Unconventional (Yet Useful) Interview Questions When Evaluating a Job Applicant

Anyone that has interviewed for a job or conducted an interviewed has asked/answered one of the following questions; Why do you want to work here? What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness? We have also received/given the same canned, over rehearsed answers to those same questions plus others like them. Basically, the job interview has become just like a televised political debate, the only way to make news is to screw up so horribly that you become legend. Answering "heroin use" to any of the three questions above would qualify you for this status.

Unfortunately for employers, few applicants have the decency to fail so spectacularly in interviews. So at the end of the day you've wasted a whole lot of time and are no closer to knowing who is the best fit for your open position. Happily for you I am here to help. The following are three interview questions that I have used successfully in the past and are virtually guaranteed not to show up in any interview prep guide. The answers they will elicit will be real answers that will show the real person sitting across the table from you. Will they give you an insight into the job seeker's qualifications? No, and they are not designed to do that. You have resumes and references to screen the unqualified. These questions are to get an idea of how the person will fit into your company. I've found that to be at least as important to an employee's success as any other quality. I find it useful to try and get all three into the conversation, but really any one will suffice.

What are reading now? Or What is your favorite book? - I use this one to assess the applicant's desire for knowledge and learning. If the response is "I don't really read much", then I have a pretty good idea that this person is not what I would call naturally curious. Sure, you can get a lot of information from TV and the internet, but if you haven't read a book since college then you are probably not the sort of person that is going to really jump in and learn everything you can about your new job. On the plus side, a person that reads will usually light up at this question and I can learn what they are really passionate about. That is invaluable when trying to figure out whether they will fit with my team or not. Now some may worry that visual learners would be penalized by this question and that may so to a degree.

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