20 underrated qualities to look for in candidates - and 50+ interview questions to suss them out
That’s why we set out to collect the answers to these questions: What are those underrated traits that you should be looking for in hiring — especially in the early-stage startup context? And how do you unearth these unsung attributes in the interview process?
To spot those with an aptitude for adaptable learning, Dwane asks these questions:
- What have you started?
- How would a colleague describe you in three adjectives
- What current trends are you seeing in your profession?
- What new things have you tried recently?
In building Thumbtack, Marco Zappacosta has hunted for this exact trait. When interviewing candidates, he leans on two different questions, always paired together:
- What professional achievement are you most proud of? “I ask them to take me really deep, so it’s not just like ‘Oh I’ve grown a lot in my career.’ I want to hear the specific thing that happened at your job and why you’re really proud of it.
- What’s your biggest professional regret? “Typically someone is riding high off the last question because they got to brag and go deep on something they feel really good about, so this next question often surprises people,” says Zappacosta.
I’m under no illusions that I’m hiring perfect people, but I want to make sure I’m hiring people who are self-aware of being imperfect.
Grant unearthed a great recruiting question their scouts use to surface true humility: Would you rather your team win but you only score 5 points, or score 20 points but your team loses?
- “Who do you owe your success to?” When listening, see if the candidate uses words such as “I” or “me” a lot, instead of giving credit to others.
- “Who have you learned the most from in your career?” A mark of humility is a willingness to learn from someone who might not be in a position to teach you anything.
Looker’s Lloyd Tabb offers up a different way to get at that underlying passion, especially with more technical hires. “Throughout the years, I’ve met candidates that have over- and under-estimated their abilities, but their answer to one simple question has never steered me wrong to date. I ask them: Tell me something that happened at work in the last year that made it a truly great day.”
Bryan Mason always poses this simple question to candidates: What are you really good at, but never want to do anymore? The former Chief Business Officer at VSCO and current VP at True Networks finds that it gets candidates to 1) reflect on what they’ve learned about themselves, 2) test their ability to speak with humility about being “good” at something, and 3) talk about stuff you may find valuable on their resume, that they in fact no longer want to do. “It’s amazing how often people answer saying they never want to do exactly what I’m hiring for in this role,” he says.
But for the final tip, we suggest you turn the tables to ask the candidate what you should be looking for. Here’s three variations to help you refine both your own sense of what you’re seeking and your understanding of a candidate’s capabilities.
What’s the difference between someone who’s great in your role versus someone who’s outstanding? LendingHome co-founder Matt Humphrey looks for a keen understanding of the difference between A+ performance and what he calls “A+++”. “I always follow-up with: ‘Can you give me some specific examples of this in your career and the results you saw?’ I look for how they answer the question just as much as the content of the answer itself,” he says. “The best candidates can answer almost immediately, maybe even with a wry smile because they know exactly what I’m getting at and they’re proud of doing something that was truly above and beyond.”
What are the three most important characteristics of this function? How would you stack rank yourself from strongest to least developed among these traits? When Google’s Jack Krawczyk is hiring for product teams, he’s hunting for candidates that have both a deep understanding of the function they’re in and an appreciation for the spots in which they still need to grow. “I’ve found that it forces the candidate to be introspective and provide examples of how they’re a student of their craft,” says the former WeWork VP.
If you were in my shoes, what attributes would you look for in hiring for this role? NerdWallet co-founder and CEO Tim Chen loves asking what the candidate would look for if they were on the other side of the table. “Some of the attributes they list off are surprising,” says Chen. “It helps you think about the role in a different way. I’ve also found that candidates tend to highlight their own strengths, so it gives you a window into who they are. You can also get a sense of whether they’re good at breaking nebulous problems, like hiring, into the key drivers.”