During an interview with a candidate for a position in the assessor's office, talk no more than _____ percent of the time; for the rest of the time, listen.

During an interview with a candidate for a position in the assessor's office, talk no more than _____ percent of the time; for the rest of the time, listen.

• A. 25
• B. 10
• C. 50
• D. 75

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that an interviewer should guide the conversation but let the candidate do most of the talking. By talking about a quarter of the time and spending about three-quarters listening, you create space for the candidate to share real examples, reasoning, and behavior relevant to the job. This level of listening lets you gather evidence, notice patterns, ask precise follow-ups, and better assess fit for the assessor’s office. If you talked more, you’d dominate the interview and risk suppressing the candidate’s insights; if you talked too little, you might miss covering important topics or fail to probe effectively. Twenty-five percent of the time is the balance that supports an informative, candidate-centered interview.

The main idea is that an interviewer should guide the conversation but let the candidate do most of the talking. By talking about a quarter of the time and spending about three-quarters listening, you create space for the candidate to share real examples, reasoning, and behavior relevant to the job. This level of listening lets you gather evidence, notice patterns, ask precise follow-ups, and better assess fit for the assessor’s office. If you talked more, you’d dominate the interview and risk suppressing the candidate’s insights; if you talked too little, you might miss covering important topics or fail to probe effectively. Twenty-five percent of the time is the balance that supports an informative, candidate-centered interview.