Mitigate the impact of false expertise
Mitigate the impact of false expertise
1. Meet with your team and brainstorm skills that you need in the position you want to fill.
Afterward, shortlist the ideas and categorize the shortlist into required and nice to have. Create a spreadsheet with columns for Skill and Question and add the shortlisted skills.
2. For each skill, write at least one question that will help you determine their capacity level in that skill.
For example, if one of the necessary skills is write articles, your question might be, What is your process for writing an article on a topic you know well?
3. Add more general open-ended questions about their past experiences and challenges.
For example, What would your last manager say your biggest challenge is?
4. Automate your early recruitment stages using a tool like Blendoor to filter out outliers.
5. Prepare small real-life tasks, directly linked to their skill set, for the applicants to complete during the interview.
For example, a classic technical writer interview task is to write instructions for making a cup of coffee.
6. Prepare one larger task that shortlisted candidates can complete at home.
Review the results and ask them about their thought process, and why they chose to complete the task the way that they did.