If Only We Could Answer Interview Questions Like Children

By Heather Nezich, courtesy of SBAM Approved Partner ASE

LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2018 report shows how traditional interview questions can often fall flat.  Have you ever been asked some crazy question like “How many golf balls can you fit on a jet?” or “If you were an animal, what animal would you be?”  What exactly does an interviewer hope to achieve from asking questions like this?

LinkedIn interviewed children to see how they’d answer some typical interview questions, and the answers for some are quite perfect:

At least they are honest.  To see the full video, click here. 

The report shows the areas where traditional interviews tend to fail:

While traditional interviews are important, there are other techniques that can be added in to improve your candidate analysis and result in better hires:

Online soft skills assessments – Using a validated assessment system can help identify strengths and weakness in soft skills, which can be harder to identify simply based on a resume or interview questions.

Job auditions – Some organization utilize job auditions, which pay a candidate to do real work so that they can directly observe their skills in the real world and how they handle situations.  Keep in mind, candidates must be paid for a job audition.

Casual interviews – A casual interview, for example, over dinner can help you to get to know the person’s character a little better.  You’ll see how they act in a real social situation.  The less formal setting can also help reduce nerves that can mask someone’s normal personality.

Virtual reality – Simulated 3-D environments can be used to test candidate’s skills in a standardized way.

Video interviews – Many organizations now utilize video interviews, which can immensely reduce interview time by creating efficiencies in the process. Video interviews work better when it’s with a live interviewer rather than a candidate simply recording answers to questions.