- So Sam, what's your biggest weakness?
- Coming up with interview questions.
- It's a good thing we're talking about that today
on The Journey.
We've all been there before at an interview.
You're getting asked the most cliche,
tried and true questions.
You know, what are your greatest strengths
or why did you leave your current role?
We've heard it all before
and there are tons of different articles, YouTube videos,
everything to go over
how to answer those questions better.
- And if your candidates are getting better,
why not you also take some time
to get a little more creative
with the questions that you ask,
so you'll stand out as a prospective employer.
So rather than going with the typical,
where do you see yourself in five years?
To some more interesting questions
that can really call someone to really think more
and tell you more about them as a person.
- Yeah. When you use those standard questions,
people already come up with rehearsed answers.
So you gotta catch them on their toes,
and it'll help spice up that interview.
- For our first question.
Can you pitch this company to me
as if I'm a potential client?
Now this question opens up a lot of different areas.
It'll tell you one,
if that person did their research beforehand
into your company.
Two, if they know how to properly articulate
what you do as a business,
and then three,
if they know the difference between your company
and your competitors.
- Yeah. I like to think of this one as
sell me this pen.
But for your actual company,
I mean, obviously sales and marketing people
are probably gonna be a little bit better in that job,
but it is a really great way
even for people who aren't interviewing
for a sales or marketing job
to see what they really value at your company.
For our next question,
Sam, let's have a little fun with this.
I'm gonna be the interviewer.
You'll be the interviewee.
You're gonna answer this question
and we'll see how you do.
We'll see if you get the job.
All right. So the next question is,
tell me about a time
where a project didn't work out and why?
- Perfect.
So for my current role, I am like a liaison, head of a team.
I do account management at GoDaddy Social.
And there are other very creative people
that are on the team.
And, sometimes
when they have their particular part to do, we're human,
we sometimes make mistakes.
However, when it comes to that business owner,
who's paying us,
it's not them, the writer,
it's me on the line with them describing what went wrong
and what we're gonna do to correct it.
But I have to take ownership.
If I came on the line and I said,
hey, this writer did that. It wasn't me.
I'm gonna go get with him.
It's not gonna help that business owner
have any faith in the team.
So as the leader, I have to put that on my shoulders
and make sure that that business owner
believes that we can do what we say we're gonna do.
- And the way that you answered that question
shows a lot about that person.
If they put the blame on someone else,
then obviously they may not be the right fit.
They may be the type to just always blame others.
You wanna, you really wanna hire someone
that takes ownership and owns up to their mistakes
and knows how to overcome them.
Our third question is,
if you had a hundred thousand dollars
to start your own business,
what would you do with it?
- Right away, hire a housekeeper,
so my wife and I won't have to worry about chores
and we can focus the time and energy
on building that business.
- I'm sure your wife would really appreciate that too.
- I would too, 'cause I do the dishes at home.
- There you go.
They can do the dishes.
You get to focus on your business.
Either way this question really shows
what makes that person tick.
It's a great way to see what they value.
You know, what their passions are, even outside of work.
- And shows that they can be analytical
and methodical when it comes to managing money.
It seems like I'm that one that keeps the budget.
So I'm the money guy, but yeah.
- Yeah. I mean, if you are budgeting something
that actually costs like a million dollars,
and they're saying, oh, I would spend $10,000 on this,
like maybe they don't have the best judgment with that.
I don't know.
- So for our fourth question, who is your role model?
Now this could seem like a very simple question
but it can really tell you a lot more
about that person and their value system.
- Yeah. It's less about their interviewing skills
and more about their values,
and what do they look up to in that person?
- And also they could potentially look at this role model,
their skills and possibly emulate those into your company.
- For our next question,
Sam, I'm gonna put you to the test.
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
(Sam chuckles)
- I would be a dog (chuckles),
because they're loyal.
Have you heard about the loyalty test?
- I have not. Please tell me.
- So say you take your significant other
and your dog, no explanations given.
You put them in the trunk of a car, wait an hour,
pop that trunk.
See, who's happy to see you.
- Do not try this at home, but you get the point.
This question is all about their interpretation of it.
So if someone says a bear,
but their reasoning is because I wish I could hibernate
for six months out of a year,
maybe not the best candidate.
But if their reasoning
is because they're strong and powerful and mighty,
then hey, that's a really cool answer.
- And I like Yogi,
'cause he's smarter than the average bear.
- By using some more creative interview questions like that,
you're gonna get more honest responses,
not these canned rehearsed answers,
you know, that they've already practiced.
You're gonna get a more open and real conversation.
- And from an internal perspective,
there's an added benefit.
You're seen as creative, forward thinking,
you know, you're different
than the other companies
that go on the bland cliche questions.
- And once you get those great new employees,
don't forget to celebrate their wins
'cause you're not trying to ask these interview questions
every few months over and over again.
So you just learned five creative questions
that you can ask in an interview.
Be sure to like this video and comment down below.
Let us know what your favorite interview question is.
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See you next time.