WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO ASK PANDEMIC INTERVIEW QUESTIONS?
It's something we'd like to shout from the rooftops. Empathy is crucial! Empathy is essential in today's business! Empathy is crucial. COVID does have a silver lining in that it introduces more empathy-based questions to the interview process. If that's the trade-off for all the drawbacks, I suppose we'll take it.
All of these pandemic interview questions will rely heavily on empathy. As a candidate, we believe it is critical to respond to these questions with empathy in mind. Returning these questions to the interviewer is also crucial, especially since we're all going through a difficult moment right now.
Here are three pandemic-related interview questions that are unlikely to go away very soon. The typical workforce will alter permanently in the year 2020.
When answering these questions, keep the following three keywords in mind:
Empathy is the ability to feel for others (we went over this one)
Adaptability(How you've handled the lemons)
Resilience (and how you turned lemons into lemonade)
Last but not least, you must ask the interviewer your own questions on how they dealt with (or are dealing with) the pandemic. How did the organization emphasize the health and well-being of its employees? What are their plans for workplace flexibility, medical benefits, and overall attention to psychological and physical safety at work in the future?
1. So, how are you holding up during this quarantine?
We're not telling anybody how to do their job, but this should be every interviewer's first question. Be upfront and forthcoming. Even more important, ping pong this question back to the interviewer. Take the time to connect with them on a deeper level.
There is no shame in expressing difficulty, effort, and, to be honest, dread. When discussing the problem, though, be sure to emphasize how you're adapting and the efforts you're taking to get through this difficult period. Consider the strength of your personal resiliency—and emphasize it.
2. Have you ever worked from home? How difficult was it for you to adjust to working from home?
The majority of people are learning how to work from home for the first time. Feel free to be open and honest in your response. You may add some color by describing how difficult the transition was at first, as well as the changes you made to make your work-from-home arrangement work for you, your career, and your personal life.
Perhaps you constructed a distinct workspace to separate "work" and "home" life, established 1:1s with your supervisors and coworkers to prevent loneliness, or shifted your working hours to maximize your most productive hours. Make your response unique.
3. Has COVID-19 influenced your professional plans?
COVID-19 has undergone a significant transformation. Explain to the interviewer how you got through this period of time. If you were laid off from a particularly hard-hit industry, describe how it influenced your decision to apply for the job you're applying for.
4. What impact did COVID-19 have on your job search?
Be truthful. Here's the deal with COVID-19. It's transformed the way people hunt for jobs and how employers look for employees both in terms of the interview's functionality and the talents they're looking for. When it comes to their own career, the hiring manager is usually just as concerned as you are. A recruiter or hiring manager can acquire insight into what a candidate's job search is like by answering this question honestly.
5. How do you envision your career's future in current times?
Is "I don't know" an appropriate response? Maybe, I suppose. When faced with a question like this, try to avoid throwing your hands up in defeat. Instead, describe how your industry has been impacted, what you've learned about how it will appear in "the new normal," and how you plan to adapt.
6. How do you organize your day when working from home?
For the first time, several companies are recruiting remotely. For the first time, they are being onboarded remotely. For the first time, they're forming new teams purely remotely. As a result, many COVID-19 interview questions are actually assisting them in moving forward.
Tell the interviewer about your greatest time management tips, what you've learned about yourself over the last several months, and how you've managed to persist while working from home (or how you plan to).
7. What are your preferred methods of communication when collaborating remotely?
We are huge fans of communication preferences. This pandemic has worked favorably for some and unfavorably for others. While some folks yearn for daily human connection, other more introverted employees prefer communication to be concise and infrequent.
Do you like to Slack all day? Do you prefer Zoom meetings to phone calls? Will you answer emails after a certain time?
8. What lessons have you learned from the pandemic, if any?
We've all learned a lot about ourselves, our organizations, our families, our culture, and the globe as a result of this experience. Here you are free to be completely honest. Let the interviewer know if you discovered you are a tenacious worker. Let the interviewer know if you've discovered that you work best at obscene hours of the morning. If you've discovered that the epidemic has changed your perspective on how vital your work is in your sector, share your findings.
9. How do you feel about going back to work in the future?
Be truthful. Be honest if you're concerned about your health, your family, and the entire globe. Focus on a more positive narrative instead of saying "I don't feel safe returning."
10. In the last few months, have you picked up any new skills?
Okay, we have an opinion on this interview question. On the one hand, we believe in continuing your education throughout your professional life. Navigating a pandemic, on the other hand, is a stressful and unknown territory. So, here's what we have to say. No worries if you haven't learned any skills yet. Instead, concentrate on your new WFH abilities, productivity tips, books you've read, or what you've learned about your own resiliency as a result of this. Everything contributes to who you are and how you think. To discover more potential jobs, don't forget to sign up at Recruit Hero. Recruit Hero is a tool that intelligently matches candidates to job openings. So, sign up at Recruit Hero today to start looking for new opportunities! Keep an eye on our Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube Channel, and Twitter for updates.