One of my favorite interview questions when hiring is “Tell me about me.”  It often creates quizzical looks. Perplexed looks. I usually reserve it for half way through the interview and sometimes step out of the interview for a couple of beats so the candidate can look around my office.  If I am shined on, that’s telling.  If the response is “I just met you.” Another ding. 

In the advertising and marketing business, people with good observation and interpretation skills are very valuable.  The ability to process information quickly and tell truths, even more so.

One time I almost got into trouble asking the question.  For some reason a young lady thought the question bordered on harassment. She lost her cool for a second. I didn’t recommend hiring her, but since as they used to say at McCann she was a “special” (friend of a client), hired she was. She turned out to be quirky indeed. 

Try the question out sometime, it’s pretty cool and provides a nice cull of the candidates. Peace.