Interviewing Tips

The Four-Question Interview:
How to Spot A Top Performer

By Lou Adler

In today's warp-speed marketplace, business survival depends on top performers. To get those prize employees, recruiters must identify outstanding candidates quickly, often during the first round of interviews. So how can you get the most out of each interview and score the best hires in the market? Start with the way you structure the interview.

The typical employment interview is only 57% accurate as a predictor of future performance1, according to a Michigan State University study by Hunter and Hunter (1984)2. That's not much better than flipping a coin.

Both the MSU study and a POWERHiring survey of more than three thousand managers show that most employment interviews place too much emphasis on evaluating skills and personality. If they don't understand that past performance is critical, interviewers won't succeed in identifying the best candidates.

That's what we've found in our work with hiring organizations, and that's why we coach managers to conduct interviews focused on what each candidate has done in the past. An effective interview can uncover the common characteristics of most top performers:

  • A track record of high energy and team leadership
  • A demonstrated record of comparable past performance
  • A strong ability to adapt and produce in a new environment

You can develop a profile of every candidate to measure past performance and predict future performance with a Four Question Interview. These Four Questions are designed to highlight your candidate's past accomplishments as they pertain to the position for which you're recruiting. As you listen to your candidate's responses, focus on the candidate's individual, team, and job specific efforts. The questions themselves are designed to let you do your fact-finding while revealing the pertinent details of each accomplishment.

The Four-Question Interview

1. "What's been your most significant accomplishment in each of your past two or three jobs?"

  • Listen for the energy your candidate brings to the descriptions
  • Listen for details-how have the candidate's accomplishments impacted their organizations as a whole?
  • Probe for specific examples.

2. "For each of your past two or three jobs, I'd like you to sketch out an organizational chart. Can you tell me about your most significant team or management achievement in those positions?"

  • Look for span of control and team leadership.
  • Get examples of the candidate's actual role, and the time and effort involved.
  • Tune into interpersonal challenges and the candidate's strategies for dealing with conflict.
  • Listen for evidence that the candidate can successfully motivate others.

3. "One of our key objectives for the person who is offered this position will be to ________ (describe a top performance objective). Can you tell me about your most important comparable accomplishments?"

  • Look for job-specific competencies.
  • Ask for specific details in order to minimize exaggeration.
  • Anchor each major performance objective for the position with a past accomplishment of the candidate.

4. "If you were offered this position, how would you go about implementing________?" (Describe top two or three performance objectives your organization has established for the position.)

  • Listen for indications that the candidate expects to adapt easily.
  • Look for past evidence that the candidate can contribute in a new environment.

Does this Four Question process sound simple? It is. And it takes about an hour.

The Next Step-Another Question

If you like what you hear from your candidate, here's one last question.

5. Although we're meeting with some other fine candidates, I believe you have a strong background. We'd like to get back to you in a few days. What are your thoughts now about this position?

This last question expresses your continuing interest in the candidate. It also expands the interview to include more information about your candidate's interest in your organization. Why your company? You'll find this question reveals issues and ideas you'll explore during your next interview with the candidate -- the interview that will happen just before you make a job offer.