Being an interviewer, a person has so much experience to be able to judge a candidate based on his/her way of talking, performance, skills, qualifications, etc. But his ability to rating a candidate is what they are being paid for. Though, It can also be hard at times to set the parameters through which a potential candidate can be rated, but this is all an interviewer signs up for.
Interviewers are kept to know a candidate’s perspective on what basis he thinks the interviewers rate the potential employees. This question may sound a little off guard but it really holds important places in some interviews for the hiring managers, to be able to judge the applicants. It is a very common question asked in so many interviews as a closing question.
Examples of the Situations When the Employer Can Ask This Question
- Human Resource Manager Interview: When you are a part of an interview related to human resource management, there will be a list of your duties that will require you to judge and rate other candidates or even interview them. So, by asking this question, the employers can get an idea of how and on what basis you will assess the skills of other applicants when the time comes. This may also work for the fields like sports coaches, teachers, etc.
- Assessing the candidate’s ability to answer the question: Now, when a candidate prepares some common interview questions in a particular field, this question does not come under the list of frequently asked interview questions in an interview. So, there are chances that not all the candidates will be able to answer this question as they did not expect the interview to ask such a question in the first place. The role of the hiring managers is to test a candidate and his/her viability for a particular job position. This is why the hiring managers, to find the best of the candidates, ask such questions to shake things up a bit in the interview process.
Now, as important it is to know why the employers ask such questions in an interview, it is equally important to know how to carefully respond to such a question, and craft a wonderful answer to them. So, let us understand how to answer this question in detail.
How to Answer This Question
Remain Positive
Giving a positive answer is the key to impress the interviewer. Try and avoid any negative answer or any kind of constructive criticism while answering this question. Focus on what worked extremely well and what you found extremely productive in the interview. Take the help of the questions that you liked to answer during the interview. Be honest in whatever answer you give, but remember that your answer should portray positivity as answering negatively will never help you to land on to the job.
Highlight skills and qualities
Discuss the overall qualities that you think that the employer was looking for in the interview. Do not use numerical rating as you cannot really rate a person’s skills and qualities, that is why rate interviews using your words including qualities, capabilities, and skills of individuals rather than using numerical rating.
Do not try to flatter the interviewer as most of the candidates try to do that during the interview, instead, to stand out in an interview, give an informed and well-crafted response that will actually impress the employer and get you a step closer to being hired for the position. Be attentive during the interview and keep a mental note of what is the interviewer looking for in you by asking the questions that he does during the interview. The response can be framed better when you do a proper assessment of the hiring manager’s interviewing style.
Remember, being positive does not necessarily mean that your answer should be all perfect and revolve around the good points, the key to find a great balance between reviewing a person’s style of testing the candidate and getting to know him better, and talking about the actual facts and the questions that were asked to you by the employer in the interview.
For example, instead of flattering by saying that I think you are flawless in what you are doing, say I think you had a different approach than I have seen in most of my interviews, it was more methodical and practical, which is why I think your basis of rating a candidate is much more relevant and I am sure that this technique helps you in choosing the ideal employee for the position.
Sample Interview Answers
Sample Interview Answer 1
“I think you really have a practical and comprehensive approach to asking questions in an interview. From your questions, it seemed you were looking for application-based knowledge that I had in the field of marketing. You kept noting down key points as I gave answers to each question that you asked, so you could take an accurate decision at the time of finalizing candidates for a job position. I think you are really an expert in what you are doing and looking at your approach I can say that you must have a great experience of the same.”
Sample Interview Answer 2
“I would say that you really know how to get your job done right and to its best. I observed that you mostly asked me behavioral-based questions to see how I actually acted and reacted to a particular situation and in my opinion, there is nothing better than testing the actual skills of a candidate. I don’t know about my performance in answering these questions but your performance as an interviewer was surely up to the mark. I am sure that you will hire the perfect candidate for this role.”
Sample Interview Answer 3
“I am fresher, and I am at the initial stage of my career which makes me think that I am not even qualified enough to rate you as a hiring manager but as much as I have paid attention to each and every question that you put in front of me, I can say that you like to test a candidate on the basis of this intellectual ability and problem-solving skills after all programming is all about using your mental skills to find a solution to a problem. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process and even the practical test that you took to test my basic knowledge about the field. I think you are a great interviewer and I cannot really rate you in terms of any numerical value.
Sample Interview Answer 4
“I cannot really rate your performance as an interviewer because this the first time I am ever meeting you, and it is not really my role to be able to rate or judge you. One of the qualities that I liked in you as an interviewer is that you don’t make your candidates feel uncomfortable or make them feel like they are not part of the department even though we are not.
You gave me my time to respond to each question and even simplified the questions when I asked you to. And I am aware that interviews can be nerve-wracking and people get nervous during them, but you made sure that I should be open to sharing my thoughts on a topic. You have all the qualities that a candidate looks for in an interviewer. You helped me understand every part of my job and its description and that is why I think on a scale of 10, you would really make all of it.”
Sample Interview Answer 5
“Well, I really did not see this question coming, but if I would have to rate you as an interviewer, I would rate you as an excellent one because you have really been to the point with the set of the questions that you have asked me up till now, you helped me become aware of the duties and responsibilities associated with this position, you focused on my skills and qualities instead throughout the interview, the questions you asked me must have really given you an idea whether or not I am a suitable candidate for the position. I liked your methodical approach to assessing a candidate. Now I am sure that if I will get hired for this role then I will be having some of the best and talented as well as competent co-workers in the Human Resource Department.”
Conclusion
This was all you need to know about how to answer this question. Notice how all of these answers are distinct and not one of them makes it look like that the candidate is one of the people pleasers and is just saying everything to flatter the interviewer. Each answer was backed up with a valid explanation of why the candidate thinks that the interviewer should be rated in that particular way. So, to give a good answer you need to be prepared to answer such questions in your interview. As suggested, avoid talking about anything negative as getting you hired for that role will be in their hands.
I hope this article gave you a clear picture of how to answer this specific question in an interview and you enjoyed reading this article. Let us know what you like the most about our articles in the comment section and share it with your friends and family.
Thank you for reading this article!
References
https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article-abstract/58/1/1/167833
Sandeep Bhandari is the founder of PrepMyCareer.com website.
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