How to conduct an interview (that uncovers great candidates)

Hiring isn’t just about finding the most experienced candidate - it’s about identifying who will thrive in your team long-term.

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Most hiring managers rely on gut feel, resumes, and generic interview questions - and then wonder why new hires struggle or leave.

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The truth? Experience doesn’t predict success. Attitude does.

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This guide walks you through an attitude-driven hiring approach based on psychology and human behavior - so you can uncover the truth about candidates and hire with confidence.

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Step 1: Ditch the Outdated Hiring Playbook

Traditional hiring falls into three eras - and most managers are stuck in the first two:

🚫 Era 1: Experience-Driven Hiring

• Reviews CVs, checks credentials, makes gut-feel decisions.
• Problem? Skills don’t guarantee success, and gut feel is biased.

🚫 Era 2: Culture Fit Hiring

• Uses behavioral interviews and personality assessments to find a "fit."
• Problem? It’s conceptual and surface-level. Candidates tell you what you want to hear.

✅ Era 3: Attitude-Driven Hiring (The New Model)

• Focuses on alignment over experience - uncovering ambition, curiosity, accountability, and collaboration.
• Why? The best hires aren't just skilled, they demonstrate drive, adaptability**, and a**lignment with your company's direction.

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Step 2: Build Trust Before the Interview Starts

Interviews are a game - candidates perform, interviewers judge. But that dynamic doesn’t lead to real conversations.

💡 The fix? Break the script.

Here’s a simple way to disarm candidates and get real answers:

• ‍Start with a walk-and-talk. Have a team member casually chat with them before the formal interview.‍
• Share first. A personal story about your own challenges at work builds trust and encourages honesty.‍
• Explain your approach. Tell them: “We’re not here to test you. We want a real conversation about whether this is the right fit - for both of us.”

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Step 3: Ask Questions That Reveal the Truth

Most interview questions are useless.

❌ “Where do you see yourself in five years?” → Generic answer.

❌ “What’s your biggest weakness?” → “I work too hard.” 🙄

❌ “Tell me about yourself.” → Rehearsed monologue.

✅ Instead, ask psychology-driven questions that reveal a candidate’s true attitudes and behaviors:

To assess accountability

"Has there been a time in your life when you were convinced you were right, but later realized you were wrong? What happened?"

👉 Red flag: “That’s never happened to me.” 🚩 (Lacks self-awareness)

👉 Green flag: “I pushed for software we later had to scrap. I owned it and helped find a better solution.” ✅ (Takes responsibility, adapts.)

To assess ambition

"Tell me about a situation where you had to stay motivated over a long period. What kept you going?"

👉 Red flag: “I just do my job.” 🚩 (Low drive, no real growth mindset.)

👉 Green flag: “I worked full-time while building my own side business over two years.” ✅ (Self-motivated, goal-driven.)

To assess collaboration

"What challenges did you have in your last job? How did you contribute to solving them?"

👉 Red flag: “I didn’t really any face challenges.” 🚩 (Unaware or avoids responsibility.)

👉 Green flag: “We had to switch software. I led training sessions to help the team adjust.” ✅ (Team-focused problem solver.)

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To assess curiosity

"What is something you are passionate about? What has it led to?"

👉 Red flag: “I don’t really have any passions.” 🚩 (Not a self-driven learner.)

👉 Green flag: “I got into astronomy and took a physics course to understand it better.” ✅ (Proactively learns and explores new ideas.)

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Step 4: Avoid Snap Judgments - Use a Scoring System

We’re wired to make fast, emotional decisions - but those lead to bad hires.

The fix? Rate candidates on key traits before discussing them as a group.

✅ Score candidates on:

• Accountability – Do they take responsibility for outcomes?
• Ambition – Do they have internal drive to improve?
• Collaboration – Are they team-oriented problem solvers?
• Curiosity – Are they eager to learn and grow?

By structuring feedback, you remove bias and make better decisions.

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Step 5: Ensure the Right Fit Before Making an Offer

By this stage, you should already know whether the candidate is a yes or no - but do they know?

Don’t assume they want the job just because they showed up.

🔹 Ask them:

"Now that you’ve learned more about us, how does this role fit into your long-term goals?"

Their answer will tell you if they are truly excited or just looking for a paycheck.

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Want to Take the Guesswork Out of Hiring?

Download the Psychology-Driven Interview Cheat Sheet for:

✅ Exact questions to assess accountability, ambition, collaboration, and curiosity.

✅ Step-by-step guidance on conducting better interviews.

✅ A framework to hire the right people - fast.

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Final Thought: Hiring Is the #1 Factor in Your Success

Bad hiring = stress, wasted time, and lost revenue.

Great hiring = better teams, higher performance, and more freedom for you.

🚀 Use this framework, and you’ll never second-guess a hiring decision again.

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