You know the drill. 

You meet with a candidate who by all accounts has the critical hard skills the job requires and the soft skills needed to communicate with the team. You’re looking forward to the impact he will have on the team and he seems to be looking forward to the opportunity. 

Your boss is happy and the team is anticipating his help.  

Everyone is pleased and ready to move forward. 

A few weeks into his tenure, however, you’re not so sure you made the right choice. He’s not fitting in with the team and not demonstrating the skill level you thought he had.  

The problem with traditional interviewing is that interviewing is a skill in itself, which means that a candidate who interviews well isn’t necessarily the same candidate who would perform well on the job. On the other hand, a candidate who interviews poorly could be a star on the job. 

The working interview could have solved this problem before it became one. 

A competent, skilled professional should show enthusiasm for a working interview because it’s just as beneficial for them to have time in the new work environment before making a commitment as it is for you. 

Let your top candidates spend a few hours working on a current project. You can observe not only their technical capabilities, but also their communication skills, creative thinking, and how their personality fits in with the people they will be working with the most. 

A candidate who hesitates at participating in a working interview is waving a red flag.  

Jessica Van Pelt at the Pegasus Agency expertly combines technical, business, web, and marketing acumen to match great companies with great people. Contact Jessica at (973) 876-3118 or email jvanpelt@thepegasusagencyllc.com to discuss your staffing needs.