In this TED talk, Itziar de Ros shares why she starts all her interviews with the question, “Who are you?” The underlying reason for this is she is trying to decide whether the person is “eligible to be a part of my life?” She believes this gives more opportunity for connection in an interview, and therefore far greater insight into the candidate’s values.
This has the potential to quickly identify candidates that:
- You will be happy to talk to and be around every working day
- You are going to trust with the responsibilities they’ll undertake
- Are the type of person that will get the results you are looking for
Confronted with the “who are you?” question, many candidates will start to list out all their achievements because that’s what they think you want to hear. She stops such answers and asks another question. “If I asked your mother, what would she say?” This will generally bring a far different answer and start the personal connection in an interview. This is where you start to learn about a candidate’s ambitions, challenges, goals and dreams.
An interview is often seen as who is the best, the smartest, the one that has achieved the most. It’s seen as a competition. Itziar says that in reality it is a process of who can build the most trust. Once you start to learn of the deeper underlying drivers the candidate has, a much better picture can be built around the suitability for whatever they are interviewing for.
As an interviewer, it’s also very easy to get into ‘interview mode’. The same questions asked over and over on a continuous loop. This can be dangerous. What opportunities are missed in making a great connection? Opportunities missed for a great conversation? Are you therefore potentially missing a great fit for a role as a result?
Watch the full 13-minute TED Talk to hear Itziar share more around why connection in an interview is so powerful.
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