Most managers share the fear of hiring a bad fit, no matter how technically qualified the candidate might be. Unfortunately, most attempts to measure fit suffer from a fatal flaw: that being the way cultural screening questions are asked.
Too many managers and administrators-turned-recruiters ask binary questions that make it easy for candidates to guess the most desirable answer. For example, they may describe their group’s team dynamic and ask if it is the type of environment that the candidate finds suitable. Fortunately, there is an alternative type of question format known as “forced choice” that can be used by those in recruiting to garner a much more precise and insightful candidate perspective on cultural issues.
The Problems with Binary Questions in Interviews
Many of the questions asked during interviews can easily be classified as binary or yes/no, true/false questions. While they may be posed in an open-ended fashion, it is clear from the phrasing and tonal inflection what response is desired.
In other cases, the questions probe the existence of behavioral characteristics that any candidate would need to be an idiot to deny.
Examples of obvious “yes” questions:
- Are you a team player?
- Do you work well under pressure?
- Do you share our company’s values?
Unless you are interviewing Homer Simpson, questions like those listed here will result in fairly predictable responses. By asking a question that allows a simple yes or no answer to be provided, you make it way too easy for the candidate to misrepresent themselves and to give the answer that they think you really want.
Consider Forced-Choice Questions
If you wanted to obtain a more precise answer to an important “fit” or preference question, shift to a forced-choice question format. This format requires the candidate to rank a series of possible responses in order of desirability.
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