Page 54 - Boost Your Hiring

40 Boost Your Hiring IQ

ANSWERS
The Strongest Question
(C) This is the strongest way to ask the question because it allows
the candidate to talk about former experiences. This question is
open-ended and will flush out whether the candidate is pre-
pared to discuss previous work and can do so in an articulate
manner. This question also allows you to delve deeper into the
kinds of details handled on previous jobs.
You can probe by adding such things as:
• Tell me more about your previous job and how you success-
fully handled detail.
• Give me an example of a project you worked on that required
you to deal with a great amount of detail.

The Mediocre Question
(B) While quantifiers or numbers are a good way to measure in-
formation, this question is only a mediocre one to ask unless
you probe into the reason the candidate chose a particular
number as a rating.
For instance, if candidates assign themselves a 10, then you
should ask what makes them a 10. The same is true if they
were to say a 5, and you could follow up with a question such
as, “What kept you from rating yourself a 10?” The answer to
this will provide you with significant information about the
candidate.

The Weakest Question
(A) It is unlikely that a candidate would say “bad” or “weak.” If you
get a single-word answer such as “good,” “ok,” or “excellent,”
then probe with the following follow-up questions:
• What makes you say “excellent”?

• Can you give me a specific example?

RATE YOURSELF

If you chose question (C), give yourself 5 points.
If you chose question (B), give yourself 3 points.
If you chose question (A), give yourself 0 points. _____