This week’s KIQ encourages you to speak up.
Scripps Network chief programming officer Kathleen Finch doesn’t like hiring people who are not fixated on their own departmental goals. Rather, she wants individuals who will consider the business as a whole when going about their daily work. To identify these people during interviews, “If you were me, what would you change?” is a questions she likes to ask job candidates.
The thought of responding candidly to this question could make some people nervous because they don’t want to offend the interviewer. But Finch wants to find those who are not afraid to speak up, regardless of the situation.
“I like to know that I’m hiring people who have the guts to speak up,” Finch says. “We’ve built an environment in which you will not get reprimanded for disagreeing with your boss, so I need to know that people on the team have the courage to let their voices be heard.”
How would you answer this question? Let us know in the comments.
[Via Business Insider Australia]
This article has been updated since its original publication.
Comments
2 responses to “Killer Interview Question: If You Were Me, What Would You Change?”
Nothing; change the negatives and one changes the positives.
Am I misunderstanding the context here? How can the interviewer expects a new candidate to know if there are issues in the company that needs addressing? Isn’t this presumptuous?
Sure, before the interview, the candidate can do research about the company to some extent, but it would rarely show the skeletons in the closet; unless it’s something widely publicised.
Personally, I would say that I need to know more about the issues or have been working for sufficient amount of time, before I can provide some thoughts on the matter. A follow up staff/organisational review would be a better place for such enquiry.