Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change

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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Interview questions look into the future. They try to predict whether skills and personalities will be a fit. They examine past performance as an indicator of future results. Interview questions are compatibility questions. People who are good at asking them make better interviewers and applicants alike.

Calling Card: What do you like about what you do? This is an open-ended question that may sound like small talk but illuminates big pieces of someone’s interests and personality. “Tell me about yourself” can prompt answers about how someone thinks and how she expresses herself.

The Accomplishment: What are you proudest of? What’s the wildest idea you have turned into reality? Asking about achievement should elicit discussion about examples and details, interests and capabilities. These questions don’t invite bragging; they offer an opportunity to talk about accomplishment and follow-through.

The Challenge: What’s the biggest setback you’ve had and what did you do about it?

Ask about setbacks, shortcomings, failure, and lessons learned. These questions reality-check for humility. They ask about someone’s willingness to take risks. They can prompt instructive stories about adversity and resilience.

Goals: What motivates you? What are you trying to achieve? If you could fix one thing in the world, what would it be? Explore the big picture. Is someone looking for a safe harbor or embarking on an adventure? What role does mission play? How important are values—and do they align with what you’re trying to do?

The Curveball: What American city would you give to New Zealand and why? Curveball questions often come sailing in out of the blue. They can be fun or a little weird. Their purpose is to prompt answers that provide a glimpse of spontaneity, creativity, humor, and the ability to deal with the unexpected.

Tough Choices: You have to cut 15 percent of your budget. What do you do? Where do you start? Questions that present a hypothetical situation allow you to see how someone works through a difficult decision or approaches and solves a problem. You’ll see if you approve or have a suddenly uneasy feeling.

The Dilemma: You’re on deadline but think you may not have enough time to finish the project the way you’d like. How do you proceed? These questions probe the thought process behind difficult decision-making.

Your Turn: What do you consider the biggest threat and the biggest opportunity? What are you trying to achieve? How creative can I be? Job candidates should do their homework and take great questions into their interview. Be specific. Ask about the organization, its strengths and its challenges; about the culture, metrics and what motivates the enterprise. Ask what is valued and what is needed. These questions allow the candidate to show interest and demonstrate both knowledge and curiosity.

Listen: Listen to see if the person comes across as direct or disjointed, uncertain or confident. When you ask about common goals and shared values is the answer comfortable and convincing? Listen for stories, examples, reflections, and lessons learned. Listen for expectations because if they don’t align, you have a problem.

Try: Write three examples of what you have accomplished in the past and what you aspire to do in the future. Now write two questions about each and answer them out loud. Listen to yourself. Were your answers honest, informative and interesting? Would you hire you?