📌 Excuses or Responsibility? The Importance of Finding the Right Question in Recruitment
When evaluating a candidate during recruitment, we sometimes find the most critical clues in an extremely ordinary question that seems to have nothing to do with technical skills. Because the real issue is not just reading "what they can do" on their CV, but understanding "how they approach" unexpected events.
When evaluating a candidate during recruitment, we sometimes find the most critical clues in an extremely ordinary question that seems to have nothing to do with technical skills. Because the real issue is not just reading "what they can do" on their CV, but understanding "how they approach" unexpected events.
Imagine this scenario: You are in an interview and you ask the candidate an unexpected, simple question:
> "You caught the flu. Why do you think that is?"
Now let's look closely at the answers given by two different candidates:
Candidate 1's Answer: > "People go out even though they are sick without taking any precautions. They use public transport, go to shopping malls. They don't wear masks and unfortunately, they infect everyone."
Candidate 2's Answer: > "I must not have taken enough precautions. Maybe I forgot to wash my hands after shopping. Probably because I haven't been eating well enough lately and neglected vitamin supplements to keep my immunity strong."
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### I Know All of You Chose the Second Candidate, Of Course.
Because the reason is quite clear: A sense of responsibility and an internal locus of control.
The first candidate blames external factors and other people entirely for the negative situation they experienced. Instead of taking ownership of the consequences of their own actions, they assume the role of a victim. When you start working with this candidate, when a project fails or a deadline is missed, the sentences you will probably hear are: "The client responded late", "My team member didn't do their job", "Market conditions were bad."
The second candidate analyzes the situation and questions their own responsibilities first. Instead of looking for mistakes in others, they focus on their own actions (not washing hands, not eating well). This candidate, in moments of crisis or failure in business life, instead of producing excuses, will say, "Where did I go wrong, and how can I fix this on my part?" This is exactly the profile that is open to development, agile, and takes the team forward.
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### The Art of Finding the Most Appropriate Question
This simple scenario shows us how vital "questions" are, not just "answers," in interviews.
* To memorized questions like "What is your weakest point?" or "How do you work under pressure?", candidates now give pre-prepared, polished answers. * However, metaphorical questions taken from daily life that lower the person's defense mechanism, like the flu scenario above, reveal the candidate's true work character and mindset.
Successful recruitment is not just about listening to the answers given; it is about being able to create the right setup and question that will measure the competency and character you are looking for. Let's not forget; if the question is wrong, no "correct" answer you get will lead you to a great teammate.
Don't you agree that what grows companies is not excuses, but responsibilities taken?
#Recruitment #HR #Leadership #Accountability #InterviewTechniques #Career #Mindset
