Generic interview questions
“What targets (KPIs) did you have in your most recent job? What numbers were you trying to hit, in terms of churn or revenue?”
Earlier this week, an old colleague sent me the above question he’d received from multiple a company he was interviewing with for a customer success manager role. He was asking for some advice on how best to respond.
I reminded him we didn’t use KPIs and how outdated I think the concept is (but that’s an opinion for another time). I gave him some advice on how best to answer these what I think is a thoughtless. “first-level” question.
The question repeats over and over in my mind; what answer could a candidate give to the above question that would impress you as the interviewer? What knowledge are you gathering about the potential new hire by asking this question?
KPIs are often specific to each business, but they’re often specific to a department within that business. So unless you’re applying for the same role at a competitor product, I fail to see the benefit of such questions.
Questions like this lead me to believe that some companies must be playing a numbers game when it comes to hiring; interview as many candidates as possible, ask them the same questions, and you’ll eventually find a fit. Just fill spots with candidates that “check the most boxes”.
If you’re asking generic copy-paste questions, then you can only expect to hire, generic, copy-paste people.
It should give you, as the candidate some useful insight into the type of company you’re walking into.
As an applicant for a job if, would you think twice about the company you’re applying for based on the types of questions they’re asking you?
