43: Learning from Experience Interviews
Managers are often expected to be natural interviewers with a discerning ear, able to determine if a candidate is both capable of doing the job and a good fit with the team. I had to learn how to interview and assess a candidate because it's way more complicated than a gut check. This week, I explain learning from experience interviewing and the process I use to understand a candidates capability, competencies and culture fit. Get the free mini-guide to help you prepare for your next interview. When you join the Modern Manager community, get the full guide with competencies and questions I often use when interviewing. In addition, get access to prior episode guides, guest bonuses and 30% off personality based coaching to help you better understand your preferences and learn new strategies to help you be a rockstar manager. Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: How to Lead Learning from Experience Interviews Key Takeaways: I typically seek to assess whether a candidate has the hard skills (capability), soft skills (competencies) and culture fit to thrive in the role. Use the interview to primarily assess competencies. Use a simulation to assess capability. Culture fit can be assess during the interview and simulation. How a person behaved in the past is a great indicator of how they'll be have in the future. Use "tell me about a time when..." questions to explore how a person has behaved in the past under certain conditions. Explore prior behavior, how they understand a competency intellectually, and what they've learned from an experience where they didn't apply the competency well or over-used it. Prepare for the interview by know what competencies are important for the role, what questions you'll ask, and what you'll look for in their answers.