"The most effective persuaders ask as many questions as they answer. Asking questions is more than a grudging prerequisite to gaining information."

As recruiters, we work hard to prepare our candidates for an interview, helping them develop strong answers to the questions they can expect. Then we anxiously wait for the post-interview call, only to find out that the interview was a complete disaster.

1. Never ask a candidate questions about their race, religion, family life, or sexual orientation. Any question that asks a candidate to reveal information about such topics without the question having a job-related basis will violate various state and federal discrimination laws.

2. Never ask a candidate to describe his or her greatest strength or weakness. A good interviewer will have specific questions that will allow the candidate to highlight his or her successes and experiences and this will show his or her strengths and even some weaknesses.

3. Never ask a candidate where she sees herself in five years. According to recent surveys, the average tenure is 2.5 years for Baby Boomers and 2.8 years for millennials. What the interviewer really wants to know and should ask is, “How does this position align with your broader professional goals?”

4. Always ask a candidate well-thought-out questions which provide them the opportunity to demonstrate who he is as a professional.

Questions that address issues such as teamwork, problem-solving, handling conflict, and career path. Excellent examples are:

Bill Truby

Effective Hiring

In the job interview, we traditionally ask questions that return factual content. Where have you worked, what have you accomplished, what are your credentials, etc?

While this data is important, what is more important, is how a person will handle the job requirements he or she is interviewing for. How does this person think? How does this person respond to an assignment or delegated task? How does this person process information?

Four Questions

  1️⃣  General perspective and attitude on life and work. Tell me a story about you and your past – experience, successes, regrets, obstacles, strengths, or abilities you’ve learned, weaknesses you have not been able to overcome…

  2️⃣  General direction of the person. Tell me about your future – goals while here, strengths you want to develop, weaknesses you want to overcome, personal dreams/goals/direction this position will help you obtain?

  3️⃣  Ability to work with a team. There are five people available to you. There is a task at hand that needs to be done quickly. It is possible for you to do the task within the time allotted although it could be done more quickly if you involve the five available people. The task is important to the company and will be a high profile achievement. What do you do?

  4️⃣  Ownership, the ability to emotionally own a project. How do you handle delegated tasks?

Persuasion is about understanding what people believe and why they believe it and using that to either debunk or confirm their position. Persuasion is subtle, incremental, and deliberate.

How to Do It:

1. Always ask yourself the right questions first.

There's no point even trying to persuade someone else of something until you first stop and ask yourself five key questions:

2. Plan how to ask others questions which move them.

When it comes to the act of persuasion, there are really only two possible objectives: You can ask questions which corroborate and advance your point, or you can ask questions which contradict the other person's point of view.

3. Never stop asking questions.

You should keep asking questions with the aim of finding common ground. Persuasion, at its heart, is movement.

Seek common ground over complete consensus. That's what victory really looks like when it comes to persuasion.

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