Earlier in her career, Christine Morehead was interviewing for a job when the hiring manager caught her off guard.
"Tell me about the most recent constructive feedback your boss has given you," the hiring manager prompted, "and how have you effectively used that advice to improve your work?"
"I was taken aback," Morehead wrote in an email to Business Insider, "as it requires you to be transparent, providing visibility into your less developed skills."
Today, Morehead is the chief people officer at primary-care practice One Medical, and this question is one of her go-tos for job candidates.
"I find it incredibly helpful at gaining insights into their humility, adaptability, and willingness to grow and learn," Morehead wrote — traits that often predict success at work.
Other workplace experts agree on the value of this particular question.
Writing in Forbes, Leadership IQ founder Mark Murphy shares one of his favorite interview questions: "Could you tell me about a time you got tough feedback from a supervisor?" Murphy writes that the interviewee's answer not only reveals how they define "tough feedback," it also gives the person the opportunity to share how they handled that feedback.
In a HubSpot blog post, Caroline Forsey offers another iteration on this question: "How would you handle an instance of receiving criticism from a superior?"
Forsey also shares an ideal response. Let's say the person's previous job involved calls with clients, and let's say the person's boss overheard those calls and thought the persons sounded under-prepared.
In the interview, the person might say, "He [my boss] was completely right — I'd never considered that I could simply tell the client I'd call them back, or let the call go to voicemail. In an effort to multitask efficiently, I was actually letting my client relationships suffer. I learned from that feedback and, going forward, felt confident telling the client they'd need to set up an appointment with me even if they wanted to talk over the phone."
As for Morehead, she also likes to ask One Medical job candidates how they would add to the company's mission if they joined the team. She wrote, "Answers to this question always help showcase what skills, and passions, a candidate could contribute to our company."
