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Two-part questions


So, there I was, conducting a phone interview with an exceptionally average candidate when it struck me (and not for the first time): Why do I bother asking two-part questions during an interview?


This was followed shortly thereafter by: I bet I’d get paid good money to teach people how to nail a job interview.


I haven’t yet committed to the work it would take to monetize the second one, and let’s be honest: I’m expecting to strike it big with this blog, get a movie made, and retire on the revenue stream it generates. So, in the interim, I’ll focus on the first thought. Maybe with a few tips-n-tricks sprinkled in for those who are looking to improve their interview skilz.


Interviews...no, let's break it down even further: Questions. Interviews are made up of questions. Any good Communications major is going to tell you that in order to effectively communicate, you need to first be a good listener. During an interview, a ‘good’ listener is going to hear the question, understand the question, and then answer the question.


All parts of the question.


During a job interview, the interviewer asks questions to gain information from the interviewee  to make a determination on whether the candidate in question is suited for the position in question. The interviewee may then ask questions of the interviewer to understand more about the position and make his/her own determination on whether the position, if offered, would be a good fit. Without appropriate answers to the questions, no determination can be made, and it is as though the interview may as well not have happened. Said another way: Why bother with the interview?


The topic that prompted this blog post is the apparent challenge that is a multi-part question. When I ask someone about their past job(s), I tend to ask, "When and why did you leave?" With the beautiful efficiency that is the English language, I am able to convey an interest in two concepts with a minimum number of words:


  1. When did you leave?

  2. Why did you leave?


I'm looking for answers to both, which is why there's the 'and' in the middle.


Alas, four out of five times, a candidate will state either when they left or why they left. A recent example:


Me: Your resume shows that you're currently working at Home Depot. Are you looking to leave, or are you looking for a second job?

Candidate: I left that job.

Me: Alright, when and why did you leave?

Candidate: Because I moved.

Me: (silence for several seconds) Ok, and when was that?

Candidate: November.


Classically, I realize my error in asking the two-part question after I’ve already asked it. Upon receiving an answer to only one part, I remind myself that in order to be a good interviewer, one needs to know his/her audience. My audience has proven time and again that it can’t handle a two-part question. Then I ask myself why the heck I forget this each and every time, knowing full well that I'll forget come the very next interview and will be left in this very same place five minutes in.


My internal dialogue tends to take a second or two, during which time we both sit in silence on the phone. Then I spend a few more seconds wondering why an awkward silence on the line never prompts the candidate to expand a bit more on his/her answer.


Then, once all that has run through my head, I'll prompt the candidate to answer the other part of the question they either forgot was part of the question or didn’t catch in the first place.


I've been on the other side of the interview before, obviously, as a candidate for both entry-level and high-level positions. Entry-level interviews are simple. Straightforward. Typically one-part questions, two-part at most. Not difficult. The high-level interviews are much more complex than a 'when and why did you leave' type of a question. Let me explain.


[Sidenote: This also gets into the ‘interview tips-n-tricks’ I mentioned earlier.]


The highest-level position for which I interviewed was the assistant store manager of a Walmart. I know what some people are thinking: "Oh, assistant store manager, whatever, you're not the store manager. I managed a Panera once, so I'm doing better than you." Well, great. Good for you for getting into a management position. Career goals, am I right?


But let’s be clear: the store I assistant-managed had an annual revenue of more than $300 million with over 150 employees. Not a big Walmart by any means, but quite a bit bigger than your local Panera. I’m pretty sure the folks who are COO or CFO or CTO (you know: one of those second-in-command positions) of your garden-variety $300+M corporation aren’t spending a lot of time comparing themselves to the manager of the fast-casual chain they grab lunch at. Well, I grant that I’m not quite at the CFO level, but I also didn’t spend a great deal of time worrying about managing the local Panera.


High-level interview questions can be a single question or multi-part question but always require a multi-part answer. We're not talking 'when and why' questions, no. We're talking, "Tell me about a project you worked on and what steps you took to ensure its success" or "How would you tackle a project assigned to you that is outside your skill set." These types of questions require a (well-) thought-out response that hits several different points. I was taught to go about answering high-level interview questions using the STAR or SMART methods:


  1. STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result

  2. SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based.


Basically, the interviewer is looking for you to describe a specific situation, how you went about resolving the situation, over what timeframe, and with what quantifiable results. Those answers can take several minutes.


Pro tip: If it takes you 45 seconds to answer, and your answer sounds something like, "Well, a customer wanted an item that wasn't on the shelf, so I went to the back to see if we had any extra," try again.


When interviewing my candidates for entry-level janitorial positions, I want to be clear: No, I don’t expect a monologue of critical thinking and problem solving. But I do think it is reasonable to expect someone to handle the 'when and why did you leave' question. I have a five-year-old niece, and she can handle a two part question. Accordingly, if you cannot handle that kind of question, I’m going to assume it is because you aren't paying attention enough to realize a two-part question has been asked that is requiring a two-part answer…or is that entirely unreasonable?

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