The Chronological Interview

During my career, I have hired over 50 people.

I guarantee that if you apply this concept, your hiring process will improve.

This framework was passed on to me by a Senior Director at Slack and has yielded phenomenal results.

Every person I have hired using the Chronological Interview has been a great success.

Why most hiring processes don’t work

Most hiring interviews fail because salespeople know how to sell, especially themselves.

Hiring managers often focus on past performance and achievements, but it is not easy to replicate those performances in a different situation.

Instead, it is wiser to hire based on replicable personalities and soft skills. The goal of every hiring process should be to identify patterns, behaviours, and paths that can be repeated.

How it works

Pick 3-4 relevant experiences from the candidate's past, starting with the farthest job and ending with the most recent. Ask the following questions:

• Why did you take the job?

• What were your roles and responsibilities?

• How were you measured and how did you perform?

• What was your favourite thing about the job and why?

• What was your least favourite thing about the job and why?

• What was your boss's name and what would he/she tell us about your strengths and areas of improvement?

• Why did you leave?

Inform the candidate that the process may seem repetitive but normal. Be quick, but do not skip any questions.

Look for patterns, behaviours, personalities, and recurrent paths.

After a few questions, the candidate's true personality will become clear.

I always look for two main personalities: blaming vs. proactivity and fixed vs. growth mindset.

If a candidate is a blamer, they will eventually start blaming when asked the same question multiple times. The same is true for positive behaviours. If someone is a team player, their answers will reflect that.

Using this framework has completely changed my success in hiring because I finally hired the "real" person and not just someone with past successes or performances that may not be replicable.

I hope this framework helps you as it has helped me.