For this week’s Ask the Recruiter series, I interviewed Lorri Zelman, Managing Director, Human Resources Practice for Solomon-Page Group, a permanent recruitment and temporary staffing firm in New York City.

• What are the three most important interview questions you ask candidates and why? 

1. Tell me something about yourself that I won’t be able to discover in a one-hour interview.  If people have something to hide, they often panic when asked this question and get defensive. That’s not at all the purpose, but it’s an interesting outcome. It’s often telling to see what topic they choose (i.e., something about style, an experience, personal – relevant or not).
2. Tell me about a mistake you made and what happened.  This helps in determining what they consider to be “good and bad” and demonstrates problem solving abilities – some tell you the mistake without a clear outcome/resolution. It tends to also distinguish between those that are tactical and those that are strategic. I also find this is much more helpful and targeted than asking about weaknesses.
3. When you think about all the factors that go into making a decision about a job (personal and professional), what is most important to you at this point in your life?  This helps to understand the readiness of the person to leave; sometimes this answer is something completely new that didn’t come up in the interview; sometimes this brings up something that could be a deal-breaker down the road or something that will be tough to accomplish (e.g., leaving every day at 4pm, an incredibly generous benefits package that’s hard to be replicated, the fact that they work 5 minutes from home).

• What level of follow up do you expect from your job applicants? How much is too much? Once a month is fine. Once a week is too much. I think you need to understand if the recruiter uses a database. If so, each time a new job comes in, candidates that are qualified come up in a database search, so you don’t have to worry about “out of sight, out of mind”.  For recruiters that don’t use a database, you may need to stay in touch more often to make sure you are not forgotten.
• What is your opinion on thank you letters after an interview? Do you prefer that they be sent via email or snail mail? My clients like when they receive a thank you that is specific to the role and draw a clear link, after learning about the position, as to why the candidate is a good fit for the job. I think most expect email thank yous, but snail mail can stand out more. Very often they are not sent if the candidate is not interested, so when very interested in a position, I’d get one out right away.  And make sure there are no typos or spelling errors!
• What is your biggest interview pet peeve and why? I can’t stand when someone goes through an obviously rehearsed script. I will usually stop them and ask a specific question to change direction. It makes me crazy when they do not answer my question and keep going with their script.
• What is your biggest resume pet peeve and why? Formatting errors, extra spaces, inappropriate “wrapping”. I just think it doesn’t look professional.
• Are you using business or social networking tools such as LinkedIn and Facebook to source candidates? Do you Google candidates or check out their online profiles before interviewing them? We use LinkedIn all the time because it is more of a business networking tool. We do not search Facebook because you find out too much personal information that should not weigh-in as part of the interviewing process.  I recommend my candidates Google anyone they are going to meet as an Interviewer, but we do not Google our candidates.
• If someone has a gap in their chronology how do you recommend they deal with that issue on their resume? It depends on why there was a gap and whether or not what they did during that time was related to the type of job they are looking for. If it’s a long period, it may be appropriate to add a sentence that describes the nature of why someone wasn’t working. But there could always be a bias on the reasons. If it was less than a year, I’d say just put years on the resume instead of months/years and explain the gap once you are in the door. If it’s more than that, it may be necessary to put something down, but again it depends on the reason.
• Do you read cover letters? Why or why not? No.  My clients don’t read them and count on me for a summary of what they need to know. It’s rare that I get anything substantive out of them, distinguishing one candidate from the next. I do scan them, however, to make sure they are the appropriate length and to ensure there are no typos or formatting errors.