As the newest wave of graduates launches into their careers, you may be on the lookout for new hires to bring to your organization.
One part of this process is selling the value of working for your organization (and educating them on what economic development is).
The other part, of course, is the interview process. All too often, people come to an interview with a few canned responses ready to go (i.e., My biggest weakness is that I work too hard). Ideally, in the interview process, you can gain a clear understanding of the candidate’s true self and determine whether they would be a good fit for your organization.
Here are a few interview questions that we use to get authentic answers from potential employees:
- Have you heard of economic development and can you explain it to me? This shows they’ve invested time and energy into understanding what economic development is, and that’s a great sign for a future employee.
- How are you most likely to be misunderstood by others? This question not only allows you to gain insight into the interviewee’s self-awareness, but you may also learn something personal about them that they may not have included on their resume.
- What’s a setback you’ve faced and how have you overcome it? By asking this question during an interview, you learn of the interviewee’s past challenges and can assess their problem-solving skills and resilience – two highly desirable qualities in an employee. This question allows the interviewee to share a real-life example of how they overcame adversity, giving you a glimpse into their resourcefulness and ability to think creatively under pressure.
- Tell us about a time that you were impacted by economic development. This question requires some critical thinking and an understanding of how economic development impacts each and every one of us as community members.
- Describe your work habits – both good and bad. This question is a variation on the typical “what are your strengths and weaknesses” question, which can prompt canned responses. Instead, this question takes a level of self-awareness to answer.
Feel free to use these questions as you interview recent graduates and other potential employees! We’d love to hear what works best for you in the interview process – send us a message to share with us.
Reimaging Places With You,
The PPR Strategies Team
