KQ... or KO?

e|mo SG

Here comes a killer question
Tell me something about yourself you've never told anyone?
What were you hoping we wouldn't ask you?
If you had to do something different, how would you do it?
What is your take on the industry?

By Desmond Ng

GAME show questions?

Believe it or not, these are actual interview questions, aptly nicknamed 'killer questions'.

If you think times are tough, think again. Employers are resorting to extreme methods to select employees.

A new breed of KQs or 'killer questions', designed to disorient applicants, have become common, reported The Guardian.

A survey by recruitment agency Office Angels revealed that 90 per cent of employers pose a killer question in interviews - a 13 per cent rise from 1999 indicating an emphasis on the candidate's ability to think on his feet.

For example, how would you respond to: 'Tell me something about yourself you've never told anyone?'

Or 'What were you hoping we wouldn't ask you?'

Interactive Skills career psychologist David Lawson, who has spent 14 years teaching interviewers how to select the right candidates, explained that hypothetical questions get hypothetical answers.

He said: 'But most interviewers want to ask candidates difficult questions to see how they react under pressure... Employers are not trying to catch people out with KQs. Answering the KQs in the most confident way could mean the difference between getting the job or blowing it completely.'

But don't worry. These KQs have not caught on in Singapore. (See report below.) At least not yet.

Corporate affairs manager of global staffing company Business Trends, Ms Patricia Wee-Windsor, has not noticed any such trend here.

However, she explained that KQs can help to find out how articulate and expressive candidates can be.

And it's more applicable to frontline work rather than the operations side.

She said: 'Those who deal with clients on a more regular basis need to think quickly on their feet and be able to conduct themselves well. Customers do throw you off guard, so you need to think on your feet.

'And these questions test how you handle stress. Your poise and finesse while answering are important.'

Adecco Personnel's general manager, Ms Lynne Ng, agreed that killer questions are not common here.

She said: 'In the 15 years I have been in the recruitment business, I have never encountered a single candidate who tells me that he's been asked these questions.

'Rather, the most stressful interviews were the ones where the interviewers came across as being mean, asked very provocative questions and watched the candidates' reactions. This is to test their reaction under duress and how well they handle difficult situations.'

She added that such interviewing techniques were usually used for jobs like public relations, customer service and sales which require candidates to be very diplomatic and think fast.

Managing consultant of recruitment firm Drake International, Mr Maurice Yeo, said it had its own set of questions which tested candidates' abilities to think on their feet.

He explained: 'In Singapore, and at Drake itself, we don't ask that kind of killer questions as we are more concerned whether they can do the job. They might be able to think on their feet, that's good. But at the end of the day, you still have to consider their personality and their job skills.'

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Personal profiling preferred here

NO, there are no killer questions as yet.

But there are other surprises in store for job applicants here.

Ms Wee-Windsor revealed that personality profiling tests are about as extreme as what employers would go to suss out potential employees.

She said: 'There is a growing trend of companies using personality profiling tests to see how candidates think and if they are consistent in the way they answer their questions.

'It is always used as a complementary to the traditional interview process.'

She also explained that employers are asking more in-depth questions now as the labour market offers more choice of candidates.

She said : 'I see a growing trend of behavioural and open-ended questions such as 'What is your take on the industry?' or 'If you had to do something different, how would you do it?'

'These questions look more at the thought process of the candidates.'