CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–The Harvard Business Review (HBR) is offering seven rules for job interview questions that it said will result in “great hires.”
“Some of the long-held ideas about how to conduct interviews are no longer accurate,” stated the HBR in its analysis. “For example, there’s no such thing as a surprise interview question anymore. With sites like Glassdoor.com, candidates can identify each of your likely interview questions and expected answers ahead of time. With that information, candidates now routinely prepare and video their practice interviews to the point where their responses are universally impressive, if not genuine or accurate.”
Moreover, noted the HBR, research at firms like Google has proven that “brainteaser questions” can contribute to a costly miss-hire, that having a candidate meet any more than four interviewers doesn’t increase new-hire quality, and that for many jobs, factors like grades, test scores, and schools attended don’t predict success in the position, the organization said.
The Questions to Ask
Urging companies to “rethink interview questions with a focus on work-related questions that are harder to prepare for and to fake an answer to,” HRB said those conducting interviews should:
- Avoid easy-to-practice questions. “If you work for a major corporation, most of the interview questions used by hiring managers at your firm are publicly posted on Glassdoor.com — along with recommended answers. So, start with a clean slate of questions, and at the very least eliminate overused and easy-to-practice questions with a low predictive value, like ‘What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?’ and ‘Why are you the best candidate?’ and ‘What’s your dream job?’ and ‘Where would you like to be in five years?’
- Be wary of historical questions. Questions that require a candidate to describe how they performed in the past, also known as “behavioral interview questions” (e.g., “Tell me about a time when you led…”), are problematic in a fast-moving world where yesterday’s approaches quickly become irrelevant, HRB said. “And according to research by professors Frank Schmidt and John Hunter, those questions predict success only 12% better than a coin flip. Why? Because the way a candidate did years ago at another firm may be the wrong answer today at this firm with its unique culture. Historical questions also allow a good storyteller to passionately describe how a problem was solved even though they only played a minor role in the solution.”
- Assess their ability to solve a problem. If you were hiring a chef, you would ask them to cook a meal. Taking a “job content” approach, by having an applicant do some of the actual work, is the best way to separate top candidates from average ones. “Consider asking them to: Identify problems on the job, solve a current problem, and identify the problems in our process.
- Evaluate whether they’re forward-looking. In fast-evolving environments, employees must anticipate the future. Consider asking these questions to assess how well a candidate can do that: Outline your plan for this job, and “forecast the evolution of the job/industry.”
- Assess a candidate’s ability to learn, adapt, and innovate.
- Avoid duplication. When selecting questions, avoid asking about factors like education and job responsibilities that were already covered in the resume or in the telephone screen, HBR advised.
- Allocate time for selling. “The bulk of the interview time should be allocated to assessing the candidate, but set aside time to excite and sell candidates on the job and your firm,” HB stated. “Proactively ask, ‘What are the top factors that you’ll use to assess a job offer?’ Then be sure to provide compelling information covering each ‘job acceptance factor’.”