Interviewing new employees can feel like watching the same movie over and over again, asking the same questions and receiving the same answers to questions such as ‘What are your strengths?’, ‘What is your biggest weakness?’ and 'Where do you see yourself in five years?'.
Candidates know these questions are coming and many will have prepared polished answers, practising in front of the mirror and learning exactly how to turn a weakness into something that sounds suspiciously like a strength.
But if you really want to understand how someone might operate within your business, there is one question I think is worth adding to your next interview.
“What would the people you've worked with say is the hardest thing about working with you?”
It's not a question candidates are likely to have rehearsed which is exactly why it is interesting. Neither is the question designed to catch someone out or make them uncomfortable, it offers a different approach to uncovering an insight into something much more valuable: how self-aware the candidate is.
Every employee has their own unique working style that can occasionally frustrate someone else, even those employees we hold in high regard.
Some people are incredibly focused on detail, but this can sometimes slow down decision making.
Some are highly independent and fail to communicate as much as their manager would like.
Some are direct and decisive but occasionally come across as abrupt.
Some are the person everyone loves working with, but they struggle to challenge others or engage in difficult conversations.
None of these qualities automatically makes someone a bad hire, they are simply the flip side of a strength. What matters is whether the candidate understands when their working style has the potential to hinder or slow a project. After all, you are not looking for perfection, you are looking for someone with an awareness of the impact they can have on a team.
Be cautious if the candidate genuinely cannot think of anything in answer to the question, or if every difficult experience they’ve had was entirely someone else’s fault:
'I've never really had any issues with anyone I've worked with.'
'My last manager just didn't understand me.'
'People sometimes find me intimidating because I'm good at my job.'
The occasional personality clash happens to everyone, but someone who cannot recognise the impact they have on other people may struggle to receive feedback or adapt their approach. A strong answer to the question might sound something like this:
'My previous manager would probably say that I can become impatient when a project gets stuck in too many approval stages. I like solving problems quickly but I've had to learn that sometimes people need more time before making a decision.' That answer tells you far more than'I'm a perfectionist.'
It demonstrates:
Self-awareness
Honesty
Emotional intelligence
The ability to reflect on feedback
A willingness to adapt
Once they have answered the question, follow up with: ‘What have you done about that?’. This is the part that separates awareness from insight and whether the candidate is able to actively manage that.
For example:
‘I know I can get too involved in the detail, so I've started to try to gain a better understanding of how I need to fit into the project before jumping in.’
Or:
‘I've learned that when I'm under pressure, my communication can become very brief, so I now make a conscious effort to take a breath and explain what is needed in a calm manner.’
Now you're getting a glimpse into how that person learns, develops and responds to feedback and ultimately, that's incredibly valuable information when deciding whether someone will be successful in your organisation.
Of course, technical capability and experience still matter however, its also important to know whether someone can actually do the job, especially as many hiring mistakes are not the result of a lack of skills. Many hiring mistakes are only uncovered after the person has started when it becomes apparent that their communication style, approach to feedback, ability to collaborate or level of self-awareness isn't quite what was expected.
This is why it can be helpful to occasionally move away from the standard interview script by asking something unexpected that encourages reflection rather than rehearsed answers.
Finally, listen not only to what they say, but how comfortably they acknowledge that they are human, imperfect and still learning, because the perfect candidate probably does not exist. If you do find someone with the self-awareness to understand their strengths, recognise their blind spots and adapt their behaviour, then that person is definitely worth getting to know.