They Interviewed Beautifully. So What Happened?

I’ve been hearing versions of this story a lot lately.

The candidate was fantastic in the interview.

Experienced. Confident. Articulate. They knew exactly how to answer the questions.

Everyone walked away thinking, "This is our person!"

So you hire them.

And a few months later warning flags begin popping up. It starts with teammates mumbling...or grumbling. Maybe you get a complaint from a customer or colleague. Then you see a behavior that surprises or disappoints you.

And you find yourself wondering...

How did we miss this?

Sometimes, I think the answer is surprisingly simple.

We interviewed for whether they could do the work. However, we didn't spend enough time exploring how they would interact with other people.

Most hiring teams are pretty good at evaluating experience and technical knowledge.

Tell me about your background.
Have you done X before?
How would you handle Y?
What are your strengths?

And experienced candidates are often pretty good at answering those questions.

But there’s another layer I help leaders get much more curious about.

How does this person respond when someone disagrees with them? What happens when they receive feedback they don't agree with? What do they believe their responsibility is when a customer is unhappy? How do they handle a decision they wouldn't have made themselves?

Those aren't “soft” questions.

In fact, they may be some of the most important questions you ask.

If I'm hiring someone into a role where customer service is essential, I don't just need to know whether they can explain what good customer service looks like.

I want to understand what happens when a frustrated customer tells them they're wrong.

Because there's a big difference between knowing the right answer and being able to stay open, curious, and productive when another human being pushes your buttons.

And that's where the interview has to go deeper.

Not:

“How do you handle feedback?”

Most people know the right answer to that one.

Instead, ask about an actual time they received feedback they disagreed with. What was the feedback? What did they think about it? What did they do next? What happened with the relationship?

Then listen.

And probe.

You're not trying to catch someone saying the wrong thing.

You're trying to understand how they think.

You're also getting clearer about something on your side of the interview table:

What kind of person does this role actually require?

Not just their credentials.

Their way of communicating. Their understanding of the role. Their ability to receive feedback. Their willingness to repair when something goes sideways. The way they work with people when things aren't easy.

Some skills can be taught.

But if a person's fundamental way of operating is consistently at odds with what the role and your culture require, you've created a much harder leadership problem.

Hiring is too significant an investment to discover that after the fact.

So maybe before your next interview, don't just ask:

“What experience does this person need?”

Ask:

“What will this person need to be able to navigate with other humans to succeed here?”

Then build your interview around finding out.

💜Stacey

Hiring—or know someone who is? I made an Interview Beyond the Résumé resource to help you uncover how someone actually works with other humans.

Get the free guide here → And pass the link along to another leader who could use it.