One Thing We Should Interview More For: EMPATHY

Because it's hard.  You've got a career, a family, outside interests, etc.

And as an employer, we want you to have all those things.  The thing is, others have those things as well.

When you step back to look at what the average working professional does, it's incredibly hard.  Nothing usually comes with ease.  

Which brings me to the reason interviewing for empathy is so important - Are you someone that's mature enough to understand that, or are you the first to brutally bitch and criticize rather than slow down and understand what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes? 

There's got to be some empathy for how hard it is to generate results in roles other than your own if you're going to be an effective teammate.  Or an effective coach of people.  It doesn't mean you can't coach for performance or hold people accountable.  It's a worldview.  It's a pre-requisite to accountability.

So interview for empathy in your next interview.  Ask them about a team member who let them down.  Wind them up and let them talk - and figure out if they're a potential team member or just another shark looking for a meal.

You're going to need a bigger boat.

Comments

[Chip Kohrman]

My dad's neighbor volunteered to helped me haul away five truckloads of tree branches to the community mulch pile last weekend. Not only was this guy helping me, but after dumping our first load, an elderly gentleman pulled up with his own load. My dad's neighbor looked over at me with a grin, then we walked over and started unloading the man's truck for him.
Interviewing the character of a person is more difficult than reviewing a list of skills, but I would rather hire someone like my dad's neighbor over another person. Examples outside of work might help identify empathetic people as well.

[Faith]

When an interview can "digress" at some point into a conversation, you can not only get to the empathy component but the broader character of who the candidate really is. Character is what impacts culture and is not a skill that can be taught. If you can never get their guard down to get to the conversational place, there may be a reason.