A New Wrinkle to Difficult Interviewing Questions
With unemployment high and the economy showing little sign of improvement, finding a new job has become increasingly challenging. And, not surprisingly, the types of interview questions that hiring managers are beginning to ask prospective job candidates are becoming more intricate and complex. I found interesting examples of this at the “You’re the Boss” blog sponsored by the New York Times.
In the article, a person who owns a small retail business revealed that he always asks job candidates to describe their most stressful customer experience in previous jobs. The question helps him to ascertain how prospective new employees might cope with difficult situations. Also, it tends to reveals whether or not they speak honestly about their own actions and what their attitudes may be towards customers. Another question that he frequently asks is “Why did you really leave your last job? Were you fired? Did you hate your boss? This is devised to determine whether or not a candidate is being truthful. If the answer is their leaving was “mutual” the owner posits that there is usually more to the story than is being divulged. On the other hand, if the response is “It was time to move on” a follow up question usually is “What does that mean?”
Other examples cited in the post include:
What am I going to hate about you in the next 6 months?
What haven’t I asked that you want me to know about you?
How will we both know in six months that you are succeeding?
Why did you apply for this job?
None of the questions is illegal, improper or out of bounds during a job interview. Consequently, I advise jobseekers to add these new questions to their list of difficult-to-answer interview questions. And, perhaps more importantly, think about legitimate responses to them before your next job interview.
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!
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