The One Interview Question That
Will Help You Make The Best Hire
One
CEO's quest to find the perfect curveball interview question resulted in the
best way to let strong candidates shine.
The
quirky interview question has become a proven method for some companies’
recruiting strategy: e.g. Google’s puzzles designed to weed through some 2 million applicants per year.
Yet
while the curveball query, "Who would win a fight between Spider-Man and
Batman?" can throw the candidate off their carefully scripted answers and
force them to react spontaneously, it can also serve to make only the most
verbally adept applicants shine, disregarding other potential talent, according
to Tim Toterhi, HR professional and author of Job Hunting For Introverts,
in a previous interview with Fast Company.
"I'd rather get deeper thought and greater insight that can actually be
applied," he told us.
At Yashi, CEO and cofounder Jay
Gould prefers the deep dive. The video-ad tech firm based in New Jersey has
grown from humble beginnings in 2007 with just two cofounders, to a staff of 12
in 2012, to 60 now. Yashi was on Inc.'s list of fastest growing companies for
three years running, and voted one of the state’s best places to work in 2014
by NJBIZ. Recently acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting for $33 million, Gould
tells Fast Company that one of the reasons the business continues to
thrive is its hiring process.
"One
of the most important aspects of a successful team, no matter the size, is the
company culture," he explains. "Even as we continue to expand, we’ve
maintained our team dynamic by hiring people who are cut from the same cloth in
terms of their goals and motivation," says Gould.
A
thorough multi-step interview series ends with the candidate talking to him.
"If they reach me, their strengths have been vetted by my managers and
their potential future co-workers," Gould explains, "I step in to
assess their character, tenacity, and whether or not they’re a cultural
fit."
Everything
you need to know can be learned in the moment when you look a candidate in the
eye and ask them, 'Why shouldn’t I hire you?'
The
way he does it is with a curveball question. But not the one about Disney
princesses or how many marbles would fit into a bus. "Everything you need
to know can be learned in the moment when you look a candidate in the eye and
ask them, ‘Why shouldn’t I hire you?’" says Gould.
In
this way, Gould maintains, he gets immediate insight into their self-awareness,
integrity, and honesty. "If they they think too long, or can't answer the
question at all, they may be hiding something. If their answer is genuine then
you have a contender," he says.
It’s
not enough to gauge the length of hesitation. After all, extroverts who are
quick to think on their feet can do a verbal two-step around the question in
the time it would take a more introspective introvert to voice their reply.
"Why
shouldn’t I hire you?" is the final part of a 45-minute interview, Gould
says, but he’s still alert to nuance. "How they answer the question is
just as, if not more, important than the answer itself," he says.
Gould
believes that to adequately gauge the truthfulness in a candidate’s response,
the interviewer needs two things: a high EQ (emotional intelligence) and to be
great at pattern recognition.
How
they answer the question is just as, if not more important than the answer
itself.
"The
ability to identify existing or emerging patterns is a critically important
skill in intelligent decision making," he says. Drawing from past
experience, intuition, and common sense, the interviewer can recognize if a
candidate is holding forth on a response that could be part of what they think
the person opposite them wants to hear, or if they are offering a genuine view
of their personality.
"Aside from that, the interviewer needs to keenly assess eye contact, body language, voice inflections, etc. to make sure they’re being transparent," says Gould. Lack of eye contact could suggest the candidate isn’t being honest, while crossed arms unconsciously communicate arrogance or defensiveness in most people’s minds.
"Aside from that, the interviewer needs to keenly assess eye contact, body language, voice inflections, etc. to make sure they’re being transparent," says Gould. Lack of eye contact could suggest the candidate isn’t being honest, while crossed arms unconsciously communicate arrogance or defensiveness in most people’s minds.
Gould’s question isn’t designed to
divulge weaknesses. It’s purpose is to identify their integrity,
self-awareness, and transparency, which he believes are the most important
strengths a person you wish to work with can possess. Gould subscribes to the
wisdom of Warren Buffett, who once said: "In looking for people to hire,
you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you
don’t have the first, the other two will kill you."
The reason he believes "why
shouldn’t I hire you?" works to reveal a candidate's integrity is because
people aren’t prepared to answer it. "It forces people to try and
disqualify themselves from the position, which takes them out of the mindset of
putting their best foot forward," he contends.
Indeed, Gould asserts that
candidates often interpret this question as, "What’s your greatest
weakness?" and attempt to provide generic answers like, "I’m too much
of a perfectionist" or "I care too much about my work and it tends to
interfere with my personal life."
It forces people to try and
disqualify themselves from the position, which takes them out of the mindset of
putting their best foot forward.
When he gets those answers, Gould
says he instructs them to avoid spinning a weakness into a strength. "This
stumps a lot of candidates," he admits, "Some people are totally caught
off guard and refuse to answer, which disqualifies them from being hired."
Those who are self-aware and candid
enough to share something authentic prove ring Gould’s integrity bell.
"People who are upfront about their shortcomings possess the element of
humility that makes them a likeable person you want to work with," he
underscores.
Gould is a proponent of other
questions that candidate’s may not be prepared to answer such as: "How
smart are you?" This one, says Gould reveals if they are able to be humble
or simply to defend how intelligent they think they are. Body language and
vocal inflection plays a role in gauging the authenticity of this reply as
well.
"I also like to ask them to
describe their proudest moment," Gould says. "If they begin listing
their professional accomplishments, they are missing an opportunity to
illustrate their depth of character, or they might just be trying too hard to
put their best foot forward," he contends. "There’s also a chance
they just aren’t being honest."
By Lydia Dishman
http://www.fastcompany.com/3049139/hit-the-ground-running/the-one-question-you-need-to-ask-job-applicants-to-make-the-best-hire?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fast-company-weekly-newsletter-featured&position=4&partner=newsletter&cam
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