Interviewing?

[Deleted]

I've never interviewed anyone before. Anything I should know/ask?

I work in IT, if that helps. Job opening is for a product manager.

[anna7602]

I like asking open-ended questions about whether someone enjoyed or disliked their last (or current) job and/or why they're looking for a change. People volunteer a surprising amount of information that either makes them look like go-getters or like they would be high-maintenance/need micromanagement.

[dancingirl21]

I'm in HR and we ask all behavioral-based questions. So, "tell me about a time that you had an upset client/customer. What was the situation, what did you do, how did the client react?"

I like to hear about real-world examples, not just one word (prepared ahead of time) answers.

For the love of everything, don't ask about their strengths and weaknesses.

[anna7602]

Jun 25, 2015 9:55:05 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Jun 25, 2015 9:49:40 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

I like asking open-ended questions about whether someone enjoyed or disliked their last (or current) job and/or why they're looking for a change. People volunteer a surprising amount of information that either makes them look like go-getters or like they would be high-maintenance/need micromanagement.

This surprises me.  I feel like it would be a stock answer, "I loved my last job and learned a lot, but I'm looking for more challenges and opportunities to grow."

Perhaps because you are normal? Seriously, asking this first has weeded out a lot of weirdo candidates for me. I once heard an answer that sounded a heck of a lot like "I don't really like dealing with people," so I followed up with 2 or 3 other questions to confirm I was interpreting her correctly. Yep. She wanted a job where she didn't have to interact with anyone ever. The interview was for a customer service position. 

ETA: This question also works well in nanny interviews. I love hearing about why someone wants/wanted to leave a family when the parents didn't have a change in their job or the kid wasn't starting school or some other natural time for a nanny to move on. 

[jeaniebueller]

I always start with an open ended question and then try to nail them down on something specific. What job duties/skills from your current position do you think will translate well in this position? Tell me about your most challenging job duty. I also usually ask about what they do to handle work related stress, because that usually ventures into a discussion of their hobbies or interests and then we can learn more about the person and whether they will mesh well with the office. At the end of the interview, its good to wrap it up with asking them whether there is anything else about themselves that they think you should know when making the hiring decision.

[Deleted]

Jun 25, 2015 9:49:40 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

I like asking open-ended questions about whether someone enjoyed or disliked their last (or current) job and/or why they're looking for a change. People volunteer a surprising amount of information that either makes them look like go-getters or like they would be high-maintenance/need micromanagement.

These are good. Ask some technical questions--Ask them to walk through what they've done with functions or programs.

I like to ask people to tell me about a challenging person they have worked with and how they handled the situation.

Be careful with chit chat--don't ask about their family, what part of town they live in, etc.

[niq]

The trend these days is towards "behavioral interviewing". Questions take the form of "give an example of a situation where ...". Stuff like "you had to choose between two options that made different stakeholders unhappy ", "you advocated for a change in business practices that was/was note adopted", "you had to deal with team members who had personality conflicts". Pick through the last few years of your career for memorable moments like that.

[Deleted]

What makes people do well in the job? What makes people a bad fit? You want to ask questions to get at which category the candidate fits in.

Also remember that honesty is one of the best indicators whether someone will be a high performer or not. You should be able to get a sense of a person's openness and authenticity from the interview. If there are relevant professional ethics questions that are situational, ask those too.

[Deleted]

Thank you all! I have some great questions to ask.

[arch01]

i just got done with 2 days of interviewing-we open ours with why are you interested in this position and tell me what you did to prepare for this interview. it gives a LOT of information to us right off the bat.

others: give an example where you had an unhappy customer and you were able to calm them down and everyone walked away happy.

tell me something about you that i wouldn't know from looking at your resume.

how do you keep a balance between home/work-how do you leave work at work?

tell us the #1 thing that you do on a daily basis to remain organized and manage your time.

what motivates you to do a good job? 

how do you lead from within-how do you become a leader on your team when people around you are discouraged?

[Deleted]

When asking behavioral/situational interview questions, try and make sure they answer all of the following: what the problem was, what their role in solving the problem was, and what was the actual result. A lot of people are used to working on teams and answer questions with "we did this or that". An interview is no time to tout your teamwork abilities, it's about leadership and singularity.