The Job Interview may die soon

“The Job Interview Will Soon Be Dead”. More than 51 percent of people lie during the interview. That's according to Ron Friedman. He is an award-winning social psychologist and the author of The Best Place to Work. Friedman says we are creating a condition where people are being dishonest because, well, plain and simple, it's the only way for them to get a job.

In other words, let’s say I'm interviewing for one of your jobs. If you ask me about a skill I don't have, it's pretty clear that if admit that I don't have that skill, I'm not going to get the job. The only option I have is to talk around it and give you, my potential boss or colleague, a false impression. The result: Employers are consistently getting spoon-fed dishonest answers, and they're eating it up like candy.

How Our Brains Sabotage During Interviews

Even if you were getting 100 percent honest answers from a job candidate, there's a real question about whether you would be accurately evaluating the person in front of you. .

Friedman says this is because of the ways our brains operate. We have unconscious biases when we look at other people and evaluate their skill set. Chances are you've probably interviewed an attractive female, a tall person, or someone who speaks with a deep voice. Here's what science is saying on each, according to Friedman:

People who are good looking tend to be evaluated as being more competent, intelligent, and qualified than their less attractive colleagues, despite not being objectively better at any of these things. Did your brain trick you into believing any of those things? The research suggests that we can't help being swayed by these factors, and they affect the way we conduct the interview.

Friedman says that if you, as the interviewer, assume that a job candidate is extroverted, you're going to ask you a question like, "Tell me your experience leading groups." But if you assume that a job candidate is introverted, you might ask a slightly different question, like, "Are you comfortable leading groups?"

While both of these questions may be getting at the same topic, Friedman says when interviewers frame these questions differently due to their assumptions about a job candidate, it leads that person to answer in a way that confirms your (the interviewer's) initial impression or bias, which may be dead wrong.

The Solution: Job Auditions

Friedman's argues that we should disrupt the HR process of live, in-person interviews and replace them with "job auditions" that are relevant to the tasks for the job.

It makes sense. Musicians and singers have to audition. Actors have to audition. The people employing them don't sit down and dart scripted questions their way. They want to see them play, sing, perform. Doesn't it make sense to audition a prospective employee for the same reasons, before they sign an offer letter?

For example, if you're looking to hire a sales rep, bring the candidate in for a few hours and have that person sell you and members of your team on your product. If you're hiring Web designers, bring them in and have them design a landing page for you. The same goes for behavioral interviews.

The data from Friedman's research confirms that when we choose auditions versus interviews, we can create a far better approach to hiring people, and a better workplace that has the right people you want for your jobs and your culture.

Bringing It Home

While traditional interviews aren't going away any time soon, tightening up an interview process with tryouts or auditions is critical to hitting your target. It lessens the length of time from initial résumé-screening to hire, safeguarding companies from the loss of productivity that results when workers are pulled away to interview good "actors."

Well, Friedman may not know getting the candidate for Interview itself is like climbing Himalaya in two hours time. Where to invite for Audition? We are not ready for his thought yet. Still nothing stops learning a new idea. Think about it. In some core critical function, Organisation can apply Audition :) 

Happy Audition to you.