Why ‘Tell Me About Yourself” Is The Worst Interview Question
We’d bet those are four words every job candidate hears during an interview. And possibly the worst interview question a hiring manager can ask. Here’s why:
Time. Time is always something we need more of and when it comes to hiring, time is money. It’s important to hire the right candidate in a timely manner so your company maintains productivity and core business functions.
The “tell me about yourself” question offers no direction to how the candidate should respond, ensuring that your answer won’t be what you’re looking for. As a hiring manager, do you want to hear about their personal hobbies, their college clubs or their fluffy white dog? The answer is no. You want to find out if they are motivated and able to do the work.
We believe an interview is a fact-finding mission; time that is specifically devoted to identifying the candidate’s experience and their plans for succeeding in the role. We recommend you utilize your time with a potential candidate to collect data like examples of their success in previous positions and decide how their experience will apple to the job you’re interviewing for. After all, if you don’t ask the right questions, you won’t have anything to support your claim that they are the best candidate for the job.
We recommend asking the candidate to describe their current position or inquire about their most significant accomplishment. Then listen for cues to tasks and experiences that would help them succeed in the open position.
Using an interview to ask the right questions can help you avoid making a hiring error and save your company time and money. Before you leave an interview, make sure you have all the information you need to support your decision to hire a candidate.
We want to hear from you. What questions do you ask your candidates to determine their motivation and dedication? Please share them with us on Facebook or LinkedIn.
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- How to effectively craft candidate profiles to attract the right talent for any position.
- The top signs to look for in a candidate to determine not only their level of talent for the position but also their motivation and commitment.
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