Listen For Questions, Not Just Answers

When you interview a potential employee, you want to hear the right answers from them. But if you really want the best employees, listen for the right questions, too.

We often say that when we are interviewing candidates, they should also be interviewing us. After all, the best candidates will have their choice of employers, right? And we want the best candidates to come work for us, right? So it makes sense that we want them to ask us questions during the interview process.

But what questions should they be asking? How can we use their questions of us to measure their suitability for the job? There are plenty of safe, standard questions that candidates ask of every employer, and there are lots of questions they might ask that show a deep interest in their welfare but little interest in doing a great job. Are they any discriminators that could help us out when we ask a candidate, “So, do you have any questions for me?”

Well, of course there are.

We often provide a list of questions to interviewers so they know what to ask, but we don’t always tell them what questions to listen for. To help you recognize good questions, consider these examples of what your future high performers are likely to ask you.

• What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?
• What are the common attributes of your top performers?
• What are a few things that really drive results for the company?
• What do employees do in their spare time?
• How do you plan to deal with (insert hypothetical situation here)…?

These questions help you identify a strong candidate in two ways. First, they demonstrate an interest in doing well at the company, hitting the ground running and turning in a high level of performance. Second, they give you a chance to help set expectations and be more transparent about the company’s culture, so the candidate has a better idea of whether or not this is the place for them. That’s important; you will sometimes find that the “best” candidates may not actually be the best if they are not going to be able to contribute much to your company. So many companies these days say they hire more for “fit” rather than simply for skills, but if that’s what you’re doing, have you actually changed your interview style? Listening for the right questions can tell you a lot about a candidate’s fit with your company.

Oh, and whatever you decide are the key questions you want to hear, whether they’re the ones listed above or a set you develop yourself…make sure you have answers for them. Otherwise, those great candidates might decide YOU are not such a great fit for THEM after all.