By Peter Getman
Principal Brand Director

We hire people to work with them – we collaborate to produce great work. When magic happens—a brand strategy “Eureka!”, a game-changing Internet strategy—it often results from the fabric of committed teamwork woven with healthy debate.

So, try to instill this collaborative environment in a new job candidate’s first interview. Really, who cares what they’ve done before, how does the candidate think right now?

Here are three questions from my interview question quiver that not only encourage conversation, but also provide insight to their professional values, intellectual capacity, decision-making process, natural speed of creative thinking and street-ready presentation skills.

1. Do you believe this statement to be true?
   The severity of a crisis is most often directly related to when you become aware of that crisis.
   Whatever their answer is, have the job candidate give examples to support their position.
2. What’s your favorite brand strategy right now?
   What are your two favorite brand strategies today that highly leverage Internet marketing mediums and as a result have created a new business model for their brand?
   Go online with them and ask them to show you. Have them tour you through it and just listen. Then, how would they improve it? Offer up your thoughts and see if the candidate simply agrees or builds on your insight or refutes it with supporting rationale.
3. Have them make a decision on a brand position strategy.
   I’ll present a soon-to-be launched brand position strategy [here's a brand position strategy example] and discuss and debate the rationales behind each option with them. Then, tell them to make and support the final decision.
   In the example above, I’d ask them to make the decision on the brand slogan. Have them talk through their rationale. Now, call in three people from your creative team and ask the candidate to present their decision for the new brand slogan.
   The candidate’s readiness for offering big value in your brand strategy collaborations will quickly come to focus every time.
   Because strategic collaboration within a great brand agency is the magic behind the magic, it is often difficult to decipher what your job candidate actually contributed to the experience claimed on their resume. I promise you, this interview style will decode it for you.

In fact, we currently have one job opening, check it out.

In writing this, I came across some important information to help keep your interview questions legal. Find out what not to ask; illegal job interview questions.