14 Questions For Every Job Applicant

(I introduced you to his brilliance yesterday, and today we welcome Steve Rae as the newest Contributing Editor to The Daily Blur. In addition to being a mentor and friend and golf partner for ten years, Steve’s living the American Canadian Dream. He took risks, worked long hours, and went above-and-beyond what was required to semi-retire in his early 50s and travel the world with his lovely wife Carolyn and help schlubs like me follow in his footsteps. Without further ado, here’s Steve…)

After writing a killer recruitment ad that attracts a great bunch of people who want to work for you, how do you narrow the list of applicants down to select few that you really want to talk to?

Adding this survey to your hiring process can save you hours of perusing resumes. The problem with resumes is that you have no way of knowing if it was crafted by the applicant or by outside help. This survey will be written by the person who might be working for you. How do they measure up?

Here are the 14 questions* that you should give to every applicant:

1. Name, contact info?
2. Last or current job?
3. Why do you want to leave?
4. What are your short term goals?
5. In 3-5 years where do you hope to be?
6. What are your long terms goals?
7. How would co-workers describe your work habits and skills?
8. Tell us the best thing about your last job.
9. What is your current pay range?
10. What pay range are you expecting?
11. What did your favourite employer teach you?
12. What appeals to you most about this job?
13. What is your favourite chocolate?
14.  On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you?

If someone answers lower than a seven to question #14, you should probably pass on that applicant.

You can also learn a lot about job satisfaction with question #3. If they hadn’t really thought about leaving, but were so intrigued by the job you are offering that they couldn’t resist applying, then that is probably someone with fairly high job satisfaction. If they reply with a slam on their current boss, raise the red flag.

Question #9 and #10 may price someone out of your range.

Question #13 is designed to test their sense of humour.

After all, you don’t want to work with people who don’t have a sense of humour… or who don’t like chocolate.

* Make sure all the prospective employees fill out the survey. Although they might not the right person for the job for which they are applying, the survey may reveal that they are perfect for another position in your company.