Interviewing

I received a request to open a discussion on questions to ask job candidates. Having a list of questions you ask every candidate is extremely important for many reasons, and asking the right questions equally important. The questions we ask will in most cases and if asked propertly, help us decide if we should consider a candidate for the next level (i.e. second interview, hire, etc.). We have already determined closed ended questions that can be answered with a "yes or no" are not productive. So what questions are important that you usually ask a candidate? This may of course depend on the position you are hiring for.

4 questions I ALWAYS ask candidates:

1.) In looking for a job, what kinds of things are you looking for? I ask this, as I am trying to determine if the opening I have is a good match for what THEY want. I never try to squeeze a square peg into a round hole (as the expression goes) - I'm trying to find someone that not only qualifies for the job on paper, but wants what we have to offer.
2.) What kind of a supervisor are you? -ESPECIALLY if I am hiring a manager who will be overseeing other people. I want to learn more about their management style. If I know who they are managing, this helps me to determine if they will be able to manage that particular team of people.
3.) What things do you look for in a good supervisor? I want to know that they have realistic expectations of me. Some people are too needy - and for me, that would be difficult for me to accommodate. Some people are EXTREMELY independent - I need to know that too, so I can better manage them.
4.) What is the most difficult situation you've had as a supervisor/leasing agent/maintenance technician/etc - please tell me about it, and how you handled it. This helps me determine if their definition of "difficult" is the same as my definition of "difficult." It also shows me how they handle those kinds of situations. If I'm hiring for a property that I know has some difficult situations (like crime or personnel issues) that need to be dealt with, and the person I am interviewing tells me the most difficult thing they've had to deal with is unlocking doors for residents after hours, this might not be a fit for them OR for me. The level of "difficulty" depends on the site, the position, etc. BUT, the answer is always very telling.

In the end, I am looking for someone who not only qualifies for the job, but that will fit in with the established work environment, the current employees, as well as the expectations of the job/position. Just because someone looks good on paper doesn't mean that every position that they are qualified for will work for them.

I should also mention, it is a HUGE a distraction when people start telling me about their personal issues or complain about their current or previous supervisors/employers. This seems like common sense, but 80% of the people I have interviewed lately will do one or the other. Depending on how deep they go down this road, I usually end up writing those people off. There's one thing that most employers want to limit their exposure to in the work place - negativity & drama. I have great employees now (and I'm sure other supervisors and employers would agree with me on this statement), and would hate to add someone else's personal drama's or negative baggage to the equation!

I recently interviewed 50 successful property managers across the U.S. for my book that I published last month.

Behavioral interviewing techniques were mentioned by many of the most successful property managers.

When asked what they look for when hiring new employees, the responses were predominantly focused on "soft skills" versus actual property management experience:

High energy; enthusiasm; eager; motivated (5)*
Sense of humor; fun; personality (5)
People oriented; interaction & communication skills; listener (5)
Desire & willingness to learn (4)
Problem solver; critical thinking skills (4)
Stability; reliability; strong work ethic (3)
Can do & positive attitude (3)
Organization skills (2)
Integrity; honesty (2)
Creative; inventive
Proactive
Management experience
Good credit
Able to see both sides of a situation
Intelligent
Team player
Detail oriented person
Desire to satisfy customer
Ability to multi-task

*( ) = number of times interviewees mentioned this attribute

Thanks to both Daisy and Michael. Great points and positions on interviewing. Looking for additional contributions.

One of my favorites is asking “Tell me about a policy that you followed, but did not agree with”. This can give me insight into the candidate, previous company, etc. I have discovered fair housing issues, collection or eviction issues, disregard for authority, etc.

@Shelby
Great question! I interviewed a candidate last week and wish I had asked that.

Question for all the hiring managers: How do you feel about hiring managers without property management experience and if you do, how do you train them differently?

I've hired several site managers with no property management experience, some work out very well, some don't. Maybe I just haven't found the secret formula yet.

OK... these are great questions that apply in a lot of contexts. I am on the other side of the line as candidate; and feel that these are all fair questions that have opened up a discussion. That said; most of my experience in property management comes as a temporary leasing consultant. In my opinion; this is a GOOD thing because it gives YOU, as the hiring manager; a candidate that has built a great deal of experience in a short period of time; from a wide array of perspectives. It gives you someone who has seen a great deal of things that WORKED; and yes, didn't work so well and can apply this knowledge to your environment. It also gives them someone who is not as likely to have developed any 'bad habits' when it comes to his work ethic.

My experience prior to that has come from 15 years in retail sales; this also includes time I spent TRAINING MANAGEMENT candidates (one of the locations I was in was used by the company as a management training store for the region). This is one of the reasons I left retail; I kept getting passed over for consideration for management programs, when I could perform CIRCLES around the people I trained. I was even in a commission + salary position where I was actually making MORE money than a regional manager; with about 1/3 the work....

Two questions I like to ask are
1) How well do you deal with conflict?
2) What will your last boss say about you and your work performance?

oh yeah and If you were a piece of furniture what would you be? HA! Just kidding