What’s the most effective interview question (and answer)?

By the Linkage Editorial team

We recently asked “What is your favorite question to ask a potential employee?” on Linkage’s Talent & Development Institute Linkedin group and your answers have been both varied and enlightening.

• “What specifically should your boss do to ensure your success here?”
• “How will you approach your work over the first three months if we hire you?”
• “List 15 things you can do with this pen.”
• “Tell me what you were like in high school.”
• “Provide examples of times that you have used coaching and feedback to help an employee overcome a performance issue.”
• “What do you consider to be the most challenging aspect of this job?”
• “Describe your leadership skills and how they can benefit our company.”
• “What is one ‘odd’ fact about you that isn’t mentioned on your resume? Is there something you can do that no one else can, or at least as well as you?
• “If you were to emulate a public figure, who would that be and why?”
• “Should you be considered, what value added can you bring in to this job?”
• “If you were trapped on an island, except for food and water, what are the three items (not person) you wished you had with you?”
• “At the end of your career or when you retire, what would be present for you to say that you were successful?”

But how do you know when a candidate is answered “correctly”? Are you looking for body language or certain traits that your interview questions are designed to bring out? How will knowing “what three items your candidate would want to have on a desert island”, or the “15 things she can do with a pen” help you determine if she is right for the role?

Please share your answers in the comments area here or add them to the Linkedin thread.

And click here to learn more about skillful organizational development.