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The Power of Cognitive Assessments in Smarter Hiring · 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-I've got Edwin Carrington here with
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  me, the calm in the hiring storm.
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  Edwin, how are you doing today?
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  Doing well,
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  Claire.
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  Always glad to be here-especially when we're diving into something as
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  foundational as cognitive assessments in hiring.
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  It's one of those topics that,
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  honestly, doesn't get talked about enough... but it shapes so many outcomes
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  behind the scenes.
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  Yeah, totally.
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  And I feel like this is one of those things where-on the surface-it seems
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  like leaders think they've got it handled.
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  Like, "Oh, I interviewed them,
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  I saw the resume... I've got a good read."But-I mean-I've lived this.
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  At one of my old companies, we had this candidate who absolutely nailed
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  the interviews.
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  Like, so polished.
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  Amazing stories, confident, even charming.
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  But then, once they were actually in the role?
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  It was like... they just
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  froze.
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  Curveballs, shifting priorities-any kind of ambiguity-and you could just
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  see them spiral.
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  And now I wonder if a cognitive assessment would've caught that before
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  we hired them.
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  Yeah-classic scenario.
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  And it's more common than most people realize.
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  Cognitive assessments aren't
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  about what someone knows-they're about how they think.
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  Their mental agility, their problem-solving ability,
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  how they handle ambiguity.
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  These are the kinds of capabilities that don't always show up in a resume...
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  or even in a really well-structured interview.
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  And just to clarify-these
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  tests aren't the same as an IQ test or a personality quiz.
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  They're job-relevant tools.
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  They measure how someone processes new information,
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  adapts, and makes decisions under pressure.
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  That's why,
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  in study after study, cognitive ability keeps showing up as one of the
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  strongest predictors of job performance.
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  Okay,
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  so-let me try to boil this down-if I'm looking at someone's CV,
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  I'm seeing their experience, their hard skills,
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  right?
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  But a cognitive test is gonna tell me how they think through new challenges?
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  Like... how fast they learn, how well they adapt?
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  Exactly.
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  It's not just about past experience-it's about potential.
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  And in today's
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  workplace, where everything's shifting faster than ever,
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  that potential matters more than it used to.
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  A strong cognitive assessment helps you spot who's gonna thrive when
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  things get complex... or messy... or just downright uncertain.
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  And like you
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  said earlier-it can catch those hidden gaps that even the best interviews
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  might miss.
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  That's so interesting.
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  And I guess it's easy to lump this in with personality tests,
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  but it's measuring something totally different,
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  right?
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  Right.
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  Personality profiles tell you how someone might behave-how they communicate,
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  what motivates them, how they operate in a team.
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  Cognitive assessments?
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  They're about thinking mechanics-your reasoning skills,
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  your learning curve, how quickly you process and apply new info.
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  They
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  work beautifully together.
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  Use both, and suddenly you're not just guessing-you're building a full
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  picture of how someone's wired to work.
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  Okay,
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  so it's not about finding the quote-unquote "smartest" person-but the
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  one who's most prepared to handle real-world challenges in that specific
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  role.
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  That makes way more sense now.
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  Exactly.
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  And that's why companies like Amazon,
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  Google... they lean into cognitive testing.
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  They're not just hiring for
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  who looks good on paper-they're hiring for thinking power.
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  They want people
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  who can navigate complexity, grow with the business,
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  handle pressure.
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  It's less "Who has the perfect credentials?" and more
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  "Who can think clearly when the path isn't obvious?"Yeah-and I've seen
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  the data.
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  Like, actual science says this works,
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  right?
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  It's not just a Silicon Valley thing.
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  It's backed by decades of research.
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  Meta-analyses
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  in journals like Psychological Bulletin show that general cognitive
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  ability-sometimes
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  called aptitude-is more predictive of job success than experience... or
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  even education.
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  And that holds across industries.
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  Whether it's entry-level or executive.
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  Whether you're hiring for engineering or customer success.
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  Tools like
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  the CCAT, the Predictive Index-they measure things like logical reasoning,
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  verbal comprehension, pattern recognition.
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  And each of those maps to different job demands.
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  For example,
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  pattern recognition?
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  Huge in data roles.
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  Verbal comprehension?
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  Critical for any job that involves persuasion,
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  negotiation, or teaching.
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  So like-if I'm hiring a sales rep-I'd care more
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  about verbal speed and adaptability,
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  right?
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  But if I'm hiring for a technical analyst,
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  I'm looking at numbers, patterns,
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  that kind of stuff?
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  Exactly.
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  The best tools break it down so you get a sort of... thinking fingerprint.
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  And
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  when you use that data intentionally?
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  You don't just hire better-you onboard faster,
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  retain longer, and reduce bias along the way.
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  Because these tests are
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  standardized-everyone gets the same questions,
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  same conditions, same metrics.
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  That's where equity comes in.
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  You're evaluating how people think,
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  not just where they went to school.
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  That's huge.
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  Because we've talked before about how unconscious bias can sneak into
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  interviews-even when you're really trying to be fair.
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  So having something
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  objective...
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  that's a game-changer.
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  It is.
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  And the results speak for themselves.
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  Companies that use cognitive assessments
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  well?
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  They get better engagement, better performance,
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  and way fewer mis-hires.
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  And just to put a number to it-one bad hire can
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  cost you up to 30% of that person's first-year salary.
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  That's not pocket
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  change.
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  Especially when you count lost productivity,
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  morale hits, and the cost of replacing them.
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  Yeah,
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  I remember reading something like-what was it-74% of employers admit
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  they've hired the wrong person at least once?
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  And it's not just awkward-it's
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  expensive.
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  It drags down teams.
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  It affects trust.
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  So using cognitive assessments isn't just smart-it's
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  kind of protective.
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  Absolutely.
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  And when you combine cognitive and behavioral data?
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  You're not just hiring for today's needs.
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  You're hiring for who that person
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  can become as your business evolves.
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  So-let's get tactical.
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  If I'm a hiring manager listening right now,
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  how do I bring in cognitive assessments without making it feel like just
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  one more hoop for candidates to jump through?
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  Yeah-great question.
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  The key is transparency and timing.
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  Be upfront.
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  Let candidates know why you're using it.
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  Make it clear that it's about
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  finding the best mutual fit-not about trick questions or gatekeeping.
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  Offer
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  examples.
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  Explain the time commitment.
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  And choose the right moment in your process.
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  Some use it early to filter.
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  Others wait until the final few to validate.
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  There's flexibility,
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  but the goal is always the same: use the data to inform,
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  not replace, human judgment.
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  And what about missteps?
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  I've heard stories of companies relying too much on test scores-like
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  they forget that people are more than numbers.
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  How do you keep that from
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  happening?
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  Yeah-that's a real risk.
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  Cognitive tests are powerful-but they
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  don't measure values, emotional intelligence,
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  or ethics.
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  They're one piece of the puzzle.
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  Use them with behavioral insights.
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  Pair them with structured interviews.
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  And always ask: "Does this person's
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  thinking style actually match what the role requires?"It's not about the
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  highest score-it's about the right score for the right challenge.
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  That
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  totally tracks.
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  And I know OAD's approach is all about blending those insights.
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  Do you have a story or real-world example that brings this to life?
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  Sure
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  do.
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  We worked with a global company-tons of turnover,
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  team friction, inconsistent results.
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  They had cognitive assessments... but
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  were using them as a pass/fail filter.
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  That was it.
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  We helped them integrate behavioral data alongside it-and
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  tailored the benchmarks to specific roles.
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  Suddenly,
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  they weren't just finding "smart" people-they were finding people who
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  actually fit the demands of the job and the team.
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  Turnover dropped,
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  onboarding got smoother, engagement went up.
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  It wasn't about more data-it
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  was about using the right data,
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  in the right way.
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  I love that.
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  It's not about collecting info for the sake
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  of it-it's about making smarter decisions.
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  And honestly,
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  it sounds like a win for everyone-the company and the candidate.
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  It is.
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  Because
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  when people feel like the process is fair... and focused on who they really
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  are-not just their pedigree-they show up differently.
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  They engage.
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  They perform.
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  And they stick.
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  That's how you build teams that actually last.
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  That feels
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  like the perfect place to wrap it up.
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  Edwin,
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  thank you-this was eye-opening as always.
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  And if you're listening right
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  now thinking, "Okay, how do I actually try this out?"-you can test OAD's
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  behavioral and cognitive tools for free at o-a-d-dot-a-i.
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  Seriously-it's
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  a simple way to streamline your hiring process and improve fit across
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  the board.
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  Glad to be here, Claire.
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  And just remember-smarter hiring starts
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  with smarter data.
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  Take care, everyone.