How to Know if a Job Candidate Can Handle Working at a Startup
How do you know if someone can thrive in a fast-changing environment?
Jessica Powell, the former Google vice president who wrote The Big Disruption and told you how to quit your job, is here to answer your common but tricky work questions. Check back every other week for more management advice with a tech inflection.
When it comes to hiring, we tend to look at people’s resumes, where they went to school, and their last few jobs. But none of that reliably predicts how people will do in a role. The interview is supposed to help, but a lot of times I feel like I’m just judging whether this is a person I want to have a conversation with. As a manager at a fast-growing startup, I really want to recruit people who are resilient and have a high tolerance for ambiguity. How do I vet for that in an interview?
My favorite way to test for resilience and tolerance for ambiguity is to conduct interviews on the top of our building, and at some point push the person off the roof. (It’s not that high.) Then, when they ask from down below whether I can call an ambulance, I call down, “I don’t know…can I?” I watch how they respond. Do they stand up? Call an ambulance? Understand that this is a metaphor?
