What interview questions are actually useful? 4

[rothamer]

Just a year after the completion of my 2-1/2 year horrendous job search, I find myself in the position of interviewing others for the position I started in. I've never interviewed people before, and although I know what I don't like about interview questions, I'm having a hard time coming up with appropriate questions. My collegues are taking care of the technical/background questions, and I'm to focus more on personality and fit for the company and the job. (And I'm significantly younger than many of the interviewees, to make things more interesting.) Any suggestions?

 

[Heckler]

I would be prepared for the interview process with a page of general & technical questions. You don't have to ask all the questions but at least you have a list. I would also suggest taking notes but been careful not to focus the interview on taking notes.

I can tell you I've been to some interviews that were a waste of my time because it was so obvious they were not prepared....I think off-the-cuff interviewers do the process an injustice because it gathers no real objective data for the hiring process...garbage in - garbage out.

 

[rothamer]

Thanks for all of the ideas, everyone. The posts have really given me a lot to think about. I’m very concerned about identifying people who would and wouldn’t be a good “fit” for the position and for the company. We’ve lost a number of engineers over the past year, about half of which, I’d say, are gone because they were never a good fit for the job.

I’ve tried to sit down and come up with general guidelines for what I’m looking for (thanks epoisses!). Basically, we need someone who is very detail-oriented (the job involves a lot of documentation), and who can follow the systems we have in place, as well as create new ones where needed. On the other hand, the candidate also needs to be comfortable in our uber-casual environment, and to know when to let go of the details and just get the job done. This all seems pretty contradictory to me, but when I look around at my coworkers, that’s exactly what I see. How do I feel this out in a candidate?

 

[strokersix]

The candidate will probably be cleaned up and on good behavior for the interview. Walk outside and take a look through the window of the vehicle they drive to see if it's full of trash or not. Probably doesn't have a direct bearing on whether they can do the job but is a window to their personality that they probably didn't think about shutting. Of course, if it's a rental car this probably won't tell you much but it might.

 

[PhilBW]

rothamer:

There are people in this world who have spent years studying psychology and human behavior, more years developing and refining personality tests, and many more years figuring out how to interpret and apply those tests, all to determine exactly what you are trying to find out in a short interview.

I think about all you can do is to get them to talk about themselves and their previous experiences and listen for clues that might indicate the traits you are looking for. I would probably start out with "Tell me about your previous jobs." As they talked about different areas, ask more specific questions to get more detail.

If you are interested in how they follow or create systems, ask something like "How did your previous companies do ______?" The amount of detail they go into will give you some good clues. If you want to know if they can let go of details when necessary, ask something like "If you had to complete a project in half the normal time, what corners would you feel comfortable cutting?" If they are strictly by-the-book, it will probably be obvious.

Good Luck!

Phil

 

[Ashereng]

Rothamer,

One of the things almost every interviewing company asks for is a list of references.

One of the best gauges of someone's personality is the opion of someone who knows the interviewee (the reference), and is also someone who's judgement/opinion you trust (this is the tricky part).

In my particular geographical area, the market is fairly fluid and actually very contained. It is easy to find someone who knows either the candidate, or someone who knows the candidate. In my case, getting information on someone's personality is easier than in most other places.

But, you never know. If you dig into the reference list, you may be able to find someone who you know, and knows the interviewee.

 

[COKA]

Are you going to be working with that person? Try to find out if you will get along with him/her. The technical part will be taken care of by others, you don't have to drill the potential employee too, simply ask about hobbies, their family (without sounding improper), etc.



Coka

 

[plasgears]

As an extension to exposing them to parts laying on the table, walk the floor with the candidate and try to get an impression of level of interest and knowledge. There's nothing as exciting as viewing a test engine in a test cell and studying the engine instruments.

 

[RHB51]

I own an engineering firm and have hired many engineers over the last 32 years.
My favorite question is: "Do you want to be an engineer?"

Simple question but you would not believe how people stutter and stammer over this one. I firmly believe if you really do not want to be an engineer (deep in your heart)
and you are only doing this for perceived money or because your parents wanted you to then you will never be very good at it.

You can tell an immense amount from their answer.
Randy

 

[lewtam]

Randy - Is that question just for the recently graduated? I'd find it very easy to answer the question.

Q: Do you want to be an engineer?
A: I am an engineer.



LewTam Inc.
Petrophysicist, Leading Hand, Natural Horseman, Prickle Farmer, Crack Shot, Venerable Yogi.

 

[Ashereng]

Randy,

Just to further play the devil's advocate.

Do you want someone who wants to be an engineer? Or, someone who is a good engineer?

I work with many excellent engineer, who for one reason or another, have a passion that is elsewhere. They are excellent engineers, do great work, but love something else (among other things - arborist, furniture maker, and chocolatier).

There may be a difference between what someone is good at, and what someone's passion is.