Four Questions You Should Ask To Start An Interview Instead Of ‘Tell Me About Yourself

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

One of the most frequently quoted statistics that I see in talent acquisition is that approximately 46% of new hires fail within 18 months. Nearly half of the leaders who are hired from outside an organization fail within the first 18 months, according to a survey reported on by Harvard Business Review. And worldwide employee engagement is at 15%, based on the findings of Gallup’s “State of the Global Workplace” report. No one goes out of their way to attain results like this, but it’s clear to me that no one is hiring with the end in mind.

Although many like to point to how data-driven hiring is replacing hiring for “fit” when interviewing, the facts suggest that (“hiring for fit”) is still prevalent in the selection process for new hires and that managers are often incapable of doing so properly because they lack real data about how someone would actually fit. Even when technology is used to compare the potential new hire with those previously hired, the data set for the existing employees is old. These people have already changed since being hired, making the data obsolete.

Interviewing has developed into a mechanistic process. Yes, identical questions should be asked of potential hires to identify skills…