Chapter 6
Perfect Phrases to Ace the Interview You Conduct
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Bad hires are costly. How can we know if the person sitting across from us is the answer to our prayer or our worst nightmare?
This chapter provides Perfect Phrases to successfully—and legally—learn what we need to know before we commit to the wrong person. We start by knowing what information we are looking for with every question we ask. We proceed by picking our words with care.
Perfect Interview Phrases for Gathering Personal Information
The phrases in this section are designed to determine if the candidate’s situation and background are appropriate for the job, and to get the information we need without getting into legal trouble. Instead of asking age, citizenship, family situation, and health status, the Perfect Phrases below elicit the information we are really looking for: whether they can do the job we need them for.
Do you have legal verification of your right to work in this country?
What languages do you speak, read, or write?
These are the hours, days, and shifts that you would be working. Is there anything that would interfere with your ability to work these hours?
If we hire you, do you have proof of your age?
Are you comfortable with our policy of not allowing personal phone calls at work?
Is there anything that keeps you from being able to (task) with reasonable accommodation?
This job requires lifting fifty pounds. Can you do that?
Tell me about the most physically demanding job you have had.
Tell me about the most volatile environment you’ve ever worked in.
Perfect Interview Phrases to Learn Work Styles and Preferences
These questions are designed to find out how candidates like to work.
Do you prefer working alone or in groups?
What personal style do you find it challenging to work with? Why?
Do you like a lot of involvement or independence?
What are some things you like to avoid in a job? Why?
What is the most important thing you are looking for in a job?
What were some of the things about your last job that you found challenging?
What are some things you liked best about your last job?
How do you feel about the way your last supervisor managed you?
Why are you leaving your present job? (Or: Why did you leave your last job?)
What is important to you in a company? What things do you look for in an organization?
How much supervision are you used to?
I see you worked at (place) from (date) to (date). Why did you choose that firm?
What is the most important quality a person in this position should have?
I’d like for you to interview me for the job of your manager. What do you need to know to see if this is a fit for you?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Learn Work Expectations
These questions are designed to uncover how candidates perceive the job they are applying for.
What about the description of this job caught your interest?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Tell me about your ideal job. How do you see this position compared to that ideal?
Why are you applying for this position?
How did you hear about this position?
Is there anything you’ve had happen in previous jobs you’re hoping won’t happen here?
If you get this job, what do you think would be the highlight of your day?
If you get this job, what do you think would be your least favorite part?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Evaluate Interpersonal Skills
These questions uncover how candidates handle the kinds of interpersonal challenges they are likely to face. (See Chapter 9 for interview questions regarding diversity interpersonal skills.)
Tell me about a time a customer was offensive or obnoxious and how you handled it.
Describe a situation where you were tempted to or did lose your temper with a dissatisfied customer.
Have you ever lost your temper with a customer or co-worker?
Tell me about a time when you turned an angry customer around.
Describe a situation where you went the extra mile to satisfy a tough customer.
Describe a situation where you needed to refuse an unreasonable request from your manager.
If your manager offended you, how would you handle it?
What would you do if you were on a team that wasn’t communicating well?
How would you handle a co-worker who stole your idea?
How do you respond to gossip?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Determine Self-Directedness, Personal Motivation, and Creativity
Self-directedness, personal motivation, and creativity are valuable assets in most situations. However, if we are interviewing for a routine job, we want to be sure the candidate won’t feel stifled. We can find out about the directedness and creativity of our applicant with the Perfect Phrases below.
What have you done that you consider truly creative?
Can you think of a time when the way things were done didn’t work too well and you found a new way?
What kind of problems do people call on you to solve?
How comfortable are you with repetitive tasks?
Tell me about an obstacle you had to overcome and how you handled it.
What have you done to prepare yourself to work in this field?
How do you organize your time?
What have you done in the past when you discovered a work area that needed improvement?
What are some of the obstacles you found in previous jobs? How did you handle them?
How do you keep up with what’s going on in your (company, industry, profession)?
How many nonfiction books did you read last year?
How important is it to you to be the best?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Determine Leadership Qualities
These questions are designed to determine whether a candidate waits for others to guide or fills in leadership gaps where needed. They are also designed to determine whether a candidate considers the big picture or not.
How do you get results from people you have no control over?
Have you taken a leadership development course?
How have you helped your (subordinates, co-workers) develop themselves?
In your present job how do you get people to find a common approach to a problem?
What do you do to get people to accept your ideas or department goals?
Tell me some specific things you’ve done to set an example for others.
Do people consider you a leader?
How do you help people get along?
If you were the president of this company, what is one new (policy, plan, product) you would initiate?
How do you motivate people?
Give an example of how you once saw a need and filled it.
Do you see every employee as having a leadership role in an organization?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Determine Resourcefulness and Situational Qualifications
These questions address the candidate’s approach to situations he or she is likely to experience and determine whether the candidate has relevant experience.
How do you handle it when two managers insist you give their projects priority?
If you had a crisis and needed an immediate decision from your manager and you couldn’t reach him or her, what would you do?
What’s your experience with (skill)?
What work experience prepared you for this job?
How often do you use the Internet to solve problems?
If a doctor gave you a diagnosis that didn’t seem right, would you get a second opinion? What else would you do?
I’ll tell you about a situation the person who was previously in this position had to deal with. Then I’d like for you to tell me how you would have handled it.
Have you ever found an opportunity through social media connections?
Do you belong to professional organizations? Which ones? How have they helped you succeed? How have they helped your employer?
What awards have you received for work performance?
What would your previous (staff, co-workers, managers, team members) say about you?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Determine Education and Training
Not all relevant learning shows up on a standard interview form. These questions uncover formal training and also learning that may not fit into a standard job application.
What formal or informal education or training has prepared you for this job?
Have you advanced your knowledge and skills through online training? How?
Have you had a formal or informal mentor who taught you things that would help you with this job?
What else has provided you with knowledge useful for this job?
What has been the most important person or event in your own self-development?
What kind of books and other publications do you read?
What skills do you have that are self-trained?
How did you get that training?
How much do you use the Internet to get ideas and solve work-related problems?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Determine Career Goals
Employees are more likely to be motivated if their career goals match the opportunities you offer. We can find out what those are with the questions listed below.
What is your long-term employment or career objective?
How do you see this job fitting into that objective?
What skills and knowledge will you need to do that?
Why do you believe you will be successful doing that?
If you had this job, what would you like to accomplish?
What might make you leave this job?
What would cause you to stay for a long time?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Determine Work Standards
Some employees take ownership of projects and are committed to successful outcomes. Others are just doing a job, without the commitment to do what it takes to excel. Find out what your candidate’s approach is.
Can you give an example of a time you saw a need and filled it without being asked to?
How do you measure success in your job?
Do you expect to leave work exactly on time every day?
How many sick days do you consider acceptable?
Define what a good job is in your position.
Define what a great job is in your position.
How do you evaluate others’ performance? What factors do you consider?
Tell me about a project you were involved with that didn’t go as well as you expected. Why did it fall short?
Tell me about a project that went better than expected. Why was it so successful?
Perfect Interview Phrases to Determine Flexibility
Most jobs require flexibility. These Perfect Phrases determine if a candidate has the flexibility the position requires.
What was the most important idea or suggestion you received recently? Did you change anything as a result?
How do you handle constant changes in company operating policies and procedures?
What was the most significant change made in a company you worked for? How successful were you in implementing that change?
When you’re in the middle of a project and your manager calls with an immediate request, how do you handle it?
Have you ever had a manager change directions in the middle of a project? How did you respond?
How do you handle it when a manager asks you to do things outside your job description?
Perfect Multipurpose Interview Sentence Stems
Open-ended questions elicit information better than closed ones. These sentence stems can help you assess even more about the candidate.
What . . .
Explain . . .
Describe . . .
How would you . . . ?
In what ways . . . ?
Under what circumstance do you . . . ?
If you could . . . ?
Please cite some examples of . . .