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The Best Interview Question I’ve Been Asked
Since I graduated from college back in the last century, I have probably had over 200 job interviews. Since starting my career in higher education administration, I have been on 50 or 60 search committees and led probably 10 of those searches. So I have some experience with interviewing both as the candidate and the chair.
In all of those experiences, I distinctly remember one question I was asked during a job interview. And I believe it fits any type of job and any level of position within an organization. Above all, it shines the light on the candidate in the most flattering way:
“What is a skill or strength you have but we didn’t have a question to ask you about?”
Prepare Yourself for the Surprise
In my field, interviews can last from 3 to 8 hours involving two dozen or more people. Some stakeholders may have position-specific questions and the students may want to know how their voice has been centered in previous positions. But not all interviews may allow the candidate to showcase a particular skill.
For the job interview where this question was asked, I had done my research on the organization and carefully thought about the qualifications listed in the job description. One of the…
