Snowflake's CEO shares the interview question he asks to get away from rehearsed answers

• Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said he values drive and malleability in job candidates.
• He said that he asks candidates about what they have changed in their personal lives.
• Tech CEOs are highlighting adaptability as a key desirable trait in new hires.

Ask this interview question the next time you want a break from practiced answers.

In an episode of the "Sourcery" podcast released on Saturday, Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said he doesn't like typical questions, like what candidates did at work. He said interviewees respond with projects and chatbots that made their work more efficient — answers that don't reveal much about the person.

"So all practiced answers, I don't like them," he said. "I'll ask them questions like, 'Tell me how you changed yourself.'"

Prior to becoming Snowflake's CEO in 2024, Ramaswamy was a partner at Greylock Ventures and cofounded AI search startup Neeva, which was acquired by Snowflake.

"To me, the combination of drive and malleability, those are the prized qualities that set the truly amazing people apart from everyone else, especially at a moment like this," he said on Saturday's podcast.

As tech execs race to hire top talent that can adapt and thrive with AI, they're getting creative with how they gauge the X-factor in interviews.

In a podcast published last week, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke said he asks one question to easily identify employees who will adapt quickly and perform well in a crisis.

He said he asks them: "Have you started a company before?"

He said that it was a way to gauge people with entrepreneurial skills who relate to his challenges as a founder.

Dayforce chief people officer Amy Cappellanti-Wolf told Business Insider that she asks about recent constructive feedback that a candidate is actively working on.

She said she's open to personal or professional responses and looks forward to hearing genuine answers. She said she finds it a "problem" if candidates say they don't get feedback or have nothing they're trying to fix.