Interview questions for inexperienced hiring managers

Sometimes clients will ask a hiring manager to conduct interviews on their own and it will sometimes lead to a sense of overwelmmemt.  This could be because they may not have much experience interviewing, they do not know where to start the interview, are overwhelmed with how to best interview for the position, or they may be concerned with being responsible for hiring the wrong person for the business.

Often interviewers will start with “Take me through your resume” approach.  This is not a bad idea but it is a more effective approach if you incorporate these questions while doing it.

Go through each job and ask the same three questions:

1. How did you find the job?

2. What did you take the job?

3. Why did you leave?

The reason this is an effective strategy is that you will learn a lot about the candidate quickly which may be positive or negative. 

Answers for question 1.

If they found their jobs is through job boards, general postings etc., they may not be in control of their careers.  The afore mentioned are all acceptable ways to find junior positions, but by a middle management role there should be direction in a job search.  Are they passionate about what they do, or are they just looking for another paycheck.  With each successive role in one’s career, decent candidates tend to follow former managers and if they haven’t, then they may not be good at building relationships or maybe they were not overly competent in their past roles.

Answers for question 2.

Candidates should describe specific reasons for why they took a particular job.  Great employees don't work hard because of lofty titles or huge salaries. They work hard because they appreciate their work environment and enjoy what they do. That means they know the kind of environment where they will thrive, the type of work that motivates them and they can not only describe it, they actively seek it.

Answers for question 3.

Did they leave for a better opportunity or more money?  If not, it could be the working environment, listen for the reasons given and make mental notes for follow up questions. 

Remember to also ask how many people that the candidate has hired and where they found them.  Look for candidates who brought employees into their organization because great employees go out of their way to work with great leaders.

The rhythm of these questions tends to relax candidates which will usually offer more information that they otherwise would have shared in an interview.

Remember, this is just the interview framework, but this will allow for much more effective follow up questions. 

Farewell,

Mike