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Stop Hiring the Best Talker: Ask These 5 Interview Questions Instead · The Science of Leading

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  Hey everyone-welcome back to The Science of Leading.
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  I'm Claire Monroe, and, as always,
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  I'm here with Edwin Carrington.
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  Edwin,
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  I've been thinking a lot about interviews lately-especially after our
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  last few episodes on hiring strategy and team fit.
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  It's kind of wild how
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  much we still rely on, like...
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  resumes, right?
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  Totally.
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  I've seen it again and again-people get blinded by credentials.
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  But a
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  resume?
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  It just tells you what someone's done,
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  not how they'll actually respond when things get tough.
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  The real question
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  is-can they adapt?
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  Can they collaborate?
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  Can they grow with your team?
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  That's what matters.
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  Especially once a company starts to scale.
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  Yeah,
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  and I mean... I learned that the hard way.
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  The first time I sat on a hiring
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  panel, I was so focused on asking the "right" questions-you know,
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  like, "What are your strengths?" or "Where do you see yourself in five
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  years?"I thought I was being super thorough,
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  but...
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  honestly?
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  I walked away knowing basically nothing about how any of those
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  candidates would actually handle the job.
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  It all felt so...
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  surface-level.
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  That's a really common trap.
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  Those kinds of questions feel
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  safe-but they don't tell you much.
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  You end up hiring the best storyteller
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  in the room, not necessarily the best fit.
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  And like we talked about in
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  that first-hire episode-one wrong person can impact a team for years.
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  Exactly.
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  And
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  I think a lot of leaders still kinda believe that if someone's qualifications
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  check out, that's enough.
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  But, like...
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  the research doesn't back that up.
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  Credentials don't tell you how someone's gonna deal with real-life pressure-or
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  fit into your culture.
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  It's more about potential than,
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  you know, pedigree.
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  Right.
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  The best candidates are the ones who can evolve.
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  Who show resilience, self-awareness.
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  And that means we need to rethink
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  the goal of an interview.
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  It's not about ticking boxes-it's about uncovering
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  values.
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  Adaptability.
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  Mindset.
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  That's where the long-term wins are.
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  Sooo...
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  if the old questions aren't cutting it,
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  what should we be asking instead?
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  I know you've got your go-to favorites,
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  Edwin.
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  I do.
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  There are five I always come back to.
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  They're behavioral, situational-designed to show how someone thinks and
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  acts when things get real.
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  First one's simple: "Tell me about a time you
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  faced a major challenge at work.
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  How did you handle it?"It sounds basic-but it gets candidates to be
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  specific.
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  You hear how they problem-solve,
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  how they bounce back.
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  Oh, I love that one.
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  Way better than just,
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  "How do you handle stress?"Because now you're getting a story,
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  not some rehearsed theory.
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  And you can dig deeper,
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  right?
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  Like-"Who else was involved?" or "What would you do differently now?"Exactly.
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  Second
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  one is, "What's one project or accomplishment in your career that you're
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  really proud of?"That one reveals what drives them.
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  What they care about.
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  I remember a guy years ago-looked average on paper.
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  But
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  then he told this story about leading a cross-functional team through
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  a tough product launch...The obstacles,
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  the collaboration, the outcome-he lit up.
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  It completely shifted my impression.
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  We hired him-and he crushed it.
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  Yes!
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  You can totally tell when someone's
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  just rattling off a win...
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  or when they're genuinely invested.
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  And that tells you a lot about what
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  they value.
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  Like-do they light up about teamwork,
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  or are they just in it for the solo spotlight?
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  Exactly.
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  Third question
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  is, "Describe your ideal work environment.
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  What kind of culture helps you thrive?"That's where you tap into culture
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  fit.
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  Because if someone needs tons of structure,
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  but your team runs fast and loose-that's gonna be friction,
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  fast.
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  Right-and it's not just what they want,
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  but why.
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  Like, do they know what actually helps them do great work?
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  Or
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  are they just tossing out buzzwords?
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  Exactly.
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  Fourth one is,
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  "How do you prioritize when everything feels like a priority?"These
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  days-everyone's
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  juggling a dozen things.
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  You want to know if they've got a real system-or
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  if they're just...
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  reacting.
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  Yeah, I always listen for the thought process.
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  Do they talk about
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  urgency?
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  Business impact?
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  Or how they loop in their team when things shift?
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  Right
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  on.
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  And finally-this one's big:"If you were hired,
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  what would be your 30-60-90-day plan?"It separates the ones who've done
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  their homework from the ones just winging it.
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  Great candidates tie their
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  plan to your goals.
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  They think ahead.
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  They want to contribute.
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  Oof-yeah,
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  that's a game-changer.
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  If someone shows up with a clear plan?
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  You know
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  they're serious.
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  And you can see whether their vision actually fits what
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  your team needs.
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  So, these five questions-they're not just about,
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  like, checking for skills...They tell you about mindset.
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  Motivation.
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  Whether someone's gonna click.
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  Exactly.
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  And when you really listen-and
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  follow up where it matters-you start to see who's just trying to get the
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  job...
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  and who's gonna thrive once they're in it.
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  Okay,
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  so-smart questions are one thing.
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  But I know you're big on pairing those
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  with data.
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  Can you talk about how OAD fits into all this?
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  Absolutely.
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  Even
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  the best interviewers miss things.
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  That's where tools like the OAD survey
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  come in.
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  It's a behavioral assessment-shows you how someone's wired.
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  How
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  they'll communicate, respond to feedback,
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  mesh with your culture.
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  It's not about replacing interviews-it's adding
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  depth.
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  When you combine good questions with behavioral data,
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  you cut way down on those costly hiring mistakes.
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  Yeah-and I remember
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  that story from a few episodes back...That tech company,
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  like 200 people?
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  They started using OAD alongside interviews-And their
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  retention numbers improved.
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  They even spotted a few red flags that would've
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  totally slipped through if they'd just gone with gut instinct.
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  But...
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  do you think data can really replace intuition?
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  Or is there still a place
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  for that gut feeling?
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  Good question.
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  I'd say-intuition still matters.
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  But
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  it's not the whole picture.
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  Our instincts come from experience,
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  sure-but they also come with bias.
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  Data gives you a gut check.
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  I've seen
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  candidates who felt like a perfect fit-but OAD showed a mismatch.
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  When
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  we looked closer, the data had it right.
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  So I wouldn't toss out intuition-but
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  I'd always challenge it.
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  Use data to sharpen your judgment.
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  I like that.
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  It's kind of like what
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  we said back in "Hiring Smarter,
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  Not Harder"-Empathy plus data makes the best decisions.
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  And when you've
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  got a structured process, it's not just about better hires.
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  You're building
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  trust with the candidates, too.
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  They feel that fairness.
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  Exactly.
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  As teams
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  grow, that consistency becomes more and more important.
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  Combining sharp
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  questions with behavioral insight-that's how you build teams that last.
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  It's
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  not about hiring the "perfect" person.
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  It's about finding someone who can
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  evolve, collaborate, and contribute-long term.
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  Mmm,
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  I think that's the perfect spot to wrap up.
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  And hey-if you wanna see how
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  these strategies work in real life, check out o-a-d-dot-a-i.
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  You test it out for free and see how tools like OAD make hiring way easier.
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  Edwin,
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  thanks-always so good learning from you.
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  Thank you,
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  Claire.
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  Always a pleasure.
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  And thanks to everyone listening.
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  Keep asking
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  better questions-and we'll catch you next time on The Science of Leading.
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  Bye,
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  everyone!
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  Goodbye, Claire.
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  Goodbye, all.