Hiring companies probably don't think of it this way, but many of them ask questions that make them look very stupid. Years ago when I hungered for jobs, I had to find the appropriate answers to these questions -
1. What are your weaknesses?
I was told that I wasn't to reveal any of my real weakness, but a weakness that was actually a strength, such as: I am a workaholic; I go into the office too early, etc.
I am not sure what the interviewer thinks when s/he asks this question. For sure they are not going to get an honest answer to that one!
2. Why should we hire you?
I learned years ago this was where I could flaunt my strengths. In a nutshell, I was to say how smart, how hardworking and how trustworthy I was.
Did the interviewer know that people were likely to over exaggerate their strengths in this question?!
3. What made you apply to this company?
I learned this was where I could show off how much I know about the company.
I guess the interviewers are not likely going to hear true answers such as: I need a job. Or, I needed this level of salary.
4. What can you bring to the company?
Gee, didn't the interviewer read the resume? Many interviewees at this point probably feel as if they are repeating themselves for the nth time.
5. Can you work well with people?
I don't think people have said no to this question often. However, judging the level of politics that go on in most companies, I think most people dont' work very well with others. At most they put on a facade, or play the political game to gain power, or to be on the good side of a person with power.
6. What is your salary/wage expectation?
Some people do research on the internet for average salaries / wages for a similar position. Others list what they want. Isn't it better for the company to put out a range and let interviewees know about the range, and how a specific level will be assigned based on criteria that may be listed? Not disclosing it beforehand makes the company look as if they are trying to cheat employees of monies their jobs are worth. Putting in a range screen out those who expect more or less salary. I don't think anyone really think that they are being paid nearly enough.
The whole process of interviewing, and how interviewees are trained and conditioned to answer the questions, provide an inaccurate picture of the person. People are trained to answer questions in ways to beat others and to get the job.
So what can a company do to look smarter and extract better information in the interviewing process?
1. Ask questions about the person's background - invite the person to speak about experiences that may be transferable to the job. For example, if the job requires team work, ask questions directly about team work experiences in the past specificcally. Don't just ask: give me and example of team work that you have been involved with in the past. Do ask: when you were in ___ company, how did you work with others?
2. Present mini case scenarios and ask how the person would handle the issue. For example, if team work is important, present a case study about team work, and see if the person can deal with it appropriately. This step is a confirmation for the first step (solution listed above) - to see if a trait is ingrained into the personality or not. This may be done to see about people's level of honesty, ability to work independently, working late, and more.
3. Personality Tests. Some corporations do this to screen out inappropriate candidates. Smaller companies don't - likely because of budget and time. There are personality tests available online that are free that may be used. Books may also be purchased for references.
4. Life outside the job. Personality traits can further be confirmed or disconfirmed with activities the person are involved in outside the job. Hobbies, family life, social life. No private details, but enough details to draw out whether there are certain similarities between the personality on the job and outisde. So far no companies in the past had ask questions deep enough to extract anything out of me except to label the types of things I did, such as sports, music and reading. No one asked why I enjoyed certain activities, and how I dealt with people in those activities.
5. Clean up your interviewing area. I have been to messy managers' offices for interviews. These are big corporations - yet the managers can't even organize themselves well! Use a meeting room, or clean up the place!
