Interviewing

Reference agreed to talk about candidate? Here are questions you can legally ask

01/10/2025

Having a list of references won’t do you any good if you can’t get them to open up to you about a job applicant. But if you are able to get an applicant’s former supervisor on the line, you’re halfway there.

Win lawsuits by documenting consistent, equitable interview process

12/16/2024

When interviewing more than one candidate to fill a job, the easiest way to prevent failure-to-hire lawsuits is to ask the same questions of every candidate. That’s especially important when there are several rounds of interviews or when a committee conducts the interviews.

Women still being asked inappropriate interview questions

04/10/2024

Every manager knows some job interview questions are off-limits because they can lead to discriminatory hiring decisions, right? Wrong, according to a new survey.

20 ‘Silver Bullet’ Interview Questions That Identify Great Job Applicants

02/16/2024

Interview questions come in all flavors. Sometimes they’re straightforward, sometimes they’re tricky and sometimes they’re just plain weird—“If you were an animal, what kind would you be?” But the best interview questions focus on what applicants know how to do. Here are 20 questions you can use to elicit the information you need to pick the right person for the job.

Torn between two applicants? Here’s how to pick a winner

08/23/2023

Hiring is rarely easy, and it’s particularly difficult when you have narrowed the choice to two strong candidates. How do you make the decision between two apparently equal applicants?

Managerial fit: The key to a hire making it to the one-year anniversary

05/26/2023

A common problem in the rush to fill jobs is that too many shortcuts are taken, with a focus on compensation and competency rather than performance, fit and satisfaction. A positive win-win hiring outcome after one year means the new employee is still fully satisfied with the role and his career progression, and the hiring manager (often you) still fully supports and endorses the employee.

Get facts straight when ranking candidates

01/10/2023

Careful documentation can be a two-edged sword. Notes may reveal efforts to make one candidate look weaker than she really is if it becomes clear that the assessors got the facts supporting their conclusions wrong. That’s what happened in a recent case.

Hire high performers by utilizing motivation-based interviewing

12/14/2022

“We have an epidemic problem of overrating the job candidate. The problem is your interview questions.” That was a statement from Carol Quinn, best-selling author and creator of motivation-based interviewing, in a recent webinar hosted by Business Management Daily.

Hiring pros reveal their favorite interview questions

11/30/2022

Even if you have interviewed hundreds of candidates over 25 years, you want to update your question arsenal occasionally. Here are a few tried and true ones you may not have thought of, and some favorites from hiring experts. Add them to your list and pass them to managers and others in your company responsible for hiring.

Identical interview questions key to surviving rejected applicant’s suit

11/22/2022

The hiring process is a common lawsuit trigger for candidates not selected for the job they’re interviewing for. Lawsuits alleging race or other forms of discrimination may focus on individual questions, the hiring committee’s demographic composition or some other perceived discriminatory action. The best way to counter this is with a carefully crafted interview process.