Ask the Geezers

"Generic" Interview Questions

Question: Is there a question or set of questions that you ask in almost every interview? If so what is it?

Sin-Yaw: Not really. I try to assess if the candidate is smart, energetic, and has good communication style. I usually pick topics off the resume and drill them deep to see how the candidate reacts to the pressure.

Amiram: I personally like to go over the education (major, special projects), and experience (make sure all years are counted for, and if not ask for an explanation, for each place of work - I ask for special projects/responsibilities and reasons for leaving), Since my interviews are character-oriented (and not technical), I assume that I only see the people who passed technical interview and junior manager interview. I focus on communication, passion, teamwork. And yes, I use intuition in interviews as well.

Mike: I usually organize my interview into four parts. I start the interview by asking relaxing questions about the candidate, (e.g., his previous job, where he comes from etc) to put the candidate at ease.

Then I will go through his resume. I really want to know what he has done that is related to the position he is applying for. I want to understand how he is able to apply his previous experience to the new position. In this section I try to use “behavioral interviewing techniques. But I always try to ask ~80% of the same questions to all the candidates for any given position.

In the end, I will make sure to ask if he has any questions for me. I will also make sure he understands the follow up process and the company's contact by giving out my card and/or contact info.

For a list of typical questions, I have different focus for different positions.

For a people manager candidate, I want to learn more about his management skills and soft skills. I'd usually ask:
- How do you go about making sure your team can get along without you?
- How do you manage down, manage up and manage sideways?
- What is your management style? Why has that style been successful for you?
- Tell me about a situation where you have a problem with an employee. If necessary, I will expand the question by asking how the problem was found out, how was it dealt with and what was the result?

For a program manager candidate, I'd want to learn more about his planning skills and how he influences others.

One thing I try to judge for all candidates is people skills. I am interested to find out how they get along with others. How does he see himself regarding to his position in a big organization?

Posted at 11:27AM Dec 12, 2006 by Wen Michelle Lei in Hiring & Interview  |  Comments[1]