The Most Important Job Interviews Happen Here (Not In Your Office)

Most hiring managers neglect where they conduct interviews.

Their preference? A sterile, comfortable office or by video call, which is essential in today’s global recruiting landscape.

But that’s the worst place to get to know someone.

You’re hiring to determine if someone can do the job and if they’re a cultural fit for the team.

The most important thing you can do in an interview is test people’s ability to do the job.

No amount of interview questions or resume filtering can provide you with this information. You have to require job candidates to show you, not tell you what they can do.

But besides learning if they can do the job, you need to:

Remove the formality from the interview.

The best interviews happen outside a conference room and video call.

A coffee shop or a restaurant are excellent places to see how people act. “The different setting allows you to see how the candidate responds to unexpected change and can ease the move to a more conversational exchange,” writes Tyler Cowen.