Job Interviews

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Job interviews. Hours in front of a mirror rehearsing the perfect answers to interview questions. The thing is, when I’m hiring I only ask two open-ended question. First: “What are you all about?” How they answer tells me 75% of what I need to know. I sort the other 25% via my next open-ended question: “What can I tell you?" It’s amazing how often people freeze when given the chance to ask anything. They’ve spent so much time rehearsing their own answers, but haven’t considered what they should ask me. The purpose of an interview to find the right MUTUAL fit. How can a candidate know it's right if they don’t ask questions? If you don’t know where to start, these are five good ones. 1. What’s the brief? What's the problem we’re trying to solve? 2. What are the headwinds? What am I up against? 3. What are the tailwinds? What people, resources, market dynamics, etc. are pushing us forward? 4. Why are you making this change? What happened to the person before me? What’s the difference you’re looking for? 5. What does success look like? What does “winning” look like? These should give you all the clues you need about the gig and the company. But beyond the substance of the answers to your questions, listen for tone. It always tells you more than the words themselves.