And what you should do instead to find the right fit, faster.

Introduction

If you’ve ever hired someone who looked great in the interview but struggled on the job, you’re not alone.

It’s one of the most frustrating parts of building a team:

“They interviewed so well… what went wrong?”

Here’s the truth:
Most job interviews are poorly designed to predict performance.

They reward confidence over competence.
Rehearsed answers over real insight.
And charm over actual fit.

In this post, we’ll break down why traditional interviews fail, and how you can fix them to make smarter, faster hiring decisions.

1. They Rely Too Much on Talking, Not Doing

Interviews often sound like this:

• “Tell me about a time when…”
• “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
• “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

These questions are easy to prepare for. They test how well someone can talk about work, not how well they can actually do the work.

And that’s the problem.

✅ Talking about experience ≠ evidence of skill.

Solution: Include work samples, simulations, or mini challenges that mirror real tasks the role requires.

2. They Prioritize Personality Over Performance

It’s easy to confuse “good energy” with “good fit.”

Candidates who are:

• Well-spoken
• Friendly
• Confident

…tend to do better in interviews, even if they’re not the most capable for the job.

Meanwhile, quieter or less charismatic candidates may be overlooked, even if they’re thoughtful, competent, and reliable.

✅ Interviews often favor extroverts, not high performers.

Solution: Use structured interviews with consistent questions and scoring criteria. Judge answers against role requirements, not chemistry.

3. They Lack Clarity on What Success Looks Like

If you’re unclear on what the role actually needs, you’ll end up hiring based on gut feel.

Common signs:

• “We’re looking for someone smart and proactive.”
• “We want a team player.”
• “We need someone with 3–5 years of experience.”

Vague criteria leads to vague interviews, and random outcomes.

✅ You can’t measure what you haven’t defined.

Solution: Start by clearly defining the outcomes this role must deliver in the first 3–6 months. Then design your questions and tasks around that.

4. They Don’t Test for Role-Specific Thinking

Most interviews test general intelligence or experience, but ignore how someone thinks about the actual challenges they’ll face.

You might ask:

“Have you ever managed a project before?”

They say:

“Yes, I managed 3 projects at my last job.”

But what does that really tell you?

✅ Past experience ≠ future success in your environment.

Solution: Ask scenario-based questions:

• “Imagine you’re 3 weeks behind on a launch. How would you communicate that and reset expectations?”
• “We’re getting negative feedback from customers, how would you investigate the root cause?”

You’ll learn how they think, not just what they’ve done.

5. They Lack Consistency Across Candidates

Unstructured interviews often vary widely between candidates.

One might get technical questions.
Another gets culture-fit questions.
Another gets a casual chat.

This creates bias and noise in the decision-making process, and you end up choosing based on who “feels right,” not who’s actually best for the role.

Solution: Use a structured scorecard for every interview.
Rate all candidates on the same dimensions, and calibrate as a hiring team.

✅ Consistency = better, fairer decisions.

Final Thought: Better Interviews Start With Better Design

Most interviews fail not because candidates are deceptive, but because the process is broken.

To fix it:

• Focus on doing, not just talking
• Define success before sourcing
• Test thinking, not just history
• Evaluate performance, not personality

Hiring is too important to leave to gut feel.
Build a process that brings out the best in candidates, and reveals the truth behind the resume.

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