{"id":70253,"date":"2020-01-05t12:00:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-05t17:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=70253"},"modified":"2024-08-14t11:26:40","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14t15:26:40","slug":"10-interview-questions-for-unlocking-true-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2020\/01\/05\/10-interview-questions-for-unlocking-true-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"10 interview questions for unlocking true potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>how to think outside the (geographical) box and hire remotely.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by jody grunden<\/i><\/p>\n

before our firm became a distributed company with a remote workforce, our hiring was naturally limited to a small geographical location \u2013 fort wayne, indiana.<\/p>\n

more: <\/b>the hidden cost of running a distributed company<\/a> | how to run effective leadership team meetings<\/a> | disc helps remote team work together effectively<\/a> | 3 ways to keep client files safe from security threats<\/a> | the rise of the virtual cfo<\/a>
\n\"goprocpa.com\"exclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

when we really started to grow, we knew we needed to bring in more senior-level accountants to be able to handle the clients we were bringing in at such a rapid pace.<\/p>\n

fort wayne has a pool of about 300,000 people, so you can imagine how few accountants there are in that population. the pool was small, especially when we were looking for highly qualified cpas.<\/p>\n

when it came to recruiting, we would go to the local colleges and job fairs, but we were a small company and not as attractive as some of the bigger firms that were there at the time. the candidates we were getting were coming to us primarily because they couldn\u2019t get a job anywhere else.<\/p>\n

local accounting firms (and the accountants working in them) didn\u2019t really have us on their radar because we weren\u2019t picking up local clients like they were; we were picking up national clients. our ideal candidates didn\u2019t know we existed. we were generating fewer than five resumes per week from our website, and we knew we needed to find a different approach.<\/p>\n

we met a representative from flexjobs<\/a> (which is an online resource for finding remote and flexible jobs) at a remote work conference in 2015 and shortly afterward they interviewed us. not only did we really like them, but as a result of that interview, we were discovered by forbes, and they listed us as one of the top 125 distributed companies in the united states along with some of the big guys like dell, apple, and microsoft.<\/p>\n

when flexjobs listed our open position, we received 700 resumes within a week! and they weren\u2019t just any<\/em> resumes, they had come from truly quality people \u2013 highly qualified cpas at large accounting firms. from there, we automated our process a little bit more. we were able to get more specific about our qualifications, asking important questions regarding education and salary expectations upfront so we could narrow down the overwhelming list of resumes to the best candidates.<\/p>\n

in order to manage this influx of resumes, we developed an ongoing open application system so that even when we\u2019re not actively hiring, we continue accepting incoming resumes. we let applicants know when we\u2019re not actively hiring and tell them that we\u2019ll reach out when we are. this way, whenever we are ready to grow our team, we have an available pool of qualified applicants to choose from, and on average we continue to receive a new resume every day. pretty unreal!<\/p>\n

we also developed some structure around screening and interviewing applicants to focus on the following four beliefs that we found to be most important for us and the culture of our company:<\/p>\n

1. core values:<\/strong> the most important thing you can do when it comes to hiring new employees is to define your core values and proactively hire people who fit those values. everyone you hire will have an impact on the culture of your company in one way or another. have you ever heard the saying, \u201cone\u00a0bad apple\u00a0can spoil the bunch\u201d? this is absolutely true when it comes to company culture. keep your bunch healthy by making sure everyone you hire personally embodies your company\u2019s core values.<\/p>\n

2. emotional intelligence:<\/strong> emotional intelligence (ei) refers to a person’s\u00a0ability to recognize, understand and manage their\u00a0emotions, as well as the ability to recognize, understand and influence\u00a0the emotions of others. people with high ei are aware of how their emotions drive their own behaviors and impact others.<\/p>\n

emotional intelligence is proven to account for 50-60 percent of overall job success, demonstrating that it\u2019s an essential skill for your team members. people with higher levels of ei have the ability to be aware of and control their own emotions.\u00a0<\/strong>they work better with others, manage clients more efficiently and help foster a welcoming and accepting company culture.<\/p>\n

we believe that it is critical to screen for ei during the interview process in order to build a team that is healthy and successful. we have a minimum ei threshold of 100. the average ei range is 90-100, with 160 being the highest possible score.<\/p>\n

3. look for true potential:<\/strong> there are the standard interview questions that you have to cover, and then there are questions that help you get to the core of the person you are interviewing. your goal is to gain insight into who they are ultimately striving to be and whether or not they have the wherewithal to get there. at the end of this post, i\u2019m including a list of sample interview questions that you can use to help identify a candidate\u2019s true potential.<\/p>\n

here are a couple of great books that we recommend for every leader and hiring manager:<\/p>\n