I was the hiring manager for a corporate university and one of my knockout questions was about continuous learning reputation management. I felt very strongly that we shouldn?t hire a candidate as a training manager if they weren?t willing to learn themselves. I would ask a few questions about reading, training, classes etc. This gave me the ability to determine if they were a learner or not. Managers must decide on the qualities that are absolutely not negotiable and turn them in to knockout questions. These questions should be woven into the interview. The candidate should never know that it is a knockout question. Knowing the nature of the question could influence their answers.
In order to assist with finding candidates who are a good fit in terms of enthusiasm, here are some good open ended interview questions that can be used:
?So tell me about yourself?
?What is the best job you have ever had and why?
?What is important to you in the workplace?
?Who has had an influence on your career? Why?
?Do you do any reading? What do you read?
?What book has had the most influence on you in the last five years?
?Who been the best boss that you have reported to? Why?
?The worst boss? Why?
?What motivates you? Why?
?How would you describe yourself?
?How would the team of people you work with describe you?
?What do you stand for?
?Who are your role models?
?What have you learned in the past year?
?What professional organizations do you belong to? Why?
?What does enthusiasm mean to you?
?Describe your personality.
?How do you get along with others?
This list of questions should provide managers with a baseline for determining the candidate?s level of enthusiasm.