23 Topgrading Interview Questions You Must Know

[@willieward7419]

I honestly appreciate your presentations as they are so believable. Your tone of delivery is excellent as it gives me time to absorb its fullness.

[@DanA-st2ed]

Thank you for this reminder that we need to communicate clearly that we are "A players". I am going to use your information to try and leverage the maximum salary on offer for my upcoming interview. Thank you so much Don, you do good work.

[@DonGeorgevich]

best of luck

[@kjmav10135]

For anyone who feels discouraged after watching this because, perhaps your career has taken twists and turns, and you didn’t know what you wanted to do before you went to college, or, maybe, your reasons for going to college had more to do with your desire to actually learn and explore the world, rather than just get a job-I am at the other end of my career. I was a psych major. I worked in about a gajillion different jobs and even had my own business for seven years. I now have a senior-level position and am doing very well. The best way for someone like me to get an “A-level” job is to ask them really thoughtful questions. Talk about your performance and results you achieved. Emphasise your ability to think, synthesise information, and communicate. You don’t have to be born being “clear” about what your profession is going to be. Absolutely not. Unless, of course, you’re being interviewed by super-boring, un-creative, cookie-cutter-type HR people. Maybe that’s the sort of position you want. But, mainly, a wide variety of work experiences can be a real asset in many positions.

[@tetchiepinay]

I have not heard of Topgrading interview until I had to go through one back in 2019. It went for hours but I loved every minute of it. It was an amazing experience. Great video Don! You literally took me back to that day.

[@DonGeorgevich]

Thanks for sharing!

[@shwetasawalkar9820]

Wow! This video is literally like a jackpot for me. I was in the interview process for a company ( still in process ), and they expected me to talk about top grading. Honestly, I had a slight idea about it but after watching this video I felt like I mastered it 😁 If I get this job offer, I am going to contact Don!

[@omarbilla]

Hi shweta , may I know which company did you interviewed for ? Actually i am supposed to take something called self Assesment top grading interview for a company. Could you plz share some details what was asked and how you managed ? Thanks.

[@safesoundequine8511]

Thank you so much for what you do! I have always been self employed, never had to interview. I prepared using all of your advice and got an offer from EVERY employer who interviewed me! Played them off each other and negotiated my top pick into my ideal salary!

[@DonGeorgevich]

sweeeeeet......

[@MaximumCareer]

Awesome content! I always ask followup questions to make sure people aren't just spouting rehearsed answers.

[@DonGeorgevich]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TommyEstMe]

Big Interview tomorrow with the NYS courts! Thanks for the Tips!

[@fayiaforay]

I have been following you for over two years and I can admit that you are a master at what you do.

[@DonGeorgevich]

many thanks

[@willieward7419]

Again, this is very informative and has real world questions and answers. Thank you Don.

[@maryb5638]

First I want to say thank you for your videos, they have helped me tremendously!!! This is a question I'm seeing alot lately and wondered if you can comment on how best to answer this; In what ways do you or have you promoted equity, diversity, and/or inclusion in the workplace? Please provide specific examples.

[@willieward7419]

I enjoyed the knowledge you shared in this video.

[@steverocksyo]

Sounds like funneling questions. It's the rhetoric you use during coaching but in a figure you out for of manner.

[@jayachandranj945]

Excellent one, picked up a lot of information, thanks

[@milind2461]

Dear Don, Thank you so much for all your videos on interviews. It helped me I am sure millions of people is getting benefitted with your videos.... I have two question, would be great to know from your thought on the same, 1. How to answer on professional career ups n down and how you managed the same. 2. Define your self or what is your type or what is your type. Thank you much in advance Milind

[@brucecampbell1245]

Sounds like a breath of fresh air to me because every interview I've ever been on has been designed to select for the mediocre.

[@charlescollins6880]

Great resource love to get my hands on it

[@BoomBustProfits]

Don-Very thorough explanation of how to deal with the top grading methodology…. In general, do interviewers tell candidates in advance that they are using this method? Or do candidates find out when they show up? Although I know there are firms that would do do this for all types of positions, It seems like anyone this highly qualified (that would have the background to “successfully” go through the top grading process) would never bother to subject themselves to this process…lol….Must be done for extremely highly paid positions that are highly demanded. Point is, if someone has a strong background they would never bother with applying to a position that demands something like this…. I think that If top grading is being used on typical positions the interviewers are going to be disappointed…maybe that is one reason employers constantly co plain about a lack of qualified candidates, but used properly in critical positions that have several motivated candidates, I am sure it is very effective at finding the employee with the right fit…

[@DonGeorgevich]

they might tell you. they might not. I know that's not helpful, but if you prepare for a topgrading interview, then you will be prepared for any type of interview.

[@BoomBustProfits]

@@DonGeorgevich Good point - "if you prepare for a topgrading interview, then you will be prepared for any type of interview."

[@knowledgeispower7715]

I got a big interview tomorrow, thanks.

[@DonGeorgevich]

good luck

[@DanA-st2ed]

Coffee is on me. Thanks again

[@DonGeorgevich]

Congrats

[@user-et1hg6kh6n]

Great job explaining this, very thorough. My issue is with the process not with youre detailed explanation. Topgrading for lack of a better term, sounds like complete bullshit. This is something some MBA recipient with a passion for "project management" came up with to shill to corporate HR companies for profit and it more often than not falls flat on its face, I'd be willing to bet the metrics for this HR voodoo process are awful not only for retention but for the companies that use it. Its things like this which have killed the art of good interviewing skills and made it imposible to get your foot in the door with a company, worst thing since companies started using keyword software to filter out resumes of otherwise qualified candidates. The "high performer" being referenced sounds liks a sociopath, the reality is the vast majority of people just want a paycheck and are willing to do work at a certain level to get it and not anything else. No one is living or performing for the company without a financial incentive attached and companies need to understand that Steve in accounting knows his spot will be advertised on linkedin a week after he dies, which is why corporate jobs are souless.

[@volodymyrhlushchenko6303]

outstanding, thanks for the insights

[@arizonanative7409]

Quick question - what type of job level is this interview style used for? Sounds like fairly senior level. Never heard of this until now.

[@DonGeorgevich]

topgrading interviews can be used at any level. They are structured to learn as much as possible about a candidate so the employer can make an informed decision.

[@arizonanative7409]

@@DonGeorgevich Thank you.

[@akbar41]

Just wondering--are there signs you're walking into a Topgrading interview? And, it Topgrading a warning sign about the company, like Agile?

[@DonGeorgevich]

the signs would revolve around TORC (threat of a reference check) All throughout the topgrading training manual, they emphasize that you should constantly remind the candidate that their references will be checked, but they are more subtle about it.

[@nicorusso1526]

Is a top grading interview something that can happen in any industry or is it more for business over nonprofit work? Also, is it more common the higher up you go?

[@DonGeorgevich]

anyone can use a topgrading interview.

[@haneloh]

great video! thanks!

[@DonGeorgevich]

Glad you liked it!

[@lizzi437]

For what types of jobs are top grading interviews used? I can't imagine these being asked of people beyond a certain age.

[@asibroo6028]

I liked it!

[@DonGeorgevich]

many thanks

[@thenyamaches]

Always on point

[@DonGeorgevich]

many thanks

[@fasilatd7723]

Thank you for the video I got an Email from HR,showing that the are adding me to the talent pool candidate list. Do I confirm the job or not?

[@DonGeorgevich]

that would be up to you.

[@raymeester7883]

Didn't even know this existed.

[@DonGeorgevich]

surprise 😀

[@Cuchumber]

"this is not a bitch fest" - best line

[@christopherhansen7128]

Great overview. I’ve run into 2 companies in my most recent job search that use Top Grading. Im an ‘A’ player with a strong track record of accomplishments. Based upon what I’ve learned, Top Grading seems like a red flag. What it tells me is that the company lacks managerial competency to properly evaluate hires. I’ve interviewed and hired countless roles in my career, and I’ve never needed a Top Grading system to make good hires. In the three decades I’ve been in the workforce, I’ve never been asked to go through a full day psych / behavioral evaluation, develop free case studies, work for free on a pre-employment basis, force my references to call my prospective employers, etc. This appears to be is a system designed by a clinical behavioral psychologist and sold as a process and product to HR organizations with the promise of success. I’m sure that if structured properly and competed thoroughly that it would yield good results, but how it’s implemented is not universally standardized. People are complex, and organizational systems are generally designed for the company and not the candidate. Leaders like to use flashy buzzword like DEI, or Transparency - and there is rarely any real results of evidence that those ‘cultural’ traits are effective or even measurable. Someone needs to publish a guerrilla guide to counter interviewing techniques so that Top Grading doesn’t turn into yet another set of hoops that have marginal value for the candidate. I am fairly certain that if I learn that a company uses a formal Top Grading system that I’ll pass. It’s far to easy for companies to hide their own deficiencies by using this system as a deflector shield that assumes the company and its personnel does everything well, which is never the case. And no one has 20-30 hours to be psych profiled only to learn that some arbitrary judgment was made at the end that disqualified them. I think you’d do that one time, and probably never again. At any given time my pipeline of jobs is a half dozen or more of active interviews. There’s absolutely no way that I could commit this much time to a company that uses this process. Great review! Appreciate the help with making my final decision. Cheers!

[@adamkeel7728]

Is it just me, Or does this guy look like Robert Picardo?

[@DonGeorgevich]

so I've been told... and I'm quite flattered. Though it's more fun when people say so on the street or in Starbucks.

[@leviathan6431]

i’ve also thought that how funny

[@fuadrzayev4136]

creates only God