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Have you been an interviewer?   As you prepare the questions, have you thought about how you would answer the questions as much as what you expect them to be answered?  Sometimes, pondering the questions could be refreshing.

For me, interview is about communicating (positively) about the company and job to the candidates, getting the candidate to the natural zone, and conducting an assessment whether he/she will be successful in the position and future ones in the company.

If the company is big enough, the candidate may end up spending more time doing other jobs than his/her first position. With that, listening skills, communication skills, self-management, versatility and ability to learn become as important as the current job fit.  Among these skills, listening skills seem the most under-appreciated.  It is a skill that seems to disappear over time; it takes lots of practice to keep the curiosity and humility.  We don’t learn things by saying what we already know; we know new things by asking questions and seeking a new answer.

For the interviewees, there could be translations for some questions.

“How do you deal with difficult people?” Are you telling that there are difficult people waiting?  It would be interesting to see the interviewer’s response to “how would you describe your coworkers?”

“How do you work with younger people?”  Seriously, the question alone is on the borderline for age discrimination.  It shows an inexperienced interviewer and the existence of young guns around the company.

“How do you deal with ambiguity?”  You just tell that there is ambiguity or there could be more changes ahead.

“How do you handle conflict?”  This is a difficult one, it is hard to think of a job that does not involve conflict, but maybe there is a bit more here.

“What gets you up in the morning?”  “my alarm clock”?  This says something that the motivation is valued and needed.

“What is your passion?” This is really about what you like the most in the job?

How about these questions that I got from a friend? Worth to ponder.

1. Am I making a difference?
2. Am I being stimulated intellectually?
3. Am I growing professionally?

Posted in Career Management