In a podcast, he revealed that there is a key question that leaves some people speechless.
Human resources professionals have many tricks to know if a candidate is suitable for a position, but there is one question that, according to the former HR director at Microsoft, throws everyone off guard. In his podcast CLWil, Chris Williams recounted that they always tried to find an “intelligent and passionate” employee who could quickly adapt to a assembled workgroup and, from there, generate connections with other related sectors.
“Someone who can dive straight into any challenge presented to them. A person who will quickly learn what they need and help others by sharing what they have learned,” detailed Williams, who worked for 7 years and 9 months at the American technology corporation, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The opening question of their interviews opened the door to know if a candidate was apt. “Tell me something you have learned in the last few days.” “Maybe they have learned to format pivot tables in Excel. Perhaps they know how to make a better battle robot. It could be the story of a poet they love. Or how to teach their children to ride a bike. Maybe they know how to cook leeks. I have seen people talk about the games they love and the sports they have just practiced,” said Williams.
You should never answer with nothing, because life is impossible without learning anything. You might have even learned to operate a program or cook something new. Furthermore, Williams made it clear that soft skills are essential. Whoever knows how to communicate and speak already has half the interview won. “A great communicator will know how to frame their passion for the subject. They will make it easy to share what they have learned. Their enthusiasm will show,” he assured about the ideal candidate.
He then made it clear that with AI doing all the automation, people who show eagerness to learn, to integrate into groups, and who are positive will be the most valuable in the future.