Golden Oldies: The Story Behind a Great Interview Question
by Miki SaxonIt’s amazing to me, but looking back at more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.
I’ve written a lot over the years about hiring, but it’s a subject that never gets old. We’re going to be looking at the subject again this week and I thought this Golden Oldie would be a good way to kick off the conversation.
Read other Golden Oldies here
Michael Cascio, a former executive at the National Geographic Channel, A&E and Animal Planet, who now runs M&C Media, has a favorite interview question.
Early on he asks, “What did you do in the summers during college and high school?”
Not a question most candidates are expecting, but one that stems from Cascio’s personal experience.
He worked two summers as a janitor at the Wolf Trap event venue while he was getting his MBA.
You might not expect that would be a defining experience for a “middle-class college kid headed for a white-collar life,” but it was.
Cascio says it was in that job that he learned the basics of a great career and it was his janitorial boss who gave him the best career advice.
The basics:
You have to show up every day, and on time. You have to appreciate everyone who works around you. You should acknowledge — and learn to deal with — the pecking order in the working world. You have to exert yourself in ways you may not have learned in school. And you often have to do things that have nothing — and everything — to do with your career and your life ahead.
The best advice:
“Never turn down a chance to take on more responsibility.”
The point is that it’s not just about what candidates have done, but what they learned from the experience that matters—no matter what it was.
Flickr image credit: warrenski
