3 ms·

It's funny, I've tried tons of different approaches to solving this problem and the only thing I now do is spend about 30 minutes with someone then decide to hi

It's funny, I've tried tons of different approaches to solving this problem and the only thing I now do is spend about 30 minutes with someone then decide to hire or not (usually I'm able to express this on the spot to whomever I'm interviewing). For better or worse, my instincts about who is smart, honest and kind seem at least as good (and often better) than any other approach we've tried.

fishtoaster 11y ago
I'm curious how you validate that approach. I'm not saying you're wrong– just that I don't know if you'd be able to tell if you're wrong. Do you measure the performance of people hired through that method, and have you done so for a long period with a significant sample size? Do you manage to measure your false-negative rate (by somehow following up on candidates you passed on)?
- flippyhead 11y ago
  Well, the false-negative rate is something we never did even when we tried all kinds of other "standard" interview approaches. If you had a solution for that it'd be useful generally I expect. I'm only make anecdotal comparisons to the quality of persons hired by all other approaches vs. me just using the massive pattern matcher in my head. And to be sure, my company is small and it's my company so the ultimate determinant of hiring quality is really just me. I'm not sure this approach would work for medium+ organizations.
Gibbon1 11y ago
Your comment made me think these extreme interviewers are like a gardener who want to find that one true seed that will thrive when they plant it in a flower pot full of broken glass and gravel. Also reminds me of a comment by Robert Townsend. Which is a warning about following the practices of the biggest most illustrious firms. In his day that was General Motors etc. Today it's Apply and Google. I think those guys can spend a buttload of time and money looking for the perfect fit out of the line out the door of candidates because, it matters. Bad/Good hire could cost or make the company millions of dollars. It's also hard fire when your company is large. Your dinky company? A misperfect fit is going to cost you thousands to tens of dollars.

fishtoaster 11y ago

I'm curious how you validate that approach. I'm not saying you're wrong– just that I don't know if you'd be able to tell if you're wrong. Do you measure the performance of people hired through that method, and have you done so for a long period with a significant sample size? Do you manage to measure your false-negative rate (by somehow following up on candidates you passed on)?

flippyhead 11y ago
Well, the false-negative rate is something we never did even when we tried all kinds of other "standard" interview approaches. If you had a solution for that it'd be useful generally I expect. I'm only make anecdotal comparisons to the quality of persons hired by all other approaches vs. me just using the massive pattern matcher in my head. And to be sure, my company is small and it's my company so the ultimate determinant of hiring quality is really just me. I'm not sure this approach would work for medium+ organizations.

Gibbon1 11y ago

Your comment made me think these extreme interviewers are like a gardener who want to find that one true seed that will thrive when they plant it in a flower pot full of broken glass and gravel. Also reminds me of a comment by Robert Townsend. Which is a warning about following the practices of the biggest most illustrious firms. In his day that was General Motors etc. Today it's Apply and Google. I think those guys can spend a buttload of time and money looking for the perfect fit out of the line out the door of candidates because, it matters. Bad/Good hire could cost or make the company millions of dollars. It's also hard fire when your company is large. Your dinky company? A misperfect fit is going to cost you thousands to tens of dollars.