“The only three true job interview questions are:

1.  Can you do the job?
2.  Will you love the job?
3.  Can we tolerate working with you?” -- Forbes online

So what do you think?  According to the Forbes article, all questions that are asked in an interview basically boil down to these three.  Can you technically and functionally perform this role, are you motivated and want to work at this company; and will you fit in our environment?  Honestly, I have to agree.  This article is specifically written for executive appointments; but to be honest I think it applies to most interviewees.

I was reading an article in Inc.com by Joe Reynolds, Founder of Red Frog Events where he said that over the last four months, they received six thousand applications and hired eight people.  If you read the various articles Joe has written, you’d understand exactly why people want to work at Red Frog Events, but the point is - the team fit is just as important to them as the skill set.  Everyone is hired on a four-month contract basis to assess them in ‘real-life’ situations and according to the Inc.com article - “after four months, we’ve historically hired around 20 percent of those put on contract.”  It gives everyone a chance to see if they fit together; and from seeing comments on @RedFrogEvents - people are climbing over each other to ever get an interview.

What’s your favourite question to ask to be asked in a job interview?

Over the years, three of the things that have really wound me up when carrying out interviews have been candidates who do not prepare, in particular researching about the company and role.  Lying, I am no body-language expert but you don’t have to be a qualified psychologist to spot inconsistencies or when they claim to be Nobel laureates.  Finally, not having any questions to ask, besides ‘how much do I get paid?’

It appears that I am not the only one to have this frustration, my colleagues tell me that one way to tackle this is to test candidates by asking them what they hoped to achieve in their first 90 days in the job, thus having to demonstrate their knowledge, research and ask smart questions.  Not only does it appear that my esteemed colleagues are asking such questions but I also read the blog by John Lees on get this, the Harvard Business Review, who supported this.

This question, in turns is a minefield to answer, if the candidate is critical of current activities and that is the ‘proud achievement’ of one of the interviewers – whoops! Equally if they come out with ‘I will spend time learning about the business and meet with key stakeholders before I make any changes’ the interviewers can think, boring, dull, safe.

Lees suggests an answer which is both learning and doing, giving around what specifically they will need to know and suggesting things the candidate may have you have tried elsewhere, which will open create a two way conversation and a teaser to a potential strategy.

I would build on this and suggest it is also an opportunity to build a rapport, establish trust and credibility.  Show off what you have found out and to ask those really shrewd questions.  The danger of all this, they then have to deliver what they said!

Either way, the bottom line of an interview is all about fit.  Fit with Companies culture and values, fit into the team, likeability, attitude and how they add value. In a market where UK unemployment has hit 2.62 million and is predicted to reach 2.75 million next year, it is an employer market; so candidates really do have to step up to the mark and really show their USP and that they are an asset that cannot be overlooked.

Gideon Schulman

MA Chartered FCIPD MCMI MILM

I would like to sincerely thank Gideon for his contribution as a valued guest blogger.  Check out Gideon’s own blog - http://yachne.me