There is a new position in my department and we will start interviewing for it within the next several days. This will be my first time being the one who interviews instead of being interviewed. It's been a while since I have went through the process of being interviewed and I don't really remember what questions I was asked when I went through the interviews I have. The position is a support position in a public university that will be responsible for some data entry, filing, using computer and technical equipement, customer services, etc. I know there are others on this board who have been on both sides. What I am asking is what would be some good questions to ask the people I will be interviewing? If you interview somebody, what are some questions you would ask? If you have been interviewed, what are some questions you would like to be asked? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Ask questions like: do you work better individually, or on a team who was your best/worst manager, why how do you deal with [situations commonly applicable to job]
Do you consider yourself flexible? Are you ambidextrous? What does ATM mean to you? What can 2 girls actually do with a cup? Do you like gerbils? Are you looking at my crotch right now?
In all seriousness, the best questions are: Name your three greatest strengths. Name your three greatest weaknesses. Name your biggest accomplishment at your last job? How would people describe your work habits? etc. Those are off the top of my head.
On the interviewee side, I get asked a lot of questions that I suspect are of little use to the interviewer, but they don't know what they should be asking. "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" "What is your greatest strength/weakness?" Seriously, do you know what you're going to do with my carefully-crafted answer? I also notice some signalling in question-asking. My favorite is "how do you handle conflict" questions. Most of the people who ask me that I find out to be combative people. And, they probably mostly think you can't be effective without fighting. I'd advise: (1) get a book on interviewing. (2) Don't ask questions you're supposed to ask; ask about what you need to know about to fill the position as best as possible. I feel like stock interview questions sterilize the meeting and keep both parties from knowing much about each other. My favorite interviews have always been with people who chucked the interview questions and just talked about the company, the position, themselves and me as an ordinary conversation.
Ask standard questions then at the very end, ask "Who do you think would win a fight between a grilled cheese sandwich, and a taco?"
How about asking a weird puzzle question? It tell you how they react to a pressure situation, or unfamiliar situation. You won't be looking for the correct answer but rather their justification and thinking process. When I interviewed for my old job I was asked "There are three switches outside the room that control three lights that are inside a room. The door for the room is closed and completely sealed, meaning you can't tell whether the is light turned on or off. Now figure out which switch turns on which light when I open the door without flipping the switch. You can flip the switches when the door is closed just not when its open."
when we interviewed people, we distribute a template of questions to everyone first. ask your co-workers to see if they have a list of questions already.
Turn one on, keep it on. Turn one on for 5 minutes then turn it off, leave one off. The one that is on is the light switch that is on, the one that is warm to the touch is the one that was on then off and the one that is cool is the one that has been off.
actually, what he said is a very good point. when we interviewed people, we give them 5 blanks asking them to fill in the number in % of what they think they will spend at work. for example, coding, reviews, checking. you would be surprised how many people would have no idea what to put in that. we keep on telling them, put any number you think fit. there is no correct answer. just make something up. some people would not write a number down. they just freeze.
Toss them your pen. When they catch it, say, "You have 1 minute to sell this pen to me. If I don't buy it, you are dismissed." Then proceed to laugh as said interviewee poos all over himself.
Have you ever been tempted to use your data entry powers for evil, and if so, how did you handle the situation? What makes a wet towel darker? What time is it? (Correct answer: GAME TIME, WHOOP!!!) How many fingers am I holding up? (Only works if you're a double amputee.) Are you or have you ever been an Indonesian citizen?
if you're trying to quote Dwight, I think you have to leave off the "in". And on questions.. I think interviews that ask all these common questions are dumb. Anyone who can interview well, has done it before, or is remotely prepared can answer all those questions cause they've heard them before. The way I like to interview is to look at their resume, ask them to talk about something on there that is pertinent to the job.. maybe you can ask about "the toughest part" or "a conflict" in it or just something interesting from that experience, something they learned. But from there, I usually turn the conversation based on what I hear. The person's resume usually says what they are supposed to know.. and talking to them can give a few more details on that, but I use it moreso to find out if they really know their stuff or are full of it...and you can just figure that out by talking to them.
1. Are you capable of doing the work associated with this job? 2. Are you satisfied with what it pays? 3. Are you a drunk or a drug addict or possibly insane? 4. Are you going to bet bored and read Clutchfans all day on our dime?
