Adam Grant says traditional interview methods that force candidates to talk about their strengths rather than show them can be causing employers to “miss diamonds in the rough.” Instead, he says interviewers should incorporate two steps to assess a candidate’s true potential and suitability for the job.
Grant, a best-selling author and organizational psychologist at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke at WOBI’s World Business Forum in New York City on November 5 and shared tips for improving the interview process.
He cited research showing that “how well a person does a job is not determined by the results of the first interview, but by how much growth they show from the first interview to the second.”
Of course, hiring teams don’t always have the time or resources to give everyone who fails the first interview a second chance. However, Grant shared with us an alternative that doesn’t require hiring teams to take up time for another interview and gives candidates a fresh start.
“Even if you can stop the interview in the middle and say, ‘Hey, I just grabbed some notes,’ and watch their motivation and ability grow from their first attempt to their second, that’s a great window into whether that person is excited to get better and whether they have the ability to learn the skills you’re trying to get them to excel at.”
In addition to providing feedback and an opportunity for improvement if a candidate doesn’t get off to a good start, Grant also builds the task into the interview to see the candidate’s skills and potential as part of the actual job.
“I committed this crime.”
Mr. Grant shared a personal anecdote about how his approach to interviewing applicants nearly cost him the job of hiring top talent. Before becoming an organizational psychologist, I led advertising teams and hired salespeople. He recalled one candidate who, judging from his resume, appeared to be “the least suitable person for sales imaginable.”
Grant was so desperate to get the role that he interviewed all the applicants, but he was not impressed. He told the company president that the candidate was not suitable for the role because he did not make eye contact once during the 45-minute interview.
“At the time, I didn’t know anything about neural bifurcation,” Grant said.
The president responded, “You know this is a telemarketing job, right? There’s no eye contact in this job.”
Mr. Grant learned his lesson when he suddenly realized that he had been focused on supporting his belief that the candidate was a misfit.
“We realized we needed to reboot our recruiting process,” he said. “If you want to gauge someone’s potential, the best way is to give them real challenges that are part of their job and see how they deal with them.”
So he brought all the candidates back and asked them to sell him rotten apples. Grant said he went that route because all the candidates were familiar with apples, which leveled the playing field, and because “if you can get me excited about rotten apples, you’re definitely going to sell our product.”
Candidate Grant, who had previously been frowned upon, has jumped right in on the sales pitch.
“This may look like a rotten apple, but it’s actually an old, antique apple,” Grant recalled saying. “You know the saying, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away?'” You only need to eat one of these a week, as they’re packed with nutrients that aid in the aging process. And after that, you can plant the seeds in your backyard. ”
Mr. Grant joked that he had “serious questions about the integrity and integrity” of the candidate, but he hired him and the man ended up becoming the best salesman on his team.
“What I learned from that story was not only that you need to see him play in action to gauge his potential,” Grant said. “But I also needed to give him a do-over.”
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