Sean University: A Room with a(n) (Inter)view

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How will asking someone a series of questions better inform your understanding of how or she would perform as an employee? What are the three most essential questions to ask in a job interview? In how many different ways can an effective interview impact your business?

The answers to these questions are yes, yes, and yes, because effective interviews are essential to your business, much like clear and sensible transitions between paragraphs are essential to educational articles on the internet!

Unfortunately, interviewing someone effectively can be time-consuming and complicated. You canâ??t just walk in and ask, â??Hey, are you going to be really good at this job or what?â?? Because 9 times out of 10, the person is going to be like, â??Oh, yeah, totally,â?? regardless of whether he or she would be a good fit. And that 10th time, when this doesnâ??t happen, itâ??s probably just because the interviewee isnâ??t even listening to you, because heâ??s too busy shouting, â??LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!â?? because in your reckless rush to ask your one stupid question, you didnâ??t even close the door and so a wild wolverine was able to slip into the room.

So, obviously, a good interview needs to include more than one question and should ideally involve 100% fewer wolverines. As an interviewer, you need a plan. Of course, youâ??ll have to come up with your own questions based on the specific position youâ??re interviewing people for, but thatâ??s not going to stop us here at the Sean Adams University of Business Management Development Leadership from giving you a few pointers:

1. All questions should start with an asking word (like â??howâ?? or â??whatâ??) and be focused on the job thatâ??s open. Just making statements and adding question marks to the end of them is not enough. For example, â??What about this job interested you?â?? would be good; â??There are pants on these legs?â?? wouldnâ??t really help much at all. 

2. Always have a set number of questions to ask and a set order to ask them in. If youâ??re interviewing someone to predict the future, the first question should be, â??How many questions will I ask and what are they?â??

3. Donâ??t just ask conceptual questions; come up with a few hypothetical situations as well. Hereâ??s one that always works: â??If you were interviewing for a job and a fire started in the trash bin, would you continue with the interview or put out the fire?â?? Then, while the interviewee is answering, you can get up and start a fire in the trash bin to see if heâ??s a man of his word.

4. In order to make sure all the questions make sense, interview yourself first. If it goes well and you offer yourself the position, take some time to really consider whether or not you can take on a second job.

Speaking of jobs, Sean University currently has an opening for Dean-Chancellor of the Provostâ??s Office. There is no salary or benefits and it will not be widely accepted as a real job because you wonâ??t actually do anything. But, I will call you Dean-Chancellor [your username] once in a while (if I remember). If youâ??d like to be considered, please post your answers to the two questions below in the comments by Friday (12/9) at noon Pacific Time and Iâ??ll post my decision shortly after that. Best of luck!

• Hey, are you going to be really good at this job or what?
  
• There are pants on these legs?

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