We’re always trying to reach behind the HR curtain, and this reader was kind enough to give us a glimpse into interviewing from an HR perspective.
“as someone who does a lot of interviews, i try to ask as many questions as possible that elicit narrative. for example, instead of ‘what is a weakness’ i’ll say - ‘tell me about a time that something didn’t go as planned. how did you react in that situation/fix it on the fly/learn from it?’ i also try not to show exactly what i’m looking for so someone will be as honest as possible, so i may ask them to prioritize a handful of goals. finally, i love asking theoretical questions to see how they think like — what are the greatest challenges we face attracting people to our program? oh yeah and i LOVE doing role play, especially when i create impossible to solve situations. often the interviewees reaction, body language, etc. is more significant than their specific problem solving decisions.” - shamir