A top tech CEO has revealed the one crucial question he asks every candidate during job interviews.
Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), recently stated that an incorrect answer to his question could immediately disqualify a candidate from competing.
Shapiro told CNBC that he asks all applicants how soon they can start in their new role.
If they say they can start in two weeks, “they won’t get the job because they will treat us like they treat that former employer,” the 68-year-old explained.
Shapiro emphasizes that how people leave their previous jobs is a “really important” factor in his hiring decisions.
Gary Shapiro has been CEO of Consumer Technology Association (CTA) for 33 years.
‘I want one [employee] with a level of commitment to their organization, even if they don’t love their job, where they don’t let their employer down,” the longtime CEO told CNBC.
Shapiro, who has been with CTA for 33 years, said he recently used the question in hiring the company’s new chief operating officer.
The successful applicant told him it would take her six weeks to leave her current position.
“I was very grateful that she answered [that way] I said, ‘That’s perfect. You have the job.”
Shapiro has clarified that the pass/fail question only applies to currently employed applicants.
San Francisco-based executive and career coach Joyce Guan West cautioned against using the question as a standalone determination of a candidate’s quality.
“I would be surprised if the majority of high-quality candidates, or higher-level candidates, said less than two weeks,” West told CNBC.
“It seems like a softball question that most smart people will answer correctly.”
However, she said it may have some benefits if combined with other questions that can better gauge a candidate’s interest in the company and suitability for the position.
Francisco Tobon is a career expert at LinkedIn. He said bringing a parent to a job interview could be perceived as unprofessional by the potential employer and could affect job prospects
Meanwhile, a recent report found that one in four Gen Z job seekers brought their parents to their job interviews, according to a recent survey.
Francisco Tobon is a career expert at LinkedIn. He said bringing a parent to a job interview could be perceived as unprofessional by the potential employer and could affect job prospects.
Tobon told NBC Miami: “It could be seen as unprofessional and a lack of credibility. It could be seen as a person who is not independent. The person is not taking initiative for his own career, for his own professional journey.”