My Favorite Interview Question

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It seems like everyone has their favorite interview question. The question that they feel helps them understand who the candidate is and how they will perform. Often these questions are psychological in nature, such as “what do you want on your tombstone?” Or, they may be designed to put the candidate in a real life situations such as, “Sell me this pencil.”

My favorite question is a real life situation question. When I am interviewing a marketer, I ask them to tell me what their favorite software application is and why. Excel is a common answer. More often than not, this person is an analytical. This is great for roles that require analytical thinking such as product manager or market researcher. Not so good if I need to find someone who can build a polished PowerPoint.

If their favorite application is Microsoft Word, I’m probably talking to a writer. If it’s a layout application of some sort, I’m almost always talking to a designer. If it’s the latest game, that tells me something too! (Nothing against gamers, but they better have a second favorite!)

This one simple question allows me to assess easily what type of person I am speaking to and their likely skill set.

What’s your favorite interview question?