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What's One Question You Ask on Every Job Interview?
Smart entrepreneurs know an economic downturn can be a great time to hire. We asked our Board of Directors what they like to see from job candidates.
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While unemployment holds frustratingly steady at nearly 10 percent, some businesses are still hiring right now -- many of them small businesses. In fact, small businesses added approximately 26,000 jobs in August, according to a recent survey by Intuit. Since October 2009, small businesses have added roughly 340,000 jobs. Not enough and not quickly enough to dig us out of the hole overnight, but politicians and economists alike continue to tout the job-creating abilities of small businesses. For many entrepreneurs, bucking the trend and helping right the economy is a big source of pride.Why? Smart entrepreneurs recognize that an economic downturn also brings opportunity -- including an abundance of potential employees looking for work, who businesses can scoop up at a bargain.
So we know small businesses (at least some of them) are looking to hire, even amid the continued economic malaise. But what exactly are they looking for in job candidates? Our Board of Directors has created thousands of jobs over the years, and many of them are still intimately involved in the interview process. We asked them for the one question they always ask potential job seekers.
Warren Brown
Founder, CakeLove and Love Café
"Are you good at troubleshooting? If they ask me what I mean, the interview is over."
Julie Jumonville
Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, UpSpring Baby
"I don't ask this question on a regular basis but it has never failed me in a job interview. If I left you with a large, long haired dog for 15 minutes and asked you to count/estimate the hair on the dog's body, how would you approach getting me the most accurate hair count? The interviewee that said they would not count the dog hairs and would pet and make friends with the dog instead is who I hired and they still work for me today."
Tate Chalk
Founder and CEO, Nfinity
"Why do you want this job? From that question, you can tell a lot -- how fast they think on their feet, how much they actually know about our business, how full of it they are? All good things to know. Plus, I want someone to work for me that actually wants to work for me, not just wants a job."
Clint Greenleaf
Founder and CEO, Greenleaf Book Group
"Rather than get a list of references that I never call, I like to make it clear that I am going to call previous bosses. When I call Mr. Sacamano, what will he say about your attention to detail? It's not 'if' but 'when.' You get surprisingly honest answers when people realize you're going to get a real honest answer from a third party."
Rob Adams
Director, Texas Venture Labs at the University of Texas
"Where are you and what are you doing 10 years from now."
Jennifer Hill
Chairwoman, Astia NYC Advisory Board
"What is the question that you wished I'd asked you? Then, I ask for the answer. When I've been on job interviews, I ask if there is something else they are looking for which they have not seen. The question tends to elicit an honest response and invites an opportunity to address other issues. Sometimes you don't get asked the questions that you want to be asked. Find a way to understand the unspoken questions, so that you can infuse your responses with information to make the best impression possible."
Lawrence Gelburd
Lecturer, The Wharton School
"Why are you interested in us and why not stay where you are?"
Tom Szaky
Founder, TerraCycle
"In efforts to see if the candidate can think outside the box I always ask, If you had to create awareness of a program on the other side of the country without a budget, and in fact had to generate $10,000 in revenue in creating the awareness, what would you do? It's always interesting to see how people solve this question, since the more out of the box you think, the better your answer will be. And it is solvable -- even though most people's knee jerk reaction is that it isn't.
Eric Ryan
Co-Founder and Chief Brand Architect, Method
"At Method, every candidate who makes it as a finalist gets asked the same question: How will you help keep Method weird? This is always the third and final question during the 'homework assignment,' which is the final stage of our interview process. We give candidates 45 minutes to present three questions, which are given to them several days in advance. Kind of a live audition. We find it to be a much higher predictor of success than relying just an interview and reference checks, so it has been a cornerstone of our interview process for over five years. "A big advantage of this approach is that it allows you to get a real sense of chemistry and cultural fit by prototyping what working with a candidate will be really like. Since 'Keep Method Weird' is a cultural value, we ask them directly how they will support this, which is a tough question to answer in an interview in front of an audience. It forces people to show us who they really are, so we can see if they have courage, confidence and creativity. Because when you are trying to disrupt traditional categories, you need weird people who see the world a little differently."
Phil Town
Investor and Author of Rule #1 and Payback Time
"Tell me why you are the best person in the world for this job."
Gary Whitehill
Founder, The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week
"If you had one wish, and it was the only wish that is guaranteed be granted in your lifetime, what would it be and why?"
Steve Strauss
Columnist and Author of The Small Business Bible
"I like the off-beat question that evokes answers that can't be rehearsed. What is your favorite book or favorite movie? That's good because it makes the interview more personal and usually ends up revealing something interesting about the person."
Lexy Funk
Co-Founder and CEO, Brooklyn Industries
"Why do you want to come work for Brooklyn Industries?"
Comments (Page 3 of 5)
This article addresses questions they ask every person- they are not job specific. They are aimed at learning about the person's personality. If you would tell the interviewer the question is dumb, or treat it as such, you will not get the job. Be yourself, answer the question. They are looking for a personality type. If you aren't it, don't take offense.
I couldn't read most of these responses because they are very ignorant.
Some of the questions are good, old school queries. This is not to say they aren't good questions. Any interviewee worth their salt will be prepared to answer them. I did like, however, the questions posed by Jennifer Hill, Tom Szaky and Eric Ryan. These are excellent, revealing questions. I wish that someone would throw those my way. These, clearly, would be good companies to work with.
What I do when interviewing potential employees for what I would call professional positions, ie: engineer, buyer, etc., is to take them to lunch. If they are not respectful and polite to the wait-staff, they are not going to get the job. You find out a lot about folks at a restaurant; whether their opinions of themselves out weights their respect for others and how "high maintenance" they are. If they are actually good people, that's a place to find out. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
"If you had one wish, and it was the only wish that is guaranteed be granted in your lifetime, what would it be and why?" Oh, yeah - like anyone would answer that one honestly..."I would be RULER OF THE UNIVERSE and everyone would kneel before ME in ABJECT OBEISANCE!"
Pu-leeaase.
In a better economy, we could pick and choose as many of these questions tell you what a jerk the employer will be!!! If they're trying to "trick" me, I don't want to work for them. I like STRAIGHT SHOOTERS, AS I AM.
I remember yrs ago I was asked at an interview.."What would your very best friend tell us that they dont like about you."..My answer was "nothing at all or they wouldnt be my best friend now would they."
Needless to say..I didnt get the job.lol
"The interviewee that said they would not count the dog hairs and would pet and make friends with the dog instead is who I hired and they still work for me today." Julie, an "interviewee" is one person, so he or she, not "they." Makes my skin crawl.
What do employers do to make OPPORTUNITY so EQUAL?!
90% of all posted jobs are filled before being posted so how does that make opportunity equal?!
Why did Congress have to pass the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (42 USC sec. 2000(e)(2)) and other anti-discrimination laws, and what does that say about employers and their integrity (lack of)?!
Questions most asked of me: How long have you been a Nurse, ASE certified master mechanic or a Class A CDL truck driver? When can you start? Yes, I'm a working stiff. But finding a job is easy.
VT247
These questions are beyond assinine. heaven forbid they hire the person who is most qualified and has the most and best experience for the job, instead they turn it into a b.s. game to see who can bullsh@t under pressure. then companies wonder why they end up with a bunch of dumba$$ time wasting imbeciles wking for them, and why their company gets run into the ground. as for some of the posts here about the president, our country was in the crapper long before he took office. instead of complaining we need tofigure out how to change it.
It is sad that the job market has boiled down to this. It is sad to get a job because you knew how to answer a question, just to get in and treat your fellow workers like crap. Did you know the majority of people are not happy with their jobs? The treatment of employees will make or brake our job market. There is a phenomenon occurring in the middle of this economic "crisis"... more people are quitting their jobs than those who are laid off or fired. People are fed up with employers and their smart-ass questions. 200 years from today our economic system and jobs will appear in our history books as slavery.
ALL YOU MEN & LADYS OUT THERE YOU ARE ALL RIGHT IT IS A MESS OUT THERE< AND WE WHITE BOYS & GRILS ARE BEING DISCRIMINATIED AND IT IS GOING RAMPANT> SO LOOK AROUND YOU YOU CAN SEE IT AND FEEL IT>
I'm shocked at some of the comments posted by your Board of Directors. Their responses were poorly written, some even illiterate. How did these people manage to become masters of their universes, to use Tom Wolfe's phrase, when they apparently can't even write a coherent, professional business letter or query.
The member of the board of directors who wrote: "Plus, I want someone to work for me that actually wants to work for me, not just wants a job.", was not paying attention in grade school grammar class. "Someone" in the above comment should be followed by "who" not "that." "That" is used when referring to a non-human entity.
And the director who thinks "What's your favorite book or movie" is an "off-beat question" rather than what it is, a cliche that's as off-beat as white bread.
One possible explanation for the inexplicable success of these successful people is that s*** floats. The other is "It's not what you know, it's whom you know."
Frank Sanello
You've missed the point - they're all dicks, their command of the English language not withstanding..
Just....dicks.
As a recruiter for the last 10 years some of these questions are credible - and some out right ridiculous! The one about the dog hairs were they kidding?
I AGREE WHO THE HELL CARES HOW MANY HAIRS A DOG HAS. THAT LETS YOU KNOW HER HOUSE WAS MISSING A BRICK AND THE CARDS WERE NOT ALL IN THE DECK. LOL.
You are absolutely right, what about the ones that are in their jobs and they have no idea what they are doing. It is so terrible that managers are hired but the clerks and cashiers have to teach them their jobs. The only thing they know how to do is be an ass to their employess and harrass them, they have first hand training and knowledge in picking and harrassing the hell of people, now you know why every other month some one goes in and shoots the hell out of someone. People just don't snap somone has pissed them off. Some people are just crazy but when you have someone that has worked at a company for 20 years and he or she goes postal trust me he or she was pissed off and had enough and could get no help from upper management.
Here it is..along iwth the long legacy of brutality, rape, violence & ungrateful labor injustices created in and through slavery. F**K YOUUUUUUUUUUU! Kay? There ya go. you mealie mouthed prick!
No people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Where is the gratitude?
America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known in human history! Where's our thank you?
The defense for some of these totally irrelevant questions is priceless. While asking someone about his favorite book or movie gives some insight about who he is, how does that relate to the job? We're talking about finding a good match for work, not dating or hanging out. There's a line between corporate culture and personal lifestyles/values. Fitting into the corporate culture means adapting your work style and ethics, not your leisure choices, to that of your employer. Heaven forbid that employers hire the most qualified candidate for the job...period.