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The Single Best Question for Job Applicants

Ask applicants what they do when they're not working

By Sarah Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 29, 2009 12:28 PM CST

(Newser) – Hiring tends to be a total crapshoot, Peter Bregman writes in a Harvard Business Review blog. But you'll get better results if you ask applicants one question: What do you do in your spare time? Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger flies gliders for fun and used to build intricate models. "Perhaps that attention to detail explains why he walked through the cabin twice" after landing safely on the Hudson, Bregman notes.

Managers tend to favor well-rounded candidates without obvious personality quirks. "But people are often successful not despite their dysfunctions but because of them," Bregman writes."Obsessions are one of the greatest telltale signs of success."

Chesley Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who landed in New York's Hudson River, attends a celebration in his honor on Jan. 24, 2009, in Danville, Calif. At left is wife Lorrie Sullenberger.
Chesley Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who landed in New York's Hudson River, attends a celebration in his honor on Jan. 24, 2009, in Danville, Calif. At left is wife Lorrie Sullenberger.   (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
The Airbus 320 that went down in the Hudson River in New York is seen on Jan. 15, 2009. All 155 people on board survived.
The Airbus 320 that went down in the Hudson River in New York is seen on Jan. 15, 2009. All 155 people on board survived.   (AP Photo/Edouard H. R. Gluck)
The Airbus 320 that went down in the Hudson River in New York is seen on Jan. 15, 2009. All 155 people on board survived.
The Airbus 320 that went down in the Hudson River in New York is seen on Jan. 15, 2009. All 155 people on board survived.   (AP Photo/Edouard H. R. Gluck)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
EddyTeach
Jan 29, 2009 7:43 PM CST
I watch LOST in my spare time... I don't suppose that'll score me any points in an interview.
Guest
Jan 29, 2009 4:28 AM CST
What a person does in his or her spare time is absolutely none of an employer's business. F Peter Bregman.
Mr.C
Jan 29, 2009 1:31 AM CST
I'd hope there are plenty of people that would walk through the cabin twice.

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