Frequently asked questions answered by Carol herself:
If their previous employer did not allow the candidate to be at their best, meaning a bad employer breaking a good employee, how do you find their internal motivators without the answer only spelling out their attitude under the direction of that employer?
The environment in which people work certainly affects people, but even in an average environment, there are people who will still excel under the same boss, still perform average under that boss and people who perform poorly. People who have more internal latitude are more resilient in an ineffective environment. At some point they are also more likely to leave; they won’t tolerate it. Those who do not go into problem-solving mode will be quick to blame the environment. These are the people who feel like they have been short-changed, so now they won’t put in their full effort. They will do a half-job because they feel like they were demotivated.
Can you give us an example of a bad interview question?
There is an abundance of bad interview questions. For example:
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond to satisfy a customer.
- Tell me about a time you achieved a tough goal
- Tell me about a tough deadline you were given and what you did to meet it.
These examples are ineffective because they allude to “happy-ending success stories.” Even a poor employee can give you one example of a “happy-ending success story.” These questions enable the candidate to provide overly positive responses back to you.
Is it equally effective if we put the attitude questions in written format for candidates to type in their answers before the face-to-face interview?
Using a pre-screening process, you must make sure it is in your favor. The best reason to do something like that is to screen candidates to select finalists.
What are the three rules of effective questions?
- Put an obstacle in your question.
- Leave your outcome open. Don’t ask for success or failure stories.
- Use the word “specific.” (“Tell me about a specific time…”)
Is problem-solving resulting from attitude the only thing than can predict future good performance? What are other things that needs to be rated to predict a good performer?
There are three components common to the high performer: skills, attitude and passion. Attitude and passion are tied to problem-solving, but also creative thinking, reliability and engagement. Problem-solving isn’t the only competency. Motivation or lack of motivation creates an umbrella of common characteristics. So if you assess attitude or passion, don’t assume that just because someone possesses one, you have the other. For example, I may have a highly effective attitude, I can figure things out without taking much time, but I may not want to. If I was put into a role in a department I don’t have much interest/skill in, I may not want to learn anything about it because I lack passion.
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