Interviewing - The Single Most Important Question To Ask
By Claude Whitacre
When prospective employees are being interviewed, they are asked about their past employment. But they are usually asked about what they did. These answers may be shaded to reflect a well..... favorable impression. Sometimes the answers won't be truthful. Don't you really want to know how well they are going to get along with you and your group after they've been hired?
Ask this; "How well did your former employer and fellow employees treat you?"
Now you're going to get the truth (as the interviewee sees it). Why? Because now you're not talking about them. But you really are talking about them. You're talking about how well they get along with others.
Now here's the secret. Whatever they say about their past employer, they will very likely be saying about you in the near future. If they can't get along with the previous group, your group won't be that much different. If they say that the previous employer was a great guy and that the other employees were easy to work with, this person will be saying the same thing about your group pretty soon.
This isn't absolute. It's possible that their past employer was "out to get them" or "he was an absolute moron and shouldn't have been in charge".But the idea sure points you in the right direction.
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