INTERVIEW IDEAS
“Even though I have a candidate’s resume and appli-
cation responses, I always like to hear them walk me
through their work history. I always ask them to give
me ‘the live version’ so I can hear it in their own
words, and give them the opportunity to expand on
their experience and show some passion and
personality. I really love when candidates tell me
their challenges and proud moments with each
position without me having to ask.”
— SUMMER SMITH • Managing Director of Operations
milk + honey • Austin, Texas
“I learned this from my buddy,
Michael Tompkins. I always ask
them how they would make
and then market their own
M&M (or some version of
this). Answers are illus-
trative and show how
the person approaches
problem-solving and
how creative they are.
Does she resent the
task? Ask for more infor-
mation before she
responds? Does it take a
while for her to come up with
anything? Is she enthusiastic and
creates excitement about her M&M? The approach
is important, as you wouldn’t necessarily want
someone who is too creative to be your CFO or
someone who can’t think on his or her feet to be
your front desk supervisor.”
— KRISTINE HUFFMAN • President and Founder
Huffman Hospitality Concepts • Lee, Massachusetts
“I always ask what they feel their greatest strength
is and, more importantly, what their greatest
weakness is. Most of us come into an interview
equipped with what our strengths are, but not many
come prepared to tell you what their weakness is.
We all have weaknesses. If you can’t identify yours,
how do you know what you need to work on to
gr ow? It’s a matter of being in touch with yourself.
I also try to walk an interviewee out to their car
at the end of the interview. It is a time where the
conversation is more relaxed and less nervous on
their part and might reflect a personality that didn’t
come through in the formal interview. Also,
someone once told me to check out their car. Is it
clean, organized or dirty with all kinds of things
thrown around? You can learn a lot about a person
from how they keep their car.”
— CINDI FLANAGAN • Owner
Abundant Health Day Spa • New Smyrna Beach, Florida
“I always ask why? Why Mario Tricoci? A
technician really needs to research our
company to know the culture. We are a
unique culture of talented individuals
who are always looking to learn and
help each other succeed.”
— AMBER EDWARDS • Nail Director
Mario Tricoci Salons & Day Spas
Palatine, Illinois
“When a potential new hire comes for
an interview, the receptionist greets them,
offers them water or coffee, then has the
candidate sit for a few minutes. We’ll wait about
five minutes after the scheduled interview time
before bringing the candidate to the meeting room
and conducting the interview. At the end of the day,
we ask the receptionist how friendly and respectful
the candidate was to her. While potential new hires
may be able to ‘turn it on’ for an interview, they
wouldn’t be able to fake it with everybody they
encounter unless they were truly a kind person. The
candidate should treat the receptionist with the
same amount of respect as they would their
potential manager or even the president of the
company.”
— BOLDIJARRE KORONCZAY • President
Éminence Organic Skin Care • Vancouver, British Columbia • Canada
May 2017
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