96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire

by Paul Falcone

Book Overview

Author Paul Falcone's revised and updated 96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire provides readers with the tools they need to elicit honest and complete information from job candidates, plus helpful hints on interpreting the responses.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081441351X
• ISBN13: 9780814413517
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Amacom
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

How to avoid making a VERY expensive mistake

Falcone offers invaluable advice as to how to "identify high performance candidates, probe beyond superficial answers, spot 'red flags' which indicate evasions or untruths, get references which provide reliable information about candidates, and negotiate job offers which attract winners." The value of this book is perhaps best indicated by the results of research conducted by Bradford D. Smart of more than 4,000 executives in 50 of the "Fortune 500" companies, shared in Topgrading which I have reviewed previously. The results confirm Peter Drucker's assertion that "The ability to make good decisions regarding people represents one of the last reliable sources of competitive advantage, since very few organizations are very good at it." For me, the most stunning revelations in Smart's book are found on page 50, in Figure 3.2, "Cost of Mis-Hire Study Results." According to the results of Smart's extensive research study, the sum of total costs of a mis-hire (on average) are as follows: Base salary Less than $100,000: 14 times salary Base Salary $100,000-250,000: 28 times salary All Salaries: 24 times salary Sobering statistics indeed. In his book, Falcone includes two recurring sections which define the context within which each of the 96 questions is asked: "Why Ask This Question?" and "Analyzing the Response." He also alerts the reader/interviewer to relevant "Red Flags" which might otherwise be invisible. Books such as this (and it's one of the best) can guide and inform a rigorous process by which to identify those candidates which offer the strongest talent, skills, and (yes) character. I strongly recommend this book to any and all decision-makers and decision-influencers who are involved in their organization's hiring process. But please keep in mind that candidates may have also read this book. For interviewers, it is highly desirable to reveal the person "behind the resume." It is also imperative to obtain "real information" from credible reference persons. My own opinion is that they as well as candidates need to be thoroughly checked out.

Worth its weight in gold

From a job seeker perspective, this book has been worth personally more than 2000 times its list price. It is like being able to read the other team's playbook before the championship game! If you are seeking a job in Corporate America, don't go in without reading this book because this book will get you half way there......and in some unfortunate "buzz-word company" cases - all the way. It tells you everything they want to hear and why. Satisfy HR first, and then worry about your potenital new boss. Why waste your money on learning what you could say during an interview from other books. This book truly allows you to switch seats with your interviewer. This book is truly deserving of the yellow cover with black stripes and should be entitled, "Interviewing in Corporate America"

A must buy book

I have been interviewing & hiring candidates for several years now, but recently decided to do a little more research into the topic. This book is excellent. It is written in a manner that is easy to open and read at any relevant chapter, making for a quick reference style use or for more in-depth reading if needed. The suggested questions are insightful and the analysis for each question helps you take the candidates answers to the next level. The sections on checking references have also helped me move beyond the paralysis of not knowing what I am legally able to ask, therefore making reference checking the useful tool that it is meant to be.

Exceptional Insight

This book is a must read for anyone that will be interviewing others, or will ever be looking for a job themselves. It provides insight into the standard set of HR questions, that an interviewer ought to know. "What are your strengths"... "Weaknesses"... Why ask these questions unless you know what you are looking for? This book provides an indepth discussion of these and other questions with sample answers, what you should look for in an answer, and possible follow up questions. It clarifies the interviewing process. From a job hunting perspective it helps to hone your skills, and to prepare you for the HR onslaught of seemingly arcane questions.

Ask the good ones...

One of the hardest interviewing skills to learn is targeted questions to really get to know who you're interviewing. Now pray that your interviewee hasn't read this book, and learn to ask the really important questions, understand what you're looking for out of each question and pull of a really productive interview. You'll have more fun, you'll learn more, and the person you interview will be excited to come back for more...that is if he/she is worthy!