Now What Do You Ask A Job Candidate?

Twenty-some years ago, my supervisor taught me to ask job candidates, "If you are stranded on an island and could choose to have with you only one book and one magazine, which book and magazine would you choose?"

Over the years, some of the same books and magazines were often named by many respondents, but the range of mentioned books and magazines was quite varied. As the candidate's future leader, his/her answer gave me a deeper insight into that person, particularly when I would ask the person to provide the reason for their choice.

But, what does one ask today? Perhaps the new question is, "If you are stranded on an island and could choose only one media channel, which one would you choose?" And, perhaps you offer the candidate this list of options instead of leaving the question open-ended:

Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
Hulu

I wonder if the answers to this media channel question will be as, more, or less revealing than the former book and magazine question. And, do you think I should change the list of options? What should be added or deleted and why?

Comments

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