Daily Archives: May 21, 2012

Your art.

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A favorite question of mine when interviewing candidates is “What is your art?  I don’t use it all the time because candidates more often than not either give a blank stare or say “What do you mean?”  If faced with that bounce back I might suggest “Define it as you will.”

What is your art? 

It’s a personal assessment but I guess it’s also part public assessment. Interviewees might default to song, or drawing or writing, though since I’m often interviewing in a business setting, that tends to set the context.  Try it sometime.  And don’t lead the witness.  You know that look you get from a dog when you hide the ball behind your back – the quizzical look – you may get that.  However some people thrive.  The question is disarming yet alarming. It probes things that might be hidden. And if it doesn’t work and breaks the mood, you can always blame me. When it works though, it can be magical. Peace.