OK, so I thought of a great question to ask yourself. Sure, “great” might be a relative term, but in my mind, it’s great through and through!
If you could only use one utensil for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?
There is no right or wrong answer, but I feel that what someone says, how quickly they answer the question and how they justify their answer says a lot about the person.
There’s the hasty decision maker who goes back and forth and questions whether they made the right choice. There’s the sloooow thinker who eventually comes to a decision, but only after thinking things over and over…and over. And then there is the candidate who takes a moment, makes a decision and justifies why they have made that utensil their choice.
Do these people sound familiar? Of course they do… they are all around you. See, asking this might give you a strong indication of which company, group or team you will thrive in.
When I interview candidates I’m not always looking for the yes or no, but the where. Slow thinker is going to be a great manager someday, but will never work out in the fast paced logistics department. Flip flopper is never going to be a manager, but they will probably do awesome in quality where they need to decide whether things get packed and shipped or send to the 2nds bin. For me, the best candidate is Miss middle-of-the-road. She is one to watch. Firm decision, justifies it without being asked why and she looks you straight in the eye when she supports her decision.
Feel free to ask yourself this question to help you figure out where you stand. If you are doing the interviewing, you could also use it with prospective hires to determine how they’ll fit in your office or what type of manager they will be. After all, it’s your interview, so go ahead and ask away.
One of our new guys in the office, Bob, wanted me to say spork, but the spork is not an option. C’mon Bob… real utensils, not plastic!
This is a guest post by UMass Amherst alumnus Wayne Schofield ’85. If you would like to write a post, please contact Angela Lussier for details.
Wayne Schofield ’85 is co-founder and COO of Night and Day Resume and principal at S. E. Technical, LLC a staffing agency placing perm and contract professionals in the engineering/manufacturing and IT space. Wayne graduated with a BA in Communications and Journalism and has been in the staffing industry since 1993. UMass Alums will receive a 10% discount on all resume services, including the already discounted Graduate Gift Card Special by using coupon code UMASS10.