I was just wondering how the hell I can be sure that the person I am interviewing is the right man/woman for the position. Sure, making a clear description of the skills, knowledge and attitudes we need in order to get the job done is a must; and so is the selection of CV’s that come your way.

But once I’ve taken those steps, I have found that the predictive validity of my interviewing skills and the list of smart and astute questions I ask is not that reassuring. Being aware of all that psychometric stuff like the halo effect, STAR questions and all that did not make the job any easier. It just left me feeling a bit more guilty (‘I should have known’)

I have come across candidates that I hired just because "we need somebody yesterday", zero confidence that they could get the job done, etc… and they turn out to be the best performers! On the other hand – and admittedly more frequent – I have recruited people with high expectations, a bright CV, outstanding answers, etc. and they turn out to be complete zero’s. On other occasions I have recruited people whilst heavily investing in a headhunter and a recruiter, just to see the new hire leave after 6 months and tons of education (note: I live in Belgium, where you are in no way insured against that phenomenon). As a result I feel a bit more guilty (‘I should have managed better’).

Though the years I’ve built up a set of fundamental question marks, such as:
- Which are the interview blind spots I am missing?;
- Am I setting the wrong expectations?
- Am I mismanaging by sticking to my own wrong expectations?
- Who am I being that their eyes aren’t shining?
- Etc.

So I was wondering ‘How do other people recruit?’. Until one day I met Eddy, the owner of a homecare nursery that employs about 30 nurses. As you may guess, nursing is a profession that requires quite some professional vocation. The jobs is tough, the pay is low, the working schedules are irregular, time pressure is high and not all patients are friendly people. In short: if you’re not made for this job, you’re not gonna make it through a working week.

Eddy told me that he had a particular way of recruiting. In fact, he was not even like recruiting at all – it was confessing.  Each time he would invite the candidates based on the same criteria as I did: a selection of the CV’s according to the job description. So far so good. The next thing he did is inviting the candidate and then he started to talk…for more than one hour long… about his passion for nursing and about where he thinks the heart and soul of good nursing lies. About the results of their work, rather than the list of tasks. About the quality he is entitled to as a patient when he gets old and helpless. He asks zero questions. Then he invites the candidate for a second conversation a few days later. A lot of people call their office before the second conversation in order to cancel the second meeting.

Those that do show up are committed and perform above expectations. Note that Eddy is an extremely empowering manager, trusting people to an extreme extent. And it pays, as they are known for being the ‘home care nurses that care more’.

Wow… passion and excellence woven into what I would call ‘viral interviewing’.