Interviewing Without Fooling Yourself
Most interviews measure how well someone interviews. Here's how to actually predict whether they'll do the job.
#interviewing
Replace gut-feel with three signals
- Work product , paid trial, take-home, or live work session on a real problem.
- Reference depth , talk to 3 people who managed or worked under them, not their friends.
- Past behavior , 'tell me about a time' beats 'how would you' every time.
Signals that look good but aren't
- Charisma in the room.
- Brand-name resume (FAANG, big consulting).
- Willingness to take a pay cut 'because they believe.'
- How well they tell their own story.
Three questions that work
- Walk me through the last big project you owned end-to-end. What did you actually do?
- Tell me about a time you were wrong and how you found out.
- What's a decision you made that your manager disagreed with?
Hire on evidence, fire on patterns. Both happen faster than feels comfortable.