What Interview Questions Do Job Candidates Want to Answer? Yoh Survey Reveals What Americans Most Want to Discuss When Looking for a Job

Amid Crunch for Top Talent, Results of Latest Yoh Survey Shed Light on the Questions Candidates Find Most Valuable; Accompanying “Yoh 2024 Interview Guide” Shares Insights on Refining Interview Protocols To Align With Candidate Needs and Expectations

Philadelphia, PA – As unemployment remains near record lows and more Americans leave the workforce, a persistent U.S. labor shortage continues to create headaches for companies seeking to recruit and retain top talent. However, the results of a new survey from Yoh, a leading international talent and outsourcing company owned by Day & Zimmermann, offer organizations a roadmap to revamping their approach to interviews, a critical tool in the hiring process, in ways that better attract, engage and meet the expectations of today’s job candidates.

In the survey, respondents were presented with a series of questions and asked to choose which of them they would want to be asked during a job interview to determine if a given role was right for them. The top question, selected by over half of respondents (54%), was fairly traditional: “What do you think makes you a good candidate for this job?”. The survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh among 2,084 adults ages 18 and older.

“Interviews are fundamental to the hiring process, and as the findings of our latest survey underscore, decisions about which questions to ask should not be taken lightly,” said Emmett McGrath, President, Yoh. “This is especially true considering ongoing talent shortages and the need to optimize all recruitment touchpoints to source candidates and fill open positions. The key for hiring managers is to strike the right balance between relying on conventional, tried-and-true questions and pushing the boundaries of the traditional interview with out-of-the-box questions that test applicants’ creativity and problem-solving ability."

In total, 90% of Americans indicated they would want to be asked one or more of the following questions during a job interview:

• What do you think makes you a good candidate for this job? – 54%
• What soft skills (e.g., adaptability, conflict resolution, problem-solving) do you possess that would make you a good candidate for this job? – 46%
• What did you like most about your last job? – 45%
• What is an accomplishment (personal or professional) you are proud of and why? – 44%
• How do you handle high-stress situations at work? – 43%
• What would success in this position mean to you? – 41%
• What is a quality of a manager you like best? – 38%
• If money was no object, what would you choose to do as a career? – 28%
• What did you dislike about your last job? – 27%
• What resources do you need to have available in your next job? – 27%
• What are your non-negotiables in a job? – 24%
• What management style do you dislike the most? – 20%
• What is a quality of a manager you dislike? – 19%

SPOTLIGHTING KEY TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

The data from Yoh’s survey demonstrates respondents’ preference for certain discussion topics over others. Three themes in particular resonate with job candidates:

• PROMOTE POSITIVITY: Respondents indicated a greater desire for positively framed questions as opposed to negatively framed questions. 45% of respondents wanted to be asked “What did you like most about your last job?”, while only 27% of respondents wanted to be asked “What did you dislike most about your last job?”. This preference was particularly salient for college graduates, with 50% wanting to be asked about the high points of their most recent position compared to only 39% of respondents with a high-school education or less.
  
  
• ASK ABOUT ADVERSITY: Respondents, particularly those of a minority background, were interested in sharing how they’ve dealt with difficult circumstances. While 43% of all respondents wanted to be asked “How do you handle high-stress situations at work?”, more than half (51%) of Hispanic respondents wanted to be asked the question, compared with only 41% of White, non-Hispanic respondents.
  
  
• APPROACH ACCOMPLISHMENTS THOUGHTFULLY: While nearly half (44%) of respondents wanted to be asked “What is an accomplishment (personal or professional) you are proud of and why?”, a closer look at demographics reveals noteworthy differences of opinion. Namely, respondents who were older (37% of respondents aged 18-34 vs. 52% of respondents aged 65+), more affluent (38% of respondents with household income of less than $50,000 vs. 49% of respondents with household income of $100,000+) and better educated (34% of respondents with high school education or less vs. 51% of college graduates) were more likely to indicate a desire to discuss this topic.

NOT ALL QUESTIONS ARE A FIT

As the survey findings also reveal, not all interview questions are favorably perceived by job candidates. In fact, according to the data, hiring managers would be wise to avoid two specific types of questions:

• NO NEED TO TALK NEEDS: Respondents appeared to dismiss questions designed to provide them with opportunities to articulate their individual wants and needs. Only 24% of respondents wanted to be asked “What are your non-negotiables in a job?”, and just 27% wanted to be asked “What resources do you need to have available in your next job?”. Older employees (i.e., those aged 65+) were the least interested, with only 17% wanting to be asked about non-negotiables and 23% wanting to be asked about resources. By comparison, middle-aged employees (i.e., those aged 45-55) were more interested in these types of questions, with 27% wanting to be asked about non-negotiables and 31% wanting to be asked about resources.
  
  
• HIT THE BRAKES ON HYPOTHETICALS: Respondents would rather avoid hypothetical questions, with only 28% wanting to be asked “If money was no object, what would you choose to do as a career?”. This trend became more pronounced as respondents aged, with just 35% of respondents aged 35-44 selecting the question and 20% of respondents aged 65+ doing the same.

“With the help of a qualified talent partner to source candidates, hiring managers should have enough information to fully determine if a candidate’s background and experience fits with the requirements of the role at hand by the conclusion of any interview,” said McGrath. “Sometimes, the simpler the question, the easier it is for candidates to demonstrate their ability to succeed within a role. And with the talent market the way it is, getting there in the easiest way possible can help expedite the process.”

To learn more about the complete survey findings and Yoh’s staffing solutions, visit www.yoh.com.

DOWNLOAD “THE YOH 2024 INTERVIEWING GUIDE”

In addition to the survey findings, Yoh has released its “2024 Interviewing Guide,” a tool for hiring managers seeking to enhance their interview protocols. The guide, informed by industry voices and Yoh’s own research, offers insights for asking the right questions, developing the right dynamic and ensuring an interview meets the mark for all participants.

To download “The Yoh 2024 Interviewing Guide,” visit https://www.yoh.com/the-yoh-2024-interviewing-guide. 

YOH/HARRIS POLL SURVEY METHODOLOGY

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh from March 12-14, 2024, among 2,084 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Nick Puleo at Nick@gobraithwaite.com.