Andrew Scharf, Founder, Managing Director at Whitefield Consulting Worldwide shares the following interviewing intelligence:

Interview questions often reveal as much about the interviewer and the organization that he/she represents. There are so many types of questions that can be asked.

If the role is a leadership position as indicated in your question then, the interviewer should be able to bring out how this individual identifies the tenants of leadership and style or styles used to manage and handle a team given the conditions of the job description.

• Does the organization want someone to exercise an affliliative, democratic, consensual, or authoritative leadership style? The questions chosen should reveal this with a sense of purpose. The most astute questions give the person who is being interviewed room to maneuver.
• There are some types of questions, which are designed to trap people. These questions are not necessarily productive depending on the results the interviewer wants to bring out.
• Questions designed to weigh leadership, judgement, decision making skills and ones focus on team building are clearly fundamental to identifying the best candidate.

The following sampling gives an idea of the types of questions that we use at WCW. We have found that these questions are also used by major corporate recruiters and the top MBA programs who are selecting candidates from a large cohort:

1) Tell me about yourself? A classic question, yes, but still an excellent opening gambit. What is revealing is how the candidate will begin. Is the stress on personal background, education, growing up in a certain environment or is the stress on the person's job function with a list of core responsibilities and bulleted list of accomplishments.

What I find revealing is how much detail is included in the answer. Does the answer attempt to be vague or does the candidate give concrete details, dates, and the type of description that draws out the interviewer's curiosity making them want to know more. The more intriguing the response the deeper the questioning can go. Their is of course, no 'correct' answer. Skillful handling of the question demonstrates the way a person conceptualizes his or her professional and personal identity, notions of self-worth, confidence, sense of purpose, and yes, political judgement and decision making skills.

2) Describe the most challenging obstacle you had to surmount? What were the resources used in meeting the objective? This question can give the candidate the occasion, first to choose a project or scenario where leadership judgment is crucial to conflict or project resolution. Secondly, it can highlight the steps an individual takes to building a team and the group synergy, which is needed. Most people, try to put themselves in the driver's seat. Group projects clearly must have direction and defined objectives. It is revealing to see how much credit the 'leader' gives to his/her players during the project. Is this someone who recognizes and rewards talented players? Can they inspire others? Only confident professionals seem to answer this question effectively. Not out of arrogance, but from a position where they are unafraid of other talented individuals, empower them, and even promote their effectiveness to the benefit of the group as a whole.

3) Tell me about a country you have visited, which has made a significant impact on your life with the result that a cherished perspective has been altered? Because most of us today work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment, the question reveals the intellectual curiosity of the individual, how they handle challenges, adapt to new environments, and are willing to learn from others who hold different values and beliefs about work than they do.

More questions typically asked during an Interview

Questions you should consider asking your interviewer

 

Back to 2. Practice Interviewing
Next 3. Prepare an Interview Folder
4. Your Personal Dress Code
5. Planning Your Time To Get There
6. During The Interview
7. Exiting Gracefully
8. Post-interview Follow up

Back>.

 

If you would like assistance on any topic covered on the site, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. My e-mail address is inquiry@mywritingresources.com.

Writing/editing services are also available at a reasonable price.