Kirk Mueller is a Partner at Titan Executive Search Partners, LLC in Los Angeles County and has been in the search industry since 1994. His experience prior to executive search was corporate finance in hi-tech manufacturing, international factory automation technology and commercial real estate after completing his MBA in finance from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management.
After so many years as a recruiter, I find that most employers use "The Big 5" set of questions to assess future employees during the interview process. We all have heard of them: "Tell me about yourself", "Why did you leave your last employer", "Why should we hire you." etc. In addition to these questions, there is a chronological review of the candidate's employment history. Although these questions scratch the surface and eliminate the marginal candidates, they don't dig into the meat and potatoes of the process.
I have found that the best employers ask technical questions that create a positive outcome and serve a need for the employer. Situational questions that have direct relevance to the employer's current problems yield the best results. I recommend that before an employer starts interviewing he/she prepare a list of the current problems that they are facing and posit these questions to future employees. Not only are these relevant to the future working environment, but the employer gains potential good ideas for their company and possible solutions to problems that the employer hasn't considered. In this vein, the employer gains value and problem solving solutions during the interview process, instead of viewing it as a laborious chore.
Even if your department or company is well run and highly organized the benefits of asking candidates about some of the best ideas they have seen at other companies can uncover untold riches. Try this strategy and you will find the interviewing process will become much more enjoyable.
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