Tough Interview Questions #10: Have You Ever Needed to Fire Someone?

Here an employer is trying to find out certain things about you. Firing someone is seen as a failure of the hiring process and of management. We made a bad decision. We were not able to successfully motivate someone we believed would doa good job into performing up to their abilities.

Do not make jokes about it.

There are two schools of thought as to how to perform a firing and thus how to answer gthe question.

Generally, the correct answer in the US is that you documented performance issues and behavioral problems, met with the person privately to counsel and advise them to improve, designated a managerial coach and, when that failed, did what was necessary to remove the disappointing employee before their poor performance impacted others and became cancerous.

The other answer was provided in Harvard B-School by the son of an extremely successful industrialist who ran businesses worldwide.

His answer was, "Are you kidding me? You take that person into the room and in front of everyone you fire him! You make an example out of that lazy so and so and get rid of him and humiliate him. NO one will ever pull that crap again!"

There are smaller companies and entrepreneurial that will love that answer so I want to make sure you hear it and are prepared to offer it if it make sense for you and the situation you're in.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

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