Pre-interview questionnaire
For small and medium-size organizations, for profit or for not-for profits, you and your associates wear many “hats” and having a dedicated Human Resources person is a luxury that simply is not affordable. Fortunately, there are tools available that can help. One such tool is a “pre-interview questionnaire.”
The form is unobtrusive and simple, but it can be a very subtle way to give your hiring team some valuable insights into your applicants.
Many organizations require associates who can handle pressure and think “on their feet,” in unpredictable situations. This particular questionnaire is designed to test applicants on those very skills. The format can be easily modified to test for other qualities depending on the needs of your organization. For sales, customer service, receptionists, people who work on “help-lines”, and supervisors/managers this particular questionnaire can be very helpful.
Initially this tool was used as a screening tool for new applicants who brought in their resumes to apply for positions. As people turned to apply on-line, we modified the tool to be used as a pre-interview test.
How the tool helps:
Many applicants have incredible resumes that have been prepared for them and as a result, simply looking at a resumes may not always be a useful tool to determine their suitability for your organization. An unexpected test though, can provide valuable insight into a person’s abilities to handle pressure or unexpected situations.
When an applicant arrives for an interview, give them ten minutes to complete the questionnaire. Ask the office associate to gauge their reaction to the test, as well as the applicant’s attitude towards the office associate. If chemistry is important to your organization, how an applicant treats your other associates can help determine who is hired.
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NEW APPLICANT’S QUESTIONNAIRE
Please take a few complete this form and bring it with you into the interview.
Name: _____________________________________________________________________
Position Applying for: _________________________________________________________
Full time: ___ Part-time ______ (Please check)
- List 3 reasons why you would like to work for our team:
a. _____________________________
b. _____________________________
c. _____________________________
2. Please list 2 things that you have done as part of a team in the past two years
a. _____________________________
b. _____________________________
3. Please list 3 things that you have done in the past 6 months to improve your skills?
a. _____________________________
b. _____________________________
c. _____________________________
4. Please list 3 skills that you have that would make you a great applicant for this position?
a. _____________________________
b. _____________________________
c. _____________________________
5. Rate each of the following on a scale of 1 to 5, one being the least important and five being the most important
a. Winning an argument with a customer or co-worker ___
b. Length of service with a company ___
c. Providing great customer service ___
d. Answering the telephone before it rings 3 times ___
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What to look for:
- Can you read their writing?
- Did they answer all of the questions? Ten minutes should be ample time.
- Question 1 – This question asks the applicant to list three reasons why they would like to work for your organization. How articulate are their answers? Remember you are testing them to see how they react to unexpected situations and how well they think on their feet. If an applicant cannot provide three reasons why they want to work for your organization; that should be a major “red” flag that they have not done any research or that they cannot handle even a simple pressure test.
- Question 2 – By listing two things that the applicant has done as part of a team provides the interviewer with a starting point to probe deeper during the actual interview. An applicant’s ability to work effectively on a team is a good indicator on how they may interact with other teams like yours.
- Question 3 – Applicants who demonstrate their ability to build new skills, to address gaps in their abilities; are usually people who can work effectively outside of their comfort zones. Resilience and reinvention are hallmarks of superior associates. In our constantly changing work environments, having associates who proactively adapt will help your organization adapt to your own changing environment.
- Question 4 – This is the applicant’s first real opportunity to answer the question: “Why should we hire them?” An applicant, who can quickly answer this question well, will tie their answer back to the job posting.
- Question 5 – This is the key question on this form. The ability to handle unexpected situations and think on their feet is only truly important if the applicant can interpret and gather the appropriate facts before acting.
This question (5) is usually answered incorrectly by more than 75% of the applicants and as such is the principle reason for doing the questionnaire.
Please note the question asks the applicants to rate each of the 4 points in order of importance with “1” being the least important, and “5” being the most important, which is slightly counterintuitive. Since this particular questionnaire is designed to find people to help clients or customers, answering, “How important is customer service?” with a #1 will demonstrate that the applicant did not read or understand the question.
Is the questionnaire fair?
The reason for the questionnaire’s existence is to help provide insight into how applicants handle pressure situations and unexpected scenarios, which it does. When interviewing people for your organization, usually there is only one position open and it is your mandate to find the best applicant available. This test helps, it is not perfect, but it is fair.
What other tests are helpful?
Testing for aptitude using software such as Word or Excel should also be part of the interview process, there are many on-line tests for these common programs available that any organization should use.
In the interview, use the same questions for each applicant; however, where necessary “drill down” where necessary by using additional questions to ensure that you are satisfied with the responses from the applicant.
As a final note, hiring people is easy. Finding the right people is more challenging but it is very doable by using these very simple tools to ensure that the people hired are the best that you can find.