The Useless Interview Question

There are no stupid questions, but “So, what would you say are your weaknesses?” in an interview is pretty close.

How is this one of the most common, and least useful, interview questions??

I get that it is supposed to reveal some self-awareness but in most cases all it elicits is a prepared response designed to actually assert more about the candidate’s strengths.

We can do better.

I’ve taken to using something more like this:

“What kinds of environments and leadership/supervision bring out your best performance and what make things more difficult for you?”

First advantage; they probably haven’t been asked this particular question before, so they may actually have to think a little to give a genuine response.

Second advantage; the emphasis here is pragmatic. It’s about behaviours more than traits. That means it may provide specific information that doesn’t only help select the right candidate, it also may help you manage them well.

Third advantage; by setting it up for them to speak of both their best and worst scenarios it lends itself to paragraph answers instead of sentences. You’re likely to get more information, and better insight.

Finally, it is all about fit. By the interview stage of a leadership level hiring process you should already know if someone is generally qualified. What you’re looking for now is a sense of how well they can function in your current organizational reality and what change they may want to bring. This question builds that kind of understanding.

What are your go-to interview questions?

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