Dear Aunty B,
I’m trying to hire a new staff member at the moment and have waded through the applications to come up with a short list. What should I ask in the job interview? I feel that “where do you see yourself in five years time?” is too cliched but I need to know how to separate one person from the other.
Confused,
Geelong
Dear Confused,
Hiring the right people is so crucial to the success of your business that I can see why you’re nervous about this one. I know I’ve made a few bad hires in my time, which have had me reaching for the gin bottle on more than one occasion. Now I use the mantra hire slowly and fire quickly.
I try to throw a few quirky questions at people I interview, something that they won’t have prepared for. I liked these suggestions from David Politis, the founder of BetterCloud, who expounded on his job interview technique in a New York Times article.
He always asks:
“What would be your dream job if you could do anything in the world?”
His next question is: “Why aren’t you doing that?”
Politis says those two questions will tell you a lot about people’s passions and their fears.
He also asks: “What do you love every day when you go to work, and what do you hate?”
“Sometimes people are interviewing for a job, but they’ll never get to do what they love in that job,” Politis says.
Be smart,
Aunty B
I’m SmartCompany’s resident Agony Aunt. Have a problem to solve? Just ask. @IamAuntyB #AuntyB
