How would you guys think about answering the question below:
What is the most important piece of information about a company (if you had to select one thing)?
I know that you can answer this question in a variety of ways, but wanted to see how you guys would answer the question. Thanks!
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I'll start the bidding: Free Cash Flow
I'd ask this question. I don't really care about the exact response. The purpose in asking the question is just to get the person talking through their understanding of financial statements. It avoids me having to ask a specific accounting question directly (which can fluster people). And in the course of a conversation about, say, why EBITDA or FCF is important, I can ask questions about other aspects of valuation that I think the candidate might be overlooking.
My go to question in interviews, though, is asking a person to tell me about everything that's not on their resume. I read your resume before I invited you in for interviews. Other people have asked you about your CV. If you're talking to me, you're qualified for the job. I want to know how you grew up. What type of high school did you attend? What does your family do? I want to understand what drives your thinking. And i want someone to be honest about what motivates them to work so hard. The personality fit and backstory matter a lot given that my team is small. I only get a few chances to really pick who I get to work with on a daily basis, so I care more about thought process and fit than anything else.