Latest / The Science of Leading / Why Most Interviews Fail — And What to Do Instead

Transcript

Why Most Interviews Fail — And What to Do Instead · The Science of Leading

• 0:00
  Hey everyone-welcome back to The Science of Leading.
• 0:02
  I'm Claire Monroe, and yup, I'm here with Edwin Carrington as always.
• 0:02
  Today's
• 0:08
  topic is one I feel like every manager and HR leader has struggled with
• 0:11
  at some point: how do you make interviews actually work for you-not against
• 0:16
  you?
• 0:16
  Like... Edwin, haven't we both seen interviews that just totally miss
• 0:22
  the mark?
• 0:22
  Absolutely.
• 0:23
  Most interviews I've seen fall into this... trap of routine.
• 0:23
  It's the same
• 0:29
  predictable questions-"Tell me about yourself," "What's your biggest
• 0:29
  weakness?"-and
• 0:35
  then people wonder why they keep hiring the wrong fit.
• 0:35
  Here's the thing:
• 0:40
  if your process relies on gut instinct or surface-level questions,
• 0:44
  you're not just risking an okay hire-you're risking a costly one.
• 0:44
  And
• 0:50
  I mean that literally.
• 0:51
  Some research shows a bad hire can run you up to 30% of their annual
• 0:56
  salary.
• 0:56
  And that's not even counting the lost time,
• 0:59
  team friction, or the hit to morale.
• 0:59
  Yeah-and it's more than just money.
• 0:59
  Like,
• 1:04
  I remember this one panel interview I had early on-I was suuuper nervous-but
• 1:09
  what really hit me was realizing how much was riding on it.
• 1:09
  It wasn't just
• 1:13
  about filling a seat, you know?
• 1:14
  It was about how the team functioned,
• 1:16
  how projects moved forward, even how fast the company could grow.
• 1:16
  And
• 1:20
  I think especially when you're just starting out,
• 1:22
  it's easy to underestimate how much one hiring decision can affect the
• 1:26
  whole picture.
• 1:26
  Kinda like what we talked about in that episode on first
• 1:30
  hires for founders-one bad call can throw everything off.
• 1:30
  Exactly.
• 1:30
  And when
• 1:36
  interviews become this checkbox activity-just something to get through-you
• 1:39
  miss the chance to spot excellence.
• 1:39
  You settle for "eh,
• 1:44
  close enough," because the system isn't built to dig deeper.
• 1:44
  And that's
• 1:49
  where the real cost creeps in.
• 1:49
  Not just financially... but in momentum lost,
• 1:55
  team dynamics thrown off, opportunities missed.
• 1:55
  That's why I always say-every
• 2:01
  hire is a strategic move, not just a to-do item.
• 2:01
  So if we know it matters
• 2:05
  this much... why do so many teams just stick with the same old routine?
• 2:05
  Is
• 2:09
  it comfort?
• 2:09
  Or like... are we just not sure what else to do?
• 2:09
  It's a little of both.
• 2:13
  Habit, for sure.
• 2:15
  But also-I think there's a lack of clarity.
• 2:15
  A lot of the time,
• 2:20
  we're hiring for what's on paper.
• 2:22
  Skills, credentials.
• 2:22
  But not for who's gonna thrive in the role.
• 2:22
  And that's
• 2:27
  where it needs to start-with defining what success actually looks like
• 2:31
  for the position... not just what's in the job posting.
• 2:31
  Okay-so let's get
• 2:35
  practical.
• 2:35
  If we want to go beyond the "check-the-box" interview... how do
• 2:40
  we actually define success?
• 2:40
  Like,
• 2:42
  how do we set those metrics?
• 2:42
  You start with outcomes.
• 2:42
  Not a list of tasks
• 2:47
  or traits-but real, tangible goals.
• 2:47
  So: what does great look like at 3
• 2:54
  months?
• 2:54
  6 months?
• 2:55
  A year in?
• 2:55
  Maybe it's building trust with the team,
• 2:59
  leading a key project, or launching something new.
• 2:59
  When you're that clear-you
• 3:05
  can shape your questions around those milestones.
• 3:05
  You're not just asking,
• 3:09
  "Can you lead a team?"You're looking for proof that they've already done
• 3:13
  something like that.
• 3:13
  Right-and that's where the scenario questions come
• 3:17
  in, yeah?
• 3:17
  Like instead of saying,
• 3:19
  "Are you a good communicator?" you ask,
• 3:21
  "Tell me about a time you had to,
• 3:23
  I don't know-get everyone aligned on a super tight deadline."Exactly.
• 3:23
  You
• 3:27
  want real stories-how they made choices,
• 3:30
  what they did when things got tough,
• 3:32
  how they handled setbacks.
• 3:32
  And it's not just the story,
• 3:36
  Claire-it's how they think.
• 3:36
  That's where you see if they match what the
• 3:40
  role demands.
• 3:40
  I remember this one client who used OAD's behavioral data.
• 3:40
  On
• 3:47
  paper?
• 3:47
  The candidate looked... average.
• 3:47
  But their profile showed high initiative
• 3:53
  and resilience.
• 3:53
  So we probed deeper in the interview-asked about taking
• 3:58
  ownership during tough situations.
• 3:58
  Turns out,
• 4:01
  they'd led a whole turnaround project no one else wanted to touch.
• 4:01
  Total
• 4:06
  quiet powerhouse-you'd miss that just scanning a CV.
• 4:06
  That's so real.
• 4:06
  I've
• 4:11
  totally fallen for the "star performer" thing-like,
• 4:14
  oh, they're smooth in the interview,
• 4:15
  must be great.
• 4:15
  But as we said in our episode on behavioral fit,
• 4:19
  sometimes the best people aren't the flashiest.
• 4:19
  They just show up,
• 4:23
  adapt, and crush it over time.
• 4:23
  Exactly.
• 4:23
  And that's where structure saves
• 4:28
  you.
• 4:28
  Consistent questions.
• 4:30
  Clear scoring.
• 4:32
  Multiple perspectives.
• 4:32
  And when you combine that with a tool like the
• 4:36
  OAD survey-you're adding an objective layer.
• 4:36
  You're not guessing who might
• 4:41
  be great-you've got actual data on how they'll behave in the role.
• 4:41
  Okay-let's
• 4:47
  talk about team fit for a sec.
• 4:47
  Because this is where it gets... fuzzy.
• 4:47
  People
• 4:52
  say, "We want someone who fits the culture," but what does that actually
• 4:56
  mean?
• 4:56
  How do you check for that without it turning into,
• 4:59
  like... "Do they vibe with us at lunch?"Right.
• 4:59
  Because you're not just hiring
• 5:05
  for right now.
• 5:05
  You're hiring for where your team's headed.
• 5:05
  And that takes
• 5:11
  intention-a process that actually reveals potential.
• 5:11
  Even the kind that
• 5:16
  doesn't show up at first glance.
• 5:16
  Okay-let's talk about team fit for a sec.
• 5:16
  Because
• 5:21
  this is where it gets... fuzzy.
• 5:21
  People say,
• 5:25
  "We want someone who fits the culture," but what does that actually mean?
• 5:25
  How
• 5:29
  do you check for that without it turning into,
• 5:31
  like... "Do they vibe with us at lunch?"Yeah,
• 5:34
  great point.
• 5:34
  Cultural fit isn't about finding carbon copies of who you
• 5:39
  already have.
• 5:39
  It's about who'll thrive in your environment-and ideally,
• 5:44
  raise the bar.
• 5:44
  So, instead of trying to read their personality,
• 5:48
  ask:"What kind of work setting brings out your best?""How do you handle
• 5:54
  change?"These questions get to the values beneath the behavior.
• 5:54
  And it's
• 5:59
  not just one person's call, either.
• 5:59
  I'm a big fan of team involvement-peer
• 6:03
  interviews, group feedback.
• 6:03
  I've seen candidates shine one-on-one... and
• 6:08
  then completely freeze in a group.
• 6:08
  Sometimes it's revealing-in a good or
• 6:12
  bad way.
• 6:12
  Exactly.
• 6:12
  Peer interviews give you a different lens.
• 6:12
  Maybe someone's
• 6:18
  quietly respectful... or maybe they totally steamroll the team.
• 6:18
  And when
• 6:23
  you bring everyone together, use a shared rating system-you remove a lot
• 6:27
  of bias.
• 6:27
  It's not about who's the most charming-it's about who actually
• 6:32
  lines up with your goals.
• 6:32
  So Edwin,
• 6:34
  walk me through this again-how does the OAD survey actually help teams
• 6:38
  make more confident, less biased decisions?
• 6:38
  We've talked about this before,
• 6:42
  but like... what's that look like in action?
• 6:42
  Sure.
• 6:42
  The OAD survey gives you
• 6:49
  behavioral insights-how someone communicates,
• 6:52
  deals with stress, collaborates,
• 6:55
  and makes decisions.
• 6:55
  It's not a label.
• 6:58
  It's a language.
• 6:58
  It helps the team talk clearly about fit,
• 7:02
  instead of going on gut feel.
• 7:02
  And when you blend that with interviews
• 7:07
  and team input-you get decisions that are smarter,
• 7:10
  fairer, and way more likely to stick.
• 7:10
  And we've seen it-better retention,
• 7:15
  better engagement, stronger teams.
• 7:15
  I love that.
• 7:15
  It's like... you're removing
• 7:20
  the guesswork without losing the human side.
• 7:20
  And that's what every team
• 7:24
  needs if they want to build something real.
• 7:24
  Alright Edwin-I think that's
• 7:28
  a wrap for today.
• 7:29
  Thanks for sharing your brain as always.
• 7:29
  Always a pleasure,
• 7:33
  Claire.
• 7:33
  And hey-to everyone listening,
• 7:36
  remember:Every interview is a chance to shape your team,
• 7:39
  not just fill a spot.
• 7:39
  We'll be back soon with more on hiring smarter and
• 7:44
  leading better.
• 7:45
  Take care, Claire.
• 7:45
  Thanks, Edwin.
• 7:45
  And thanks to all of you for hanging
• 7:49
  out with us on The Science of Leading.
• 7:49
  If you wanna see these ideas in
• 7:52
  action, head over to O-A-D dot A-I-you can book a free demo and check
• 7:57
  out how tools like their behavioral assessments can actually make hiring
• 8:00
  a whole lot easier.
• 8:00
  Catch you next time!