Best Interview Question You Can Ask

Today, I'm going to tell you about the best interview question you can ask a candidate, "What Makes Your Heart Sing?"

I first heard this question in the book, Talk Like Ted. The book covers a lot of Ted speakers and the process they go through to make the amazing speeches we all know and love. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do.

In the book Carmine Gallo, quoting Steve Jobs, poses the question. "What makes your heart sing?" This is different from asking what you love to do or what you're good at. Both are very good questions, but they don't even touch the surface of what this question is really trying to ask. Initially I actually thought it was the same question. I know how to coach, I love to recruit, and the insurance industry has become my passion, but that's not what this question is asking.

What makes your heart sing, is the all about the power inside of you. It's what makes you who you are or makes you tick. Asking this questions helps me get to know a candidate better than any normal interview question.

Let's face it, recruiters have been asking the same canned questions for years. Before a candidate goes into an interview, they know what is going to be asked. There are multiple websites where candidates share these questions to help one another land the job. By asking this random, off the wall question right off the bat, the candidate is thrown for a loop. What happens next is truly amazing. They get a smile on their face, their guard comes down, and a beautiful conversation takes place.

Whenever I ask this question, there is always a pause and sometimes I get asked to rephrase it. When that happens I say, "By what makes your heart sing, I want to know what makes you tick. What makes you the person that you are. I don't care about stats, figures, or past job performance. I want to get to know you and you alone. At the end of the day, what makes your heart happy?"

Once they understand the question, I learn things about them that I normally wouldn't have found out till I was working with them for 6 months or more. The candidate also knows that I'm wanting to get to know them and not just running through a list of questions, grading on some scale, and telling them that I'll follow up "by the end of the week."

I view the first interview as the start of my relationship with a candidate. I know the chances are high that I may never see this person again. However, if we both agree and are lucky enough to be working together, I want the bond to be strong from the start.

Recruiting in the insurance industry is all about relationships. Asking this question helps build the foundation of our partnership/relationship and lets them know that I'm not their average Sales Manager or Recruiter. They know from the start that I am trying to do my part to get to know them on another level.

As I continue to grow and develop in my role, I hope to learn more tidbits like this. It's been a game changer for me. If I do learn some more interesting questions to ask or better ways to make interviewing or managing people more human and less robotic, I'll be sure to share those with you too.

Last thing...You may have noticed that my newsletter is now weekly. I laid in bed this past Sunday night and thought to myself, I truly enjoy doing this. Over the next hour, I made a list of 25 different topics/experiences that I want to share with you. It's not in my nature to hold these things back, so get ready and I'll see you next Thursday!