Interviewing
When You Are the Interviewer
Assuming the list of values in the Culture Prompts section is what we’re aiming for, how can we identify folks who would be a good fit for our adaptive environment? When interviewing, we are listening for characteristics that indicate a candidate is aligned with our stated values - not just technically correct answers.
Related: Consortium Members have been gathering job descriptions for knowledge-related roles in the wiki (member login required).
Members report good outcomes when asking questions about preferences (“How do you like to approach this?”) and experience (“Tell me about a time when…”). Behaviors will expose character. Listen for a candidate’s general approach to a problem when asking scenario-based questions (“In this situation, what would you do?”). Keep an eye out for a topic the candidate is passionate about and follow that thread.
This list was gathered from Consortium Members who shared some of their go-to questions. We do not recommend asking all of them in a single interview; one or two from each section should suffice.
Connecting Relevant Experience
- Tell me all about what excites you most about this role. Share the thing that makes you the most energized.
- Share an update on your specific [relevant] experience.
- What is your ideal work day?
Exposing Communication Style
- If my kid burst in here, how would you explain [this area of work] to them?
- Tell me about a time when a team you led made you most proud and why?
- Tell me how you measure success?
- What are your thoughts on how to measure team productivity or impact?
- What is your philosophy and strategy for leading, managing, and holding people accountable?
- What's a complex problem you've faced and how did you handle it?
- Provide me with an example when you took a non-traditional approach to solve a problem.
Uncovering Interpersonal Dynamics
- What does being a collaborative teammate look like for you?
- How do you connect with your team members? How do you understand their concerns?
- What have you accomplished with a team that has made you the most proud?
- Give me an example of where you had a conflict with a coworker and how did you deal with it?
- Tell me how you can help the team most?
- You report to me. I ask you to do something. You don't believe it's the right thing to do. What do you do?
Inviting Self-Reflection
- If you came with an owner's manual, what would be the highlights?
- How do you like people to share knowledge with you?
- If you were a knowledge base, what article would be searched for the most?
- Tell me about a project you were proud of and a mistake you made along the way.
- Describe a time when you had conflicting priorities. What did you do to determine the top priority?
- Three greatest strengths/three greatest improvements (three areas to develop to thrive in this position).
- Describe what a path for growth might look like for you.
- Who else could we interview to find out about you? (We're not going to, but who knows you best/how would they describe you?)
Dealing with Ambiguity
- Tell us about the last time you faced ambiguity in work. How did you handle the situation?
- No one can log in and your boss is away on vacation. What do you do?
- Walk me through a time that you chose to keep moving forward in a risky or ambiguous situation. How did you cope? Please describe your results.
- Describe a situation when you took a risk.
- Decision-making in the face of uncertainty can be nerve-wracking. What, if anything, are you doing to increase your tolerance for ambiguity?
- Share your philosophy on how you like to approach a new role. Do you have an onboarding process in mind?
Wrapping Up
- Three things you love about this opportunity/three things you will endure for this opportunity (do they even understand what the job is?).
- Here's why you don't want the job and our opportunity/challenges. Let me try to talk you out of it.
- Tell me about your specific skills and how they align to this role. Toot your own horn now and describe the talents/superpowers that you bring to the table that we need here at our company.
- Why should I hire you? (What makes you different? - looking for last/lasting impression here)
- I’m sure there is something that I should know about you that I didn’t ask. Tell me what I didn’t ask that I should have.
- What are your questions for me?
When You Are the Candidate
Assuming the list of values in the Culture Prompts section reflects the type of environment you would like to work in, how can you identify organizations who are actively creating the conditions in which you want to work? When interviewing, listen for characteristics that indicate the team culture is aligned with your values. This is a great opportunity to think about what factors beyond salary and benefits play a role in how satisfied you are with your job.
Members report good outcomes when combining questions about preferences (“How does the team like to approach this?”) and experience (“Tell me about a time when…”). Behaviors will expose character. Listen for what is said and what is not said when asking about challenges for the team/organization/company.
Keep in mind that timing and tact are important when framing your questions about a workplace or team. It is a great time to demonstrate curiosity and empathy, while also gathering information. Again, this is a sample list of questions to prompt thought about which one or two might be most meaningful for you to have answered.
Exposing Communication Style & Interpersonal Dynamics
- How does the team know what’s working well?
- How do you measure success?
- What measures are talked about most often?
- How does the team handle internal conflict?
- What does being a collaborative teammate mean for this team?
- How do team members connect with each other?
Inviting Dialogue
- If you came with an owner's manual, what would be the highlights?
- How do you like people to share knowledge with you?
- When you are dealing with conflicting priorities, how do you determine the top one?
- What would make this team even better?
Dealing with Ambiguity
- Tell me about how the team deals with ambiguity or uncertainty.
- Walk me through a time that you chose to keep moving forward in a risky or ambiguous situation. How did you cope? How did the team react?
- What are you doing to increase the team’s resilience and/or tolerance for ambiguity?
- What does the onboarding process look like?
Wrapping Up
- What does a path for growth look like for this role?
- Why don’t I want this job? What are the biggest challenges this role faces? Talk me out of it.
- What makes [company/team] a great place to work?
- I’m sure there is something that I should know about [the company/team] that I didn’t ask. Tell me what I didn’t ask that I should have.