate?" -- what are they supposed to say to that, particularly if you aren't the frontrunner?  What does that question achieve?).  

[lime]

Jan 25, 2014 10:06:47 GMT -5 y4m said:

It's a confident question that gets the interviewer a little off balance and likely gets you a little insight into how they are thinking about you. It also invites a pretty honest dialogue.

IME, it is the opposite. 

The last guy that asked me that was such a terrible candidate - completely unqualified, really - that I was surprised that he had made it past the phone interview. Many things on his resume were so obviously padded and borderline lies. 

No way in hell am I going to answer that. 

Also, I could see someone using this as the basis of a discrimination lawsuit if they didn't like the answer. 

[Deleted]

Jan 25, 2014 8:49:36 GMT -5 luvmagoldn said:

Jan 25, 2014 8:31:28 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

I asked the question in the OP at my interview, and after getting hired, was told that they really appreciated it, considering they typically just get a deer-in-the-headlights look. It also opened the door for some more natural dialogue, since they had a script from which they needed to work without much room for spontaneity unless initiated by the applicant. So, it worked for me, lol!

Though I would never ask how I stack up against other candidates. Maybe there's a strategy there, but it's NMS.

I would never answer the " how do I stack up" question. If you say they are great then hire someone else you've opened the door for the person to wonder why they weren't hired. Was it because I'm a woman? Over 40? Because I'm not white?

No good can come to the employer for answering that question.

Exactly.

And I already stated I hate the other question. I interview regularly. I would guess 200 or more people in my working career for jobs from entry level to Sr Mgmt. It's a bullshit question. The interviewee

is trying to make herself look better with bullshit phrasing. I already addressed my concerns in the interview. That's the whole point of any interview!

I am impressed when people actually ask questions about the job duties, or our company, or our style of management. Surprisingly few people those. I want a candidate who wants to work for me/my company--not just a job because those folks don't stay long.

For example--I work in a highly regulated industry if someone asked questions about how we execute our commitment to ethics or safety, that would be great. They could ask questions regarding what opportunities they would have for growth within the position and to contribute to the team outside of basic responsibilities (this has a different tone than growth in the company though that is a fine question too, but ordinary.)

The problem with both of the questions posed have a sense, to me, that the interviewee is asking for feedback which I am not obligated to give and I basically shouldn't give due to the reasons above.

People have asked me these questions. And they all get the same answer. To the question above they get "well, based on your resume (or prior conversations with you) we were certainly interested in speaking with you more. We have many qualified applicants that we are currently speaking with and will be reaching out to finalists/preferred candidate at X time."

And the question regarding concerns is always "no. We really appreciated the opportunity to speak with you. Do you have any other questions for me/us?"

See, here's the whole thing about interviewing. You can't use these cure-all questions. They are insincere. The best questions come from carefully thinking about the position/company/industry and asking sincere, thoughtful questions.

[Deleted]

Jan 25, 2014 10:29:24 GMT -5 @246baje said:

Jan 25, 2014 10:23:42 GMT -5 @heyitsme said:

All these people saying they would never ask that question - what would you ask then?? Saying "are you serious" and then no helpful follow just sucks.

I've never asked the question and I don't have anything against it but what I have asked the interviewer is " what do you like about working here?"

In one interview it threw my interviewer off and she got a shifty look and after hesitation stumbled out an answer. The next month that company was bought by another company. 

This is a perfectly good question. It also shows you the values of the interviewer--do they value competition? Teamwork? If you don't share the value stated, you may want to ask a follow-up question.