We’ll set aside all your interesting candidate evaluation methods. We’ll also ignore weak questions like “Where do you see yourself in five years?” that show the interviewer doesn’t really know what to ask. We’ll focus on what really matters.
The main point is that there are 10% or even 5% of people who lead, and 90 or 95% who follow. No, I’m not talking about “born leaders.” On the contrary, a born leader, someone who is emotionally strong, will find a way to avoid doing things themselves and get others to do it for them. A talented person, on the other hand, can always rely on themselves.
Remember school, remember university. There were always those who wrote their own work and those who copied. There were always those who could find interest and passionately engaged in independent projects, and those who got lost, ran between classmates, peeked at others’ work, searched for answers, tried to do “like everyone else,” or simply turned to the internet for another dose of copy-pasting.
Oh! Employers have always been interested in those who write on their own. A manager always needs understanding, proactive, and independent employees. Ahem, a normal manager. So, ask directly in the interview what interests you:
- Which university did you attend and what was your major?
- Why did you choose this field of study?
- What was the topic of your thesis?
The first question is introductory, meant to set up the next two. The second question helps to understand how a person makes decisions, how they assess uncertainty and risks, how susceptible they are to influence, and what they are focused on. The third question is actually binary. If a person can simply remember the topic of their thesis, it’s highly likely that they either wrote it themselves or actively chose the topic, even if they received help with the writing. My experience with interviews has shown that 90% of candidates are unable to recall the topic of their thesis. Here you have the very 10%. You can then ask additional questions about why and how they chose that topic, what it contributed or could contribute to the science or discipline they are studying (this is included in the first part of every thesis), and what the results of their work were and how they were used. It doesn’t matter whether they were used or not. What matters is how the candidate responds during the interview. Are they proud of their work? Do their eyes light up?
Yes, by the way, I’ve often encountered people in interviews who decided to study psychology in order to… figure themselves out. When I ask the next question, “So, did you figure it out?” they always respond, “No.” How can someone set a goal to spend six years of their life on something they don’t plan to use?
And so, my advice to recruiters is to start interviews with education rather than the most recent job. The foundation will tell you more than a random set of circumstances. Of course, this is if you are looking for understanding, proactive, and independent employees. Because if you are hiring, say, a bank teller, the more naive and obedient the person is, the better and safer it is. However, by asking the questions mentioned above, you can determine that as well.
P.S. The method only works for those recruiters who are among the 10% that actually remember the topic of their thesis. Otherwise, they won’t have the resolution needed to evaluate the candidate.