We recently published a blog about our go-to interview questions, plus some from our Skimm team managers. You asked for more, so welcome to part 2. Below are a few things our team leads ask when candidates interview at theSkimm, and why.
Top Skimm Interview Questions:
How do you balance the need to come up with something creative, with the need to create something useful? — Head of Marketing
Why we’re asking: This gives me the ability to get a glimpse into your creative, strategic thinking, and problem solving skills. At a startup we’re constantly being challenged to create new and innovative things, but we also need to make sure we’re creating useful and meaningful things for our audience and company. We’re playing a game of tradeoffs, and I’m interested to hear how you win the game.
What’s an interesting book you’ve read, or podcast you’ve listened to recently? — Head of Growth & Analytics
Why we’re asking: It’s important in growth and analytics to challenge what you know, and to constantly be learning. This question helps to assess whether this is something the candidate is already doing on their own.
Tell me a time you made a big mistake at work, and how you rectified it. — Insights Lead
Why we’re asking: This tells me right away whether or not candidates can own up to their mistakes. It also helps me understand how they adjust to different challenges, and gives me a very clear sense of how we might work together.
How do you negotiate between people with different agendas? — COO
Why we’re asking: I don’t like the philosophical questions. I’m not a psychologist. I want to know what happens, and how you navigate when you get told two different things.
How do you get your news when you’re on your own time? — Managing Editor
Why we’re asking: This gives me a sense of who candidates are. It tells me what brands and voices they choose to surround themselves with when they’re off the clock. It also tells me what stories they personally care about. That usually lends itself to a more free-flowing conversation.
What’s one thing about your current job that you’d really like to leave behind/never do again if you can help it? — Insights Lead
Why we’re asking: No one really wants to talk about why they’re leaving their current job — so this question is a more subtle way to unearth things. It also helps me hone in on a role’s fit, because if candidates mention something that would be a major part of their job at theSkimm, it’s likely they wouldn’t be happy with us either.
[Editor’s note: Do NOT talk badly about your current employer. It’s not a good look. It also makes us wonder what you’ll one day say about us]
What was your first job? — Recruiter
Why we’re asking: For a sales role (for example), we want to know the people we hire are workaholics or hungry by nature. Were they earning money for themselves as early as possible? Did they strive to take on hard jobs early in life?
What would your Engineering and Design teams say is their favorite, and least favorite part about working with you? — Head of Product
Why we’re asking: A lot of the success of a PM is driven by the way they motivate and lead the Design and Engineering teams to build products. I love this question since it gets to the core of how candidates work day-to-day with their teammates, and it’s a better way to uncover any weaknesses or flags to dig into.
You’re assigned a project that you’ve never done before, and have very little experience doing. What is your initial feeling, and what’s your process to getting to a successful completion? — Media Ops Lead
Why we’re asking: This allows me to understand 1) How candidates process their emotions, 2) How detailed and methodical they are, 3) How well they’re able to tell a story.
PS. Here’s Our Go-To Interview Questions, Part 1
PPS. We’re hiring.
