The Interview: The Company Perspective

Welcome to Headhunters Secrets, where I share perspectives from 40 years in the search business. Yes, 40 years, and still enjoying what I do.

The Interview: The Company Perspective

Costco’s new CEO started out as a forklift driver. Such stories are proof that a person’s recent or current experience can’t always capture his or her potential.

When companies are looking to fill a role, most interviewers focus on how a candidate’s recent experience fits the job description for which they’re being considered. Recent experience, of course matters. In fact, the totality of a resume matters. But so too does what a resume doesn’t say. 

While Costco’s new CEO was driving that forklift, few probably pegged him as the company’s eventual CEO. Had he been evaluated by the limits of his resume in the early years of his career, he wouldn’t have been given the opportunity to jump to the corporate side of work. And he never would have met his potential, and Costco would never have benefited from it.

So how does an interviewer determine a candidate’s potential? How do we identify if someone can successfully do something he or she hasn’t done before? How do we identify candidates whose skills go beyond the confines of the experience they’ve had to date and who might be the type of person who can thrive in a role that’s distinct in some way from their past experience?

With over 40 years of search under my belt, I’ve discovered ways to learn far more about a person than a resume can ever convey, to get to the heart of a person and fast. I ask candidates to tell me their story—going back to where they were born, where they were raised, and what their childhoods were like.

It may seem unconventional, but it works. Here’s why: Research shows that many core aspects of personality can be observed as early as age eight and may remain relatively stable over time, though many other elements of identity and behavior continue to evolve and change throughout life. If this is true—and I believe it is to a meaningful degree—there’s value in trying to understand what kind of person a candidate was around age eight.

When I ask candidates to share stories from their childhoods, I’m looking to learn if they were curious kids, if they played well with others, if they cared about school. I want to try and figure out if they were independent thinkers or followed the crowd. I’m looking for clues if they were bullies or kind, outgoing or overly shy. I’ll ask about their hobbies and extracurriculars. I always want to know if they had any jobs as a kid. Eventually, I’ll ask how they chose their college and major and if they were a fit.

I’ll also ask about their families. I’m curious about candidates’ work ethic, and learning about what their parents did for work and how they spent their time can give clues. I ask about their siblings and what they do for work now.

Then I’ll ask how they got their first job and what drew them to it. I’ll be curious to learn how they view the trajectory of their careers to date and their perspectives on how it’s played out.

This sounds more intense than it is. Really, it’s just a natural conversation that tends to unfold organically, driven by a genuine curiosity. It’s fascinating to learn about people generally, but when it comes to a job interview, having a personal conversation is a swift way to understand a candidate’s values and get clues into how they would perform, handle challenges, and collaborate with colleagues.

Resumes are important. They are a must when it comes to interviewing. It’s just worth keeping in mind: Resumes paint a picture of the past. Hiring someone is fundamentally an act in service of the future—and not just any future, a specific future you want this person to help you realize. The best way to try to get a glimpse into that future, where a candidate is contributing positively to your team, is to have a personal conversation. It’s to get to know someone as a human.

Hope these insights are helpful. 

We at Leyendecker have been doing search work for 40 years. We’ve completed over 100 C-level searches, most for CFOs. Most have been for PE portfolio companies, but we’ve also helped owner/managed and publicly-held companies. Our placements have helped their employers go through almost 50 successful liquidity events.  

Keep us in mind when you seek talent that will get you over the goal line! Hope you have a great year!

Doug