The Management Tip of the Day : 2 Unconventional Questions to Ask a Job Applicant

HBR ;September 13, 2013 Gauging a potential employee's skills and suitability is tricky when you don’t have much time.  But there are ways to take interviewees out of their comfort zones and encourage the kind of candor that will enable you to find the best fits.  Try using these takes on standard interview questions: "What don't you want to be doing five years from now?" Asking the question this way forces an applicant to think on his feet, revealing a lot about his adaptability. "What would you say is the biggest misperception people have of you?"  Top candidates will have a high level of self-awareness and won’t have trouble answering this.  They’ll also understand that perception is reality in many cases, and may already have a plan to address it. Adapted from “How to Separate the Winners from the Spinners,” by Chris Smith and Chris Stephenson.