The head of recruiting for LinkedIn recently shared his favorite interview trick when performing interviews with potential new talent. He simply hands the candidate a dry erase marker and directs them to a nearby whiteboard and asks, “What are you most passionate about? Using the whiteboard, explain to me the process of how it works.”
This is a purposely open-ended question. The candidate must think on their feet, deal with ambiguity, and describe a process- which for leadership, product management, and other positions is an important skill! This also gives the candidate an opportunity to talk about something they’re passionate about, outside the realm of work.
“Sure, it can be fun to ask ‘What song best describes your work ethic?’ but the point is not to indulge yourself with questions that trigger your biases.”
Why does this interview “trick” work? By asking a candidate to draw a process they’re passionate about, several traditional interview barriers are broken. A sense of formality slips away as the candidate stands to draw and explain something personal and out of the ordinary. The candidate can take the stage in a way that gives them a sense of confidence.
“Typical, unstructured job interviews are pretty bad at predicting how someone performs once hired.”
Old interview techniques are slowing slipping away. Google has potential new talent interview with the employees that the new talent will be managing- because, lets be honest, who better to assess leadership potential? The Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google also shared this tip, “A good rule of thumb is to hire only people who are better than you. Do not compromise. Ever.”
By streamlining and perfecting the hiring process, HR managers and human resources professionals are more likely to make their bosses happier by bringing high quality talent to their organization.
How do you ascertain the qualities and characteristics of potential new talent? Any tips or new interview methods to share with us?
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*Quotes from Work Rules! written by Laszlo Bloc, Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google.
