Hiring/Firing Interview

1. What are some of your interview questions that seem to be the best for judging what type of employee you will gain?
1. Why would you want to work with us?
2. What do you understand about the work we do?
3. What have you done in the past and what do you see yourself doing in five years?
2. What are the qualities you look for in potential employees?
1. Honesty, punctuality, creativity, interpersonal skills, and education.
3. Do you ask the same questions for every interview?
1. Basically yes unless something in their response dictates that I delve further into a specific topic.
4. What types of things stand out to you in interviews as something a candidate did well?
1. Someone prepared with information about our work, company, and/or clients.
5. What type of things stand out to you in interviews as something a candidate did not do so well?
1. Someone who, once we explained some of our processes/procedures, began explaining how we are doing it poorly and he’ll make it better once he is hired.
6. How long, on average, does your hiring process take?  and your firing process?
1. Depends on the position or person for each.
1. Hiring usually takes a few weeks to advertise/solicit, interview, invite for employment, and then all the paperwork for beginning.
2. Firing is a quicker process unless and until former employees need to have long term benefits or other needs taken care of.
7. Has anyone ever brought a professional portfolio to a job interview with you? Would doing so have made a difference on whether or not you hired that person?
1. No.
2. It could have made a difference if it was tailored to our company/industry.
1. There is a danger of it becoming cumbersome or artsy.
8. Do you get references?  If so, do you call references?  How important are they in the hiring process?
1. I always get and call references.  They are critically important in the process.
9. What is your discipline policy for an employee who consistently underperforms?
1. If it is consistent enough, then there are various options from reduced pay, reduced responsibility, to ultimately being let go.
10. Have you ever had to fire an employee?  If so, what was the process, if any, that you used?
1. Yes.  I followed state mandated procedure after simply meeting with him and explaining that he would no longer be working with us.
11. Have you had to deal with subordination or conflict between employees?  How did you handle that?
1. No.
12. Are there circumstances that lead to immediate firing?
1. Violence and/or theft in the workplace.

     I interviewed Clint, a manager in the LDS Church security department who does some of the hiring/firing in the department. Most of the answers seem standard as to what I would expect from an interview.  I was a little surprised that he has never had to deal with subordination or conflict between employees.  It seems as though in a department with so many employees, there he would have had times that people have disagreed (but I'm not sure he's been a manager all that long…).  I also understand, at least with the security department, that if they suspect the breaking of rules, HR also gets involved. 

     It was interesting to me that this manager always calls references, it seems like that is sort of a lost thing with new hires anymore, but he felt really strongly about it.

     All in all it was a good interview, really interesting.