Interviewing: Asking the Right Questions – When Yes and No Is Not Enough

Have you ever finished an interview and realized you don’t know any more about the person or event than you did before you started. How would you rate the interview, pass or fail?

Before I realized what I was doing wrong, this happened to me all too often. Whether you are interviewing a new employee candidate, a potential client in real estate, a service provider professional or your children, the type of questions you ask will determine the answers you get.

Early on in my career I learned there is a simple solution to this problem. The key to a successful interview is not to ask “yes or no” questions. Simple, but listen to yourself the next time you interview someone.

If you ask only yes or no questions you will only get yes or no answers. When I am on the other side of the table I have been taught not to provide too much information and I love yes and no questions. All I have to do is answer the question and I have provided the interviewer with exactly what he asked, albeit not what he may have wanted.

Never ask a yes and no question, always ask for more information, opinions, descriptions, explanations, etc.

Let’s look at some examples:

A. Have you ever been terminated or laid off from a job?

B. Explain why you left your last 3 places of employment?

 

A. Do you want to sell your house?

B. Why do you want to sell your house?

 

A. Did you see the accident occur?

B. What did you see happen?

 

A. Can you cut down the tree in my yard?

B. How would you cut down this tree hanging over my house?

 

A. Did you kick your brother?

B. Why did you kick you brother?

 

Even though these are simple examples you can see where in each case the “B” question will provide you with a better picture and more information from which you can form an opinion.

Yes this is a simple solution but as I said earlier listen to the questions you ask and I believe you will be amazed at how many are yes and no questions. I still have to watch myself to avoid this trap and practice it every day. When I do it right it makes my job a lot easier and successful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael J. Webb Reviews Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth

A New Review of :

Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth

 

 

 

Days of Future Past, December 23, 2013

By Michael J. Webb (Charlotte, NC)   

This review is from: Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth (Kindle Edition)

Reading Gray's poetry is like opening a time capsule of thought, feelings, and emotions. It resurrects vivid memories if of the past and foreshadows expectations of the future. Definitely worth the read, and worth revisiting from time to time as remembrance fades. To paraphrase a famous song from the period, Naked Eyes reminds me of "Knights in white satin, poems I've written, never meaning to send . . ."





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Latest Reviews from Amazon.com for Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth by Larry B. Gray

Latest Reviews from Amazon.com for Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth by Larry B. Gray

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5.0 out of 5 stars Collection of Inspiring Poems, November 2, 2013 By  Chris -   This review is from: Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth (Kindle Edition) Reading this inspiring, thought-provoking collection of poems gives you a glimpse of the author's life experiences and his heart and emotions as a young man. These are extremely well written, creative and expressive poems. I could relate to many things he was feeling in these poems. I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it!   5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry to Make You Think, October 29, 2013 By  C. Brown "writer" )    This review is from: Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth (Kindle Edition) Thought provoking and interesting, these poems will give you glimpses into several different realms of life from love to death, from darkness to light. It's a great little book that will create a sense of peace and calm while relaxing in the evenings. I recommend this book!   5.0 out of 5 stars Treasure from youth., October 21, 2013 By  Chris Ammann (Valrico FL) This review is from: Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth (Kindle Edition) Naked Eyes by Larry B. Gray is a true time capsule of 1970. This collection of poems shows a young Larry B. Gray pondering everything most intelligent young men do as they cross from adolescence to adulthood. Love, hate, war and death all come into play. I personally found myself again and again identifying with the words of the young Larry B. Gray and wished I had written many of them. Kept in the time frame of the turbulent late 60's and early 70's and it is to see these timeless poems as the treasure they are. In closing I could have included many of the passages to illustrate my point here but I left them out as not to spoil the reader's joy of discovery as I had. Sincerely Chris Ammann To be clear I was given a copy of Naked Eyes but the review is true and honest. 5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Collection, October 31, 2013 By  Martin Roth This review is from: Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth (Kindle Edition) I too used to write poems as a young man in the 1970s, though none of mine survive. Larry Gray kept his and has now published them, and they make an intriguing record of a young man of that era, his likes and doubts and dreams and fears. Some have an air of mystery, such as the intriguing "The Mystic Morning God," which I especially liked. This is a fun collection that brought back to me many memories of my own youthful life and my attempts to capture it in verse. I wish I had kept my writings. Click Here to order your copy of Naked Eyes from Amazon.com

Naked Eyes - Poetry of Youth by Larry B. Gray

Now Available From Amazon.com and Smashwords.com

 

 

Naked Eyes

 

Poetry of Youth

 

 

by Larry B. Gray

 

 

 

The late sixties and early seventies was a time of change in our world. The belief that everything was perfect was coming to an end. America was bogged down in an unpopular war in Vietnam which for the first time was broadcast nightly into everyone’s living room via TV. Between the anti-war demonstrations and the civil rights movement, political unrest was rampant. Drug use was widespread as people tried to “turn on, tune in and drop out.”

The poems in this collection follow no central theme and are random glimpses of my thoughts during this time of coming of age. Each poem has the date that it was written printed at the top of the page and reflects my little world and how I felt at that time.

 

 

 

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All I Really Need to Know - A Reminder

 

Every so often I have to re-read this poem to help remind me of the real world and what is important. I hope you enjoy.

All I Really Need To Know
I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

- an excerpt from the book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten

All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do
and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not
at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the
sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life - learn some and think some
and draw and paint and sing and dance and play
and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic,
hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup:
The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody
really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even
the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die.
So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books
and the first word you learned - the biggest
word of all - LOOK.



Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any of those items and extrapolate it into
sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your
family life or your work or your government or
your world and it holds true and clear and firm.
Think what a better world it would be if
all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about
three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with
our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments
had a basic policy to always put thing back where
they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you
are - when you go out into the world, it is best
to hold hands and stick together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Saturday Morning Thought - Social Media

 

 

Walking Daisy (a pug) and Duke (a golden retriever) this morning I realized how addicted Daisy is to social meadow. Duke was so interested in looking around and learning about nature and the world around him, always on the move. Daisy, on the other hand, had to stop every few feet and check her p-mail and often leaving a reply.

 

I am always amazed when God decides to send a message about life through simple everyday occurrence.

.

Because it's a Nice Day

"Say, Pooh, why aren't you busy?" I said.

"Because it's a nice day," said Pooh.

"But you could be doing something Important," I said.

"I am," said Pooh.

"Oh? Doing what?"

"Listening,"he said.

"Listening to what?"

"To the birds. And that squirrel over there."

"What are they saying?" I asked.

"That it's a nice day," said Pooh.

"But you know that already," I said.

"Yes, but it's always good to hear that somebody else thinks so, too," he said.

From The Tao of Pooh