Interviewing for "Strong Communication Skills"
A list of practical questions
“Strong communication skills” is always listed as a required skill in job postings.
And I always wonder, “How are they screening for that?”
Sure, the interview itself can be a screen for communication skills. But it doesn’t represent the everyday communication scenarios the person being interviewed will find themselves in once they get the job.
If I were trying to assess someone’s communication skills in a job interview, I might ask them a few of these questions:
How would you define effective communication? How would you define ineffective communication?
What do you look for when communicating with others to know whether or not you’re being understood?
Walk me through how you prepare for a meeting you’re leading.
What are three words you’d want people to use when describing you as a communicator? What do you do when you communicate to be described like that?
How might you answer a client question you don’t know the answer to?
Imagine you’re delivering a presentation to X. How do you know whether or not that presentation was successful?
Imagine you’re leading a meeting that’s getting off track. What might you say to get it back on track?
Imagine you’re emailing a client. What are 2-3 communication principles you follow to ensure it gets read and is easily understood?
What are 2-3 things you do when speaking to groups to keep them engaged?
How does your communication change when speaking to a boss versus a colleague versus a client?
What common communication practice would you like to see change in our industry?
Tell me about an aspect of your communication you want to develop and what you’re doing (or plan to do) to develop it.
Imagine you have to give negative feedback to someone you manage. What are 2-3 things you’d do when delivering that feedback to make receiving it easier?
Imagine you start feeling defensive while your boss is giving you negative feedback. What might you say or do at that moment to make the most out of the feedback opportunity?
Tell me about a time in your professional career when you communicated effectively/ineffectively.
What do you believe are three keys to a successful meeting?
What are your thoughts on using profanity as a professional?
Imagine you have two minutes to verbally deliver a project update to your boss. How would you organize your message to ensure the most important information gets shared?
Imagine you’re running a meeting, but only five of the eight people show up on time. What do you do?
What do you need to include for an apology to be effective?
Imagine a conversation you’re having with a colleague is escalating because you have differing viewpoints. What might you do or say to de-escalate the conversation?
What’s one of your communication pet peeves?
What others would you add to the list? Drop them in the comments 👇
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Until next time!
Jenny