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Hot Tip #15 - The Second Part of the Two-Question Interview

By Lou Adler, June 5, 2007

If you want to better understand a candidate's thinking, planning, and job-specific problem-solving skills, just ask this question: If you were to get this job, how would you go about solving this typical problem (describe the problem)?

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Make sure you turn off the spotlights and talk about real work when you ask this question. The key here is to get into a give-and-take discussion about a realistic job problem. It's been my experience that top performers have the ability to discuss what's needed to solve typical problems. Even if the person can't provide the answer right away, the person knows how to get to the answer.

A good discussion around this topic reveals problem-solving skills, insight, intelligence, potential, vision, and leadership. For example, if you're hiring a sales manager, the form of the question might be, "How would you go about ensuring that the team met quota every month?" For an engineer, it might be, "How would you design and develop this product to ensure it's in production by next March?"

The best candidates I've met in my 25-plus years in executive search all have the ability to anticipate the needs of the job before starting. They can figure out very quickly what's wrong or what's necessary to accomplish a task, what they need to do to implement a solution, and what resources they need to do it. And they have a track record of implementing these changes. Success is about planning to accomplish a major task, and then delivering on these plans.

The "How would you?" question gets at the planning and visualization aspect of every successful accomplishment. A lack of planning and visualization skills is one of the key reasons projects come up short, budgets are overrun, implementation is slow, or problems go unresolved. Allow the candidate to ask you questions to gain more insight into the specific problem or project under discussion. "What's the budget, the time-frame, the staff, the resources?" are all great questions. They provide the interviewer another dimension to assess the candidate's competency and fit.

At the end of the interview, categorize the candidate's responses along four dimensions. First, determine whether the reasoning is complex, advanced, or superficial. The best candidates demonstrate a good understanding of the cause and effect of their actions. Superficial reasoning is evidenced by a bunch of seemingly unrelated ideas. Reasoning is more advanced if the ideas logically link together. Second, determine whether the focus of the response is technical, tactical, or strategic. Those with a tactical bent address more the results of the process. A strategic focus is represented by a longer time horizon, typically six months or more. Third, consider whether the response emphasizes either team or individual factors. As part of this, consider if the candidate's ideas involve others. This is very revealing when compared to actual accomplishments. It's especially important if you're hiring a manager. Lastly, consider whether the discussion is multi-functional in perspective. The best candidates understand the implications of their job on other people and other functions. Listen for this as the candidate plans out a task and asks questions.

Use the two-question interview process in tandem to improve your hiring accuracy. If you attend one of our workshops you'll discover how this type of interviewing process can provide you the influence and insight needed to recruit and close more top positions in today's competitive environment.