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A Surprising (and Powerful) Truth About Great Interviewing

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Summary

This article explains the surprising and powerful truth about great interviewing: the interviewer should not waste their mental bandwidth judging the candidate. Instead, they should focus on building rapport, asking the right questions, and capturing the data. Doing so will help them avoid costly hiring mistakes, get better data, less bias, and higher quality hires. The article also provides tips on how to stay disciplined and practice this counterintuitive principle. It was originally published on LinkedIn and authored by Jordan Burton, who has 15 years of experience in executive assessment and interviewing training.

Q&As

What is the surprising truth about great interviewing?
The surprising truth about great interviewing is to stop judging the candidate during the interview.

How can an interviewer avoid making costly mistakes during an interview?
An interviewer can avoid making costly mistakes during an interview by focusing on building rapport with the candidate, asking the right questions, and capturing the data.

What should an interviewer focus on during an interview?
An interviewer should focus on building rapport with the candidate, asking the right questions, and capturing the data during an interview.

How can an interviewer avoid bias in the interview process?
An interviewer can avoid bias in the interview process by channeling their "judgment impulse" in a different direction and judging the dialogue itself rather than the candidate.

What are the benefits of removing the inclination to judge a candidate in real time?
The benefits of removing the inclination to judge a candidate in real time include getting more data, better data, less bias, happier candidates, and higher quality hires.

AI Comments

👍 This article is full of great insight and advice for conducting successful interviews. It is packed with useful strategies and tips that will help hiring managers and executives make the best possible decisions when interviewing candidates.

👎 This article provides good advice but it is too long and could have been condensed into a much shorter read. It is filled with too many anecdotes and examples that take away from the core message.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about the power of great interviewing, and one of the biggest counterintuitive things to remember during an interview is not to judge the candidate. Instead, focus on building rapport and asking the right questions.

Friend: Interesting. That makes sense, but it seems like it would be really difficult to do.

Friend: Yeah, it definitely seems like it would take a lot of discipline and practice. It's also important to be aware of how judging a candidate in real time can bias what you ask and how you ask it. It can also put diversity and inclusion initiatives at risk.

Action items

Practice interviewing without judging the candidate. Make a conscious effort to focus on building rapport, asking the right questions, and capturing the data.
Channel the “judgment impulse” into judging the dialogue instead. Ask yourself if the conversation is relevant to the role in question and if you are using time wisely.
Participate in the Systemic HR Study, a collaboration between LinkedIn and The Josh Bersin Company, to share your insights on the changing world of HR.

Technical terms

Interview Questions: Questions asked by an interviewer to a candidate during an interview.
Building Rapport: Establishing a friendly relationship with a candidate.
Judging: Making a decision or forming an opinion about a candidate.
Data: Information collected from an interview.
DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
AI: Artificial Intelligence.