He always asks the same first question. One CEO's interview technique

Many top execs come to job interviews armed with some profound, tricky, or downright weird questions.

However, the CEO of online vintage-style clothing retailerModCloth Matt Kaness likes to do things a bit differently.

Kaness interviews every single new hire at the 350-person company (a process known within ModCloth as the "Matterview"). The candidates he speaks with have all been vetted, so his questions tend to require interviewees to do more than rehash their previous professional experiences.

"I'm really trying to understand what drives them," Kaness says. "It's pretty free form. I always start off every conversation, every interview with, 'So I understand that we're talking about an opportunity — what do you think?'"

He notes that this open-ended question really gives people the chance to display their personality in their response.

"Some people really reveal themselves to be an introvert, based on the way they say 'yes' and then go silent," he told Business Insider.

Others might go on and on. It's all up to the candidate themselves.

Kaness isn't looking for a specific response. He just wants to get a better sense of the candidate, in order to determine whether or not they'd be a good fit at ModCloth.

"It's really about quickly getting past the formality of an interview to really find what motivates this person, in order to make sure they really fit the culture," he says.