The Most Problematic Interview Question May Also Be the Most Common

It’s the most frequently asked interview question, right up there with: “Tell me about yourself.” 

It’s often the first question a candidate is asked — and in multiple interviews.

It sounds harmless, but it can set in motion a whole series of problems.  

“Jordan, why are you interested in our company (or this role)?”

Give me your job description, 30 minutes, and a good internet connection, and prepare to be dazzled . . .

I will thoroughly review your job description, your “About” page, and a few blog posts or case studies on your website. I might even search YouTube for videos of your CEO speaking about your company. 

When this question inevitably comes, I will weave a glorious web of BS that will entrance you. In your haste to fill this painful vacancy, you will feel butterflies! 

What happens next? You will probably do what all humans do: You will form a positive hypothesis about me, and you will spend the rest of the interview seeking to confirm that hypothesis.

In your team debrief, you will convince your colleagues that I have the sheer motivation and passion to overcome my many, many flaws and skill gaps.  

End result? You will hire me, and I will disappoint you.

Please strike this question, especially early in the interview. 

Lower-performing, desperate job seekers will spend hours crafting their message. High-performing passive candidates won’t have the time. 

Charismatic-but-flawed extroverts will wow you. Talented introverts won’t deliver as good a “performance.” 

Bottom line, when you ask this question, what you're really learning is how well the candidate prepped for the interview. You are likely to come away with a highly skewed perspective of their true motivations. 

“But wait — how will we know if our opportunity really matches a candidate's motivations?”

Learn about their prior roles. What led them to take each one and to leave each one? Which roles and environments did they thrive in, and which ones were a struggle?

Do this from a place of curiosity and fascination and you will build a far clearer picture of their truth.

This post was originally published on LinkedIn. 

Jordan Burton has 15 years of experience as an executive assessor and interviewing trainer, working with top VC/PE investors and high-growth startups to help them hire the best of the best. He has trained over 3,000 executives and investors on hiring and interviewing skills. He leads Talgo's business development initiatives, managing relationships with Sequoia Capital, TH Lee, Palantir, Chainlink Labs, and over 50 venture-backed startups. 

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