Changing how we act after an interview

Image credit: Robbie Shade

I found the book How Google Works fascinating — it’s not (much) about the technology, but rather about the people, processes, and systems that keep the organisation working.

There are a few things from the book that have seeped into my consciousness, but the one that I put into practice most quickly was a simple change to how we interview. Many people will have experienced an interview process that looks like this:

1. Interview a candidate
2. Candidate leaves
3. Go straight back into the interview room with your co-interviewer and say:

“so… what did you think?”

Instead, our process for after an interview is completed now goes like this:

1. Do not head straight to talk to your co-interviewer
2. Go back to your desk, and complete a post-interview feedback form

The benefits of this approach are many:

• Focus on the things we really care about — the form focuses on assessing a candidate’s performance versus our core values rather than nebulous ideas of “culture fit”
• You have to get off the fence — we insist on an overall rating that has passion at both ends of the spectrum (“before we consider hiring this candidate, I’d like a chance to convince you that we should not” and “if anyone doesn’t want to hire this candidate, I’d like a chance to convince you that we should”)
• We avoid group-think — by writing down our thoughts before hearing anyone else’s, we aren’t swayed by the most senior person in the room, the most experienced interviewer, or the biggest personality. If there is conflict, we have a better chance of finding it

I believe that this change should not only make us better at hiring great people, and avoiding poor decisions, but also help to combat some of the pernicious effects of unconscious bias by rating against our values.

I’d love to hear about other people’s tips and tricks for improving their interview process.

Originally posted on my personal Tumblr.