Have you ever wondered about questions to ask a job candidate?

In August 2009, John Chambers, the CEO of IT giant Cisco, was interviewed by the New York Times. He was asked to share the questions he asked a job candidate. His most interesting one:

“Who are the best people you recruited and developed and where are they today?”

Everyone gives lip serive to people being the biggest resource for business. Who doesn’t sing the praises of smart hiring and management development?

Chambers is saying prove it. This challenge works for any level of management in any company.

Does Chambers’ question apply to young people who are entering the job market?  Why shouldn’t it? If you ran the student newspaper or the debating society, how did you help develop the next editor or the chief debater who succeeded you?

If your next job interviewer doesn’t ask you the Chambers question, and you have had stellar results in finding and growing people, make it a major selling point. And if you don’t have a meaningful answer to the question, then make your own recruitment and development skills a #1 priority when you  land your next job.

The people who build companies are the people who build people.