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Comment from Mindy:

"Out of your last two (you chose) positions who is your favorite manager and why?

Least favorite and why?"

For a maintenance associate. . . I like to take them to a vacant (not turned yet) apartment. I ask them to point out what needs to be done to get it ready.

For leasing. . . I ask them to take me on a tour. . .I also like to ask them what is important in a typical phone call. . .

I always like to ask how you are able to take a negative situation and turn it positive. I use examples of property management experience through specific site examples and ask the candidate - what would you do?

My favorite interview question is "What was the most stressful situation you were ever in and how did you handle that"? It is amazing what people will say.

My favorite questions have always been. "What do you consider to be your greatest strength?" followed by " What do you consider to be your greatest weakness or area that needs improvement?". I always get very honest, accurate, candid answers especially to the questions pertaining to possible improvement areas.

I often ask what someone's greatest strength is, as it is always revealing, and usually quite honest. It is disarming for people to hear the next question, but it is necessary to ask what their greatest weakness is. It is surprising what a large number of people have told me that they had a hard time being organized and staying on track. It has helped me to be on the alert for other markers during the interview that indicate that they would not be good as a property/project manager.

I have a few of questions I like to use.

1. What do you consider your strengths?
2. What do you consider as one of your weaknesses?
3. Can you describe what your perfect supervisor would be like?

I give the applicant a chance to not answer immediately if they cannot think of a response. I do always go back to the question not answered by the end of the interview. The answers have proven to be very insightful.

This question helps me understand how a prospective employee thinks through a problem: "How many people fly between Los Angeles and Philadelphia every day?". Nobody knows the answer, but the way they respond can tell you alot about their logic, thought process, and resourcefulsness.

While this is not a question, I find it to be very helpful. Ask your candidate to take a pad and pencil to an area (or room) in the building and ask him or her to write down all the things they see that are wrong or problems in that particular area. The result is that you can tell if the person actually "sees" what is wrong. Some folks just don't see what is wrong. This is the only way I know to see whether your candidate will be a good manager who actually sees the problem!

First off, I try to get the candidates to relax and be at ease...try to have an interview that is like a conversation rather than just answering question after question. I like to ask them what one of their most proud moments was professionally or personally and what made it special. Also a variation on some of what others have said here but ask them to use three words to describe themselves...or the same for their greatest strength and weaknesses. It is important to get to know that person and see what they are like. Experience is important but the personality can determine if it is a fit or not.

I use the internet to find out as much about the person prior to having an interview with the prospect. A good resource is the following link:

www.pipl.com

I also check the usual stuff such as www.myspace.com , www.facebook.com , and http://twitter.com/

This gives me a better way to interview someone and to tell if they are attempting to hide something. However, if they do not have any profiles setup, then it would be more difficult.

favorite interview question I have ever heard was: "If you were a animal what would you be?" It allows you to see the person's character. What type of animal they would want to be shows what type of person they are.

Some of my favorite interview questions include:
1. Being able to learn quickly on the job is important in this office. Tell me about a situation when you had to pick up an essential skill quickly.

What was the skill you had to learn?
What led to this situation?
What did you do that helped you learn quickly?
What was the outcome of this situation?
When was the next time you used this skill? Tell me about it.
2. I’m interested in how you show initiative to go beyond everyday requirements. Give me an example of when you showed initiative on the job.


3. There are always times when things are so busy that your job is quite hectic. There are also times when there is less to do. Tell me about the slowest period in your recent experience, and how you filled your time.


4. Tell me about a time when you were able to help improve a work procedure by making good suggestions to your supervisor or co-worker.


5. Describe an experience in which you worked as part of a team


Describe your best and worst boss

The interview questions that I have found to be the most effective are the ones that go towards who the person is. Skills and knowledge of specific material can be acquired, but to really know if a certain individual will be a vital part of your team you need to know who they actually are. Such as: “Tell me what you enjoy doing the most in your spare time.” If the say something relating to work, they are just giving you lip service. “If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be and why.” Sometimes these answers can show what a person wants to strive for. People with big dreams tend to be more likely to work hard to attain those dreams.