With the Great Resignation under way, employees are wielding more power than ever. They are making the decisions about where they want to work and what kind of company they want to work for.
As a result, hiring firms are now in the hot seat—and according to Monster’s 2022 Future of Work Report, “good talent is getting harder to find.” Recruiters and managers must up their game in order to ensure they’re providing answers to questions that inspire talented candidates to join their companies.
I recently interviewed Jay Rosenzweig, CEO of Rosenzweig & Company, a talent strategy firm engaged in recruiting leadership teams for public and private companies. Below are his suggestions for how hiring managers should answer nine tough (and common) questions:
1. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT WORKING FOR THIS COMPANY?
A candidate may ask the interviewer this question in several ways, including, “Why did you join this company?” Or, “Tell me, what’s it like working here?”
“Since today’s candidates are looking for a sense of purpose,” Rosenzweig said, “a great answer would be ‘I like the fact that we are a mission-driven company. We want to make the world a better place, and in this company we have mentors and leaders at every level who are making that happen.’” However you answer, make sure you’re highlighting a big picture message about the company. The important thing is to elevate the candidate’s perception of your firm and show that it’s not just business as usual.
2. WHAT WILL SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE LOOK LIKE?
Job seekers today want to know that they will accomplish big things in that next role, so your answer should show that the bar is set high for the successful candidate. “Show that success will mean exceeding expectations,” Rosenzweig suggests. That might involve delivering a project ahead of schedule, or bringing in more clients than your quota requires, or introducing new ideas or angles. In short, “adding value beyond the specific parameters asked for,” says Rosenzweig.
3. WILL I BE ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME?
This question will be on the agenda for most job applicants. In fact, a full 43 % of employers believe hybrid is the future of work. But there is a larger point to be made here. Rosenzweig says the more inspiring message is that “we are not engaged in micro-management. We like to hire self-starters who get the job done. And you’ll be expected to work wherever you need to and take responsibility for your performance.’”
4. CAN I EXPECT TO HAVE A WORK/LIFE BALANCE IN THIS ROLE?
This question requires finesse. You want to provide a realistic picture of the demands of the job but also show how the organization values each individual holistically and believes in the importance of rest.
If you have a young, ambitious candidate looking at a big job, Rosenzweig says, “Tell that individual that this is a serious job. You know what you’ve committed to in your previous jobs. Managing multiple projects might require weekends and nights at times. But so long as you’re able to get the job done, and achieve the things you want to achieve, it’s in your hands.” This answer will appeal to strong candidates because it shows that your company trusts employees and gives them the responsibility of making their own decisions.
5. WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE FOR ADVANCEMENT?
If you’re dealing with a go getter–the kind of person you want in your organization—you’ll need an inspiring answer to this common question. Rosenzweig says “emphasize that your organization rewards talent, that it is a meritocracy where people are promoted based on the value they bring to the firm. Tell the candidate: ‘If you deliver, the sky’s the limit.’”
Go on to say that there are many firms, and industries, where climbing the ladder is dictated not by individual performance but by strict guidelines. Explain to the candidate, “Our company is different.” Conclude with statistics or illustrative examples.
6. TELL ME ABOUT THE CULTURE OF THE COMPANY
If a job candidate asks you to describe the culture of your company, you might be tempted to say, “we have a fun-loving culture,” or “we are all passionate about our work” or “we have a culture of trust.”
But another approach, says Rosenzweig, “is to talk about the values of your company.” He explains: “I prefer to look at the values of the company—values like integrity, curiosity, a passion for learning, a desire to develop employees. Many companies try to fit their employees into a specific cultural norm or personality,” he says. “But to me it’s more interesting to have people of different cultures, different personalities in an organization. You might miss out on someone really good if everyone has to be the same.”
Whichever approach you take, make sure you’re on top of the answer when candidates interview you, because this is a frequent question.
7. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION?
This is a question any hiring manager should be ready to answer. If you “um” and ah” it will be viewed as evasion. Talk about diversity and inclusion programs your company has. “Most of the major corporations are doing an incredible job building these programs,” says Rosenzweig. “They also are changing their hiring practices, ensuring, for example, that there is at least one diverse candidate on every short list, and avoiding practices that perpetuate the hiring of white males at the top.” Be ready to mention initiatives like these, as well as statistics that show your firm is making progress in its diversity and inclusion practices.
And don’t forget to talk about how your employees and the leadership of the firm are supporting diversity and inclusion beyond the company.
8. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR COMPANY’S LEADERSHIP?
The challenge here is to present the strengths of the company’s leaders and to reassure the candidate about what interactions will be like. After all, many people fled their last jobs because they hate their bosses.
Rosenzweig says he would answer the question this way: “I would say we are a leadership team that doesn’t take itself too seriously. We work super hard but have a sense of humor and are not ego-driven. We see no one being below us or above us and are here to inspire and lead the company to great heights. When good things happen, we give credit where credit is due. We have open communication at every level. Everyone’s voice matters.”
While each manager’s answer will vary from company to company, the idea is to convey to the candidate a positive feeling about what it would mean to report to these leaders.
9. IS THERE ANYTHING I HAVE SAID THAT MAKES YOU DOUBT I’D BE A GOOD FIT FOR THE JOB?”
This question may sound like a downer, but some candidates will ask it because they want to get closure and respond to any caveats. To keep the energy of the interview high, begin with praise for all the areas where there is a good fit between the candidate and the role. If the candidate has made a good impression, Rosenzweig suggests saying: “‘I’ve very much enjoyed our conversation. You have an impressive background and I believe you would be a good fit.” If there are areas where a good candidate lacks experience, say “I know you have all the skills and drive to develop in those areas.” There may be times when you sense it may not be the best fit. If so, moderate your praise but stay upbeat.
As president of Washington’s football team, Wright is calling on his experiences as an NFL player, business school graduate, and McKinsey partner to change an entrenched culture.
McKinsey sits down with Hill, an executive vice president at the aerospace giant, to discuss the new and emerging challenges of leadership and technology, as well as the importance of work–life balance.
The founder of Williams Pacific Ventures discusses the importance of learning from failure and finding sponsors who truly want to help others succeed.
Rapidly accelerating technology advances, the recognized value of data, and increasing data literacy are changing what it means to be “data driven.”
Latest PwC Pulse Survey finds that executives are optimistic about business growth despite ongoing labor and supply-chain challenges.
The post 2022 CEO priority list: Build trust with workers while managing inflation, turnover and COVID-19 appeared fir…
Research suggests it can drain their energy and negatively impact their performance on subsequent tasks.
Taking time off isn’t the answer when you don’t know how to live. A four-day workweek is pointless for miserable people. Do you live to work or work to live? The answer is… Continue reading →
Hybrid work, like remote work before it, is yet another source of dramatic change for businesses everywhere. But just because we’re leaping into a new way of working doesn’t mean that we’ll escape the dynamics that have shaped offi…
If you feel as though it’s hard to focus, you’re right. Research by Gloria Mark, professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, found that the average office worker focuses on a single task for just three minutes, which is hardly enough time to get anything done.
But if you’re beating yourself up, blaming your lack of attention on personal weakness, that’s where you’re wrong. Humans are losing their ability to focus because it’s being stolen from them, says Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again.
“I noticed that, with each year that passed, it felt like things that require deep focus, like reading a book, were getting more and more like running up a down escalator,” he says. “I could still do them, but they were getting harder. And I noticed lots of other people felt this way, particularly the young people I knew and loved.”
Initially, Hari shrugged it off to a lack of willpower and the invention of the smartphone. “But what I learned is, these are way too simplistic ways of understanding what’s happening to us,” he says. “I concluded from what I learned that our attention didn’t collapse–our attention has been stolen from us by some very big and powerful forces.”
Through his research, Hari found scientific evidence of several factors that are hurting your attention span, many of which you might not realize are having a significant impact.
We’re exhausted
Today, about a third of working Americans are chronically sleep-deprived, getting less than the necessary minimum of seven hours a night.
“Only 15% of us wake up from our sleep feeling refreshed, and this is new,” says Hari. “Since 1942, the average amount of time a person sleeps has been slashed by an hour a night. There’s a scientific debate about the precise scale of our sleep loss, but the National Sleep Foundation has calculated that the amount of sleep we get has dropped by 20% in just 100 years.”
While it seems passive, sleep is important because it’s an active process. When you’re sleeping, your brain clearing out the metabolic waste that builds up during the day. If you don’t get enough sleep, your brain does not repair properly, and you are much less functional.
One of the reasons we’re not getting enough sleep is that we expose ourselves to enormous amounts of artificial life. When we turn off the lights to go to sleep, we get what’s called a second surge of energy, which was beneficial to our ancestors who needed a burst of energy to get back to safety at the end of the day.
“Now we control the light and we’re facing a glowing defect: 90% of Americans look at a glowing device within two hours of going to sleep,” says Hari. “When you turn it off, you suddenly get a surge of energy, because it’s starting to get dark. You’re lying in your bed, you’re restless, and it’s hard to sleep.”
Stress is also impairing our ability to sleep, especially as traditional work hours go away and employees feel a need to be constantly connected and reachable. “When I was a kid, the only people who were on call were doctors and the president,” says Hari.
To fix the problem, Hari says you need to radically limit your exposure to light before you go to sleep, removing sources of artificial light in your bedroom and avoiding the blue light of screens for at least two hours before you go to bed. In addition, the temperature in your room needs to be cool, almost cold.
“Your body needs to cool its core to send you to sleep, and the harder that is, the longer it takes,” says Hari. “These are helpful, and relatively well-known tips—but, as every expert I spoke to acknowledged, they are not enough for most people. We live in a culture that is constantly amping us up with stress and stimulation.”
We’re undernourished
The way we eat also affects our ability to focus and pay attention in three ways. First, the standard American or British breakfast usually includes white bread or sugary cereal that releases a huge amount of energy quickly into the brain. It feels great at first, then an hour or two later, you experience a severe energy slump and get what’s called brain fog.
“Brain fog is where you can’t think very clearly,” says Hari. “You basically are in a state of brain fog until you have your next sugary carb treat. But what happens is we live on a roller-coaster, energy spikes and energy crashes. So we have periodic bouts of brain fog throughout the day.”
If you eat a more balanced diet, and ensure you’re getting proper nutrients, “you get a much better ability to focus and pay attention,” he says. British nutritionist Dale Pinnock told Hari that if you want to understand why so many of us are struggling to focus, you might want to think about it this way: “If you put shampoo into a car engine, you’re not going to scratch your head when the thing conks out. Yet every day, all over the Western world, we are putting into our bodies substances [that] are so far removed from what was intended for human fuel.”
We’re addicted to technology
While it’s not surprising, technology is also deeply impacting our ability to focus. But it’s not the tools alone that are to blame. As part of his research for the book, Hari spent three months in Provincetown, Cape Cod without the Internet, a laptop, or a smartphone. “I was amazed by how much my attention came back,” he says. “I was nearly 40, and my attention went back to what it been when I was 17. I could sit and read a book for eight hours a day; I was amazed.”
When he returned, his attention was better, but he couldn’t sustain the level he had achieved while he was away. For his book, Hari interviewed Dr. James Williams, a former senior Google strategist who researches the ethics of technology and the “attention economy.”
“He said to me, the mistake you’ve made in Provincetown is like thinking the solution to air pollution is for you personally to wear a gas mask,” says Hari. “What we need to pursue are the biggest social solutions.”
Apps are designed to constantly interrupt you for a very simple reason: Every time you pick up your phone and start scrolling, those companies make more money, says Hari. “Sean Parker, one of the earliest investors in Facebook, told a public audience that the creators of the site had asked themselves, ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?’ The techniques they used were ‘exactly the kind of thing that a hacker like myself would come up with, because you’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology. . . . [We] understood this consciously. And we did it anyway.’”
While Hari says the individual solution is abstinence, he also says there needs to be societal change, and likening it to removing lead from paint. “By the ’70s, it was extremely well known that exposure to lead is particularly bad for children’s brains, and what happened is there was then a big movement, mostly of mothers, saying ‘we had to stop this, we have to, we can’t allow our children’s brains to be damaged in this way,’” he says. “They didn’t say ‘ban paint.’ They said, ‘ban the lead in the paint.’”
Hari suggests looking at social media in the same way. “Social media has many good aspects to it,” he says. “But there are specific aspects of social media that we can deal with through regulation that that will hugely restore our ability to focus. We don’t need to ban social media. We need to ban the business model that’s harmful.”
Taking back our focus
Hari says the world needs an attention movement to reclaim our minds and take on these forces. “It’s like someone is pouring itching powder on us all day, and then leaning over and going, ‘Hey, buddy, you might want to learn how to meditate, then you wouldn’t scratch so much,’” he says. “It requires a real shift in consciousness.”
First, we need to stop blaming ourselves for our lack of focus, and thinking we’re weak. Instead, we need to look closer at how our lifestyles and the tools we use are disrupting our habits, he says.
“We are the free citizens of democracies, and we own our own minds. We can take them back if we want to. And we can defend our children from these big forces that are invading our attention,” says Hari. “But we have to resolve to do it at the moment. Those factors invading our attention are only going to become stronger if we don’t act.”
