What to ask..and what not to answer…
Having been in recruitment now for almost 10 years, if I’m being really honest, I’m not sure there is such a thing as the “right” questions or even the “right” answers in job interviews. This was further substantiated when I read an article from Recruitment Grapevine earlier today which, for me, highlighted all the reasons why traditional interviewing can be flawed if you don’t get it right.
The article also showed a video clip of professional footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović conducting an interview with a potential candidate for a position at Vitamin Well. The video, if you haven’t seen it, is below and makes you cringe for a full 3 minutes. Its aim is to highlight that candidates should do their research about the company, be well prepared and not use stock interview answers like “I’m a team player”.
Now whilst I concede all of that is of course correct, what I got from the video was that interviewers should also be wary of having the “correct answers” in their head even before the candidate arrives. In my experience, candidates who answer the questions in the so called “right” way are not always the best candidates for the job.
Anyone can practice how to get through an interview successfully. For example, I once got so good at being interviewed, I was offered 4 jobs in the space of a week. Clearly, I wasn’t right for all of those roles, I just got really good at being interviewed because I knew what questions were coming and how to answer them.
If you really want to know if a candidate is right for your business you have to consider doing something else other than just asking a series of questions and, since statistics have proved that most recruitment failures are down to a mis-match in cultural fit, hirers must now consider how to test for fit as well as competency when bringing new people into the team.
If you’re recruiting and want to know about our process please contact me today.
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