I always thought it was easier to ask senior managers and senior technical staff questions, because they had so much experience. But especially with managers, much of their experience is about judgement calls and the way they make decisions. So, I’d ask about that. But from some questions I’ve received recently, I’m in the minority […]
The Alito hearings this week made me cringe. If you watched or heard any of them, you saw senators orating, leading, and in general asking ridiculous questions (both sides). Why didn’t anyone ask either of these two sets of questions: Have you been in a position to have to rule against the executive branch? What
I led a very short interviewing class when I was in Israel, mostly teaching project management. One of my classes wanted a few tips on how to interview more successfully. I asked them what they were doing now, and they claimed to be asking behavior-description questions and using auditions. Those techniques should work, so I
I saw this gem of advice: ask for a candidate to explain his/her most significant accomplishment when sending a resume. (Found on Recruiting.com.) This is a great screening device (better than technical tests, in my opinion). Candidates, this means you need to be thinking about your significant accomplishments (work-related please, unless you can make a
Take a look at HBS’s Working Knowledge, Hiring for Executive Intelligence. Some quotes that rocked my world: IQ test questions don’t assess the practical, on-your-feet thinking skills needed in business. What’s more, these tests have been repeatedly accused of racial and gender bias. Yet, despite these very real shortcomings, IQ tests are still a better predictor
Last week, at the AYE Conference, I led a workshop called “Conversations with Candidates.” One of the participants wanted to know, “How do I build off a behavior-description question?” I’ve always led the conversations intuitively, so I had to think for a minute to describe what I do. If the next questions doesn’t just come
Recently, a manager asked how he could detect critical thinking skills in candidates. I had to ask him more questions, so I could answer. Here’s what he meant by critical thinking skills: The ability to think through a problem in a certain architectural domain The ability to deal with people across the organization in planning
Christian Sepulveda has a lovely post, Guidelines for Being a Strong Job Candidate. Some of his gems (these are all from his post): A prospective employer has no attention span whatsoever. You are selling yourself to an employer. What would make it a “no-brainer” to hire me? Notice his emphasis on communication skills given that
I taught a bunch of classes this week at the Software Development conference. At one interviewing class, a participant wanted to know, “How do I hear the other half of the conversation?” I asked for clarification, and he said, “Sometimes I feel as if the candidate has only said part of the answer, and if
I had a discussion with a hiring manager at the Better Software conference this week. He claimed he could tell what candidates were thinking from their facial expressions.I asked him what I was thinking. He said, “You look pleasant, smiling, as if you’re agreeing with me.” I laughed out loud and said, “Nothing could be