The Covid-Era Job Interview

There’s no doubt that the world of work has changed drastically and quickly because of the challenges created by Covid-19.  But while many are thinking about how it shapes the day-to-day experience of an employee, it’s not lost on us that the interview process is itself a representation of a company’s best foot forward and offers a candidate a sneak peak into what working there might be like.

And let’s be frank, very few people know what working in this remote environment might be like and therefore have no idea how to show it in an interview.  

But, like with all challenges, this moment in history is offering a unique opportunity to change things that need updating.  And we think the job interview is desperately in need of an upgrade.

Here are three classic interview questions that need rewriting.  Especially now.

1. Tell me about yourself —> Tell me about what you care about 

Here’s the reality: most people don’t like it.  But not a lot can say why.  

We think it’s because it’s inherently a backwards looking question that as an interviewer you’re interpreting through a forward looking lens.  And it forces the candidate to paint a very linear line through an inherently windy and curvy journey.

So why not get to the point.  Ask them about what they’re passionate about and give them the free reign to dictate what matters to them.  Not only will you learn about their self-awareness but you’ll also get some insight into their unapologetic fascinations.  

They don’t need to line up with the company’s.  In fact, this question has no right answer.  But the way they answer it and what they shine a light on will give you a look into their priorities and thus a sense of what will matter to them when the pressure is at its highest.  And knowing that they will return to that place of passion in a job can give you the confidence to know if the job will help them reach that pure place.

2. What is your five year plan —> How will working here set you up for the thing you’ll do after here?

Let’s be honest.  For most people working in tech, you’ll likely not be at the company you’re joining before moving on in a few years.  Reid Hoffman has called this the “Tour of Duty”; the idea that on some level it’s important to acknowledge that an employer/employee relationship is more than exchange of money for work/time.  

Asking someone’s five year plan is a little bit like asking them to gaze into a crystal ball when we can all acknowledge that one pattern we discover time and time again is that life plays out in the category of “things we don’t know we don’t know”.  So why pretend otherwise?

Rather than ask for vague notions of a future instead be explicit and say what would set them up best in a world agnostic to working at your company.  In their answer, you’ll learn how they’re trying to sculpt their growth even if they aren’t sure how it manifests into a plan quite yet.  It’s the difference between asking someone their destination and their next couple steps.  And ultimately it’s the alignment between their ideal next steps and what you have to offer as an employer that makes the most sense evaluate.

3. Is there anything else I should know —> What’s a question that I should have asked that would allow you to shine (and how would you answer it)?

The old version of this question always feels like a mop up of a messy interview.  It’s ultimately geared at excusing the interviewer, without acknowledgement that they may have missed something and structured the interview poorly, and putting the onus on the interviewee.

We don’t think we’ll ever solve the power imbalance of a job interviewer.  But one way that an interviewer can is by acknowledging their limitations and doing what they can to return power to the interviewee.  

This question does just that.   

It’s also different from its sibling question: “What is your favorite interview question and how would you answer it?” because the word “favorite” can mean different things to people.  Some people might think their favorite question is meant to trip someone up, which is the opposite of what you want to do in an interview.  

This framing instead puts it firmly within an interviewees hands and allows them to end the conversation on their terms and leaves them feeling like they got their opportunity as the last word.  Plus, what you learn from this question sets up your next interviewer should you have another conversation because they can use it as a starting place.