What’s the single most important question to ask a job candidate?

We polled technology leaders to find out what is the single most important question to ask when interviewing new candidates.

We asked:

If you could only ask a new job candidate one question, what would it be and why?

You answered:

If you could design the ideal job, what would it be?

I would ask what they had accomplished that they were proud of and how they had done it. That would give you insight into both their ability to accomplish things, their orientation toward getting things completed and how they worked through issues and problems.

Conversely, ask them to describe a time when they had failed and what they learned from it. 

I would ask them to rank the following in order of importance:  Money, Relationships, and Power.   (Good question for hiring salespeople – research shows that salespeople whose primary motivation is money are statistically the most successful).

If I talked to your last three bosses what would they tell me your strengths and weaknesses are?