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2 hours ago
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The HR interview is often the most vague part of the hiring process.
Yet after hiring over 200 people and interviewing more than 1,000, I can say with confidence: the biggest differentiator in how well people perform at work isn’t technical skill. It’s mindset and attitude.
There are two steps I once underappreciated but now consider crucial: the HR interview and reference calls. The insights from these two steps have a far greater long-term impact than any coding test, design challenge, or case study.
So the big question is: how do you actually assess mindset?
Every good HR interview begins with curiosity, not interrogation.
Ask candidates to tell their story — how they got where they are, what moments shaped them, what patterns keep showing up. Then listen. Don’t rush to fill silence. Don’t judge too early.
As you listen, pick the threads worth pulling. Each story contains signals — how they react to failure, handle ambiguity, talk about others, and learn from mistakes. Once the story unfolds, you can start to dive deeper using the frameworks below.
People show mindset when they’re asked to explain how they think, not just what they achieved.
Try prompts like:
“Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager or founder. What did you do?”
You’re listening for intellectual honesty, agency, and humility — not a heroic story.“Describe a time you hit a wall. What was your first instinct?”
This shows ownership versus avoidance, problem-solving style, and whether they lean toward initiative or helplessness.“What’s a mistake you made that changed how you operate today?”
A-players speak openly, reflectively, and show how they’ve updated their behavior. Others deflect or generalize.
These questions don’t check “culture fit.” They expose the person’s internal rules of behavior.
Mindset shows up most clearly when the path is unclear.
Give them a small, messy scenario:
“Imagine you join and on day one you realize the spec is incomplete, the designer is on vacation, and the backend isn’t ready. What do you do next?”
Then watch:
Do they freeze? Wait for permission? Identify constraints? Form quick hypotheses?
Ambiguity removes the script. What remains is how someone thinks when there are no instructions. It reveals agency, bias for action, and collaboration style.
A person’s attitude is loudest when they describe people who frustrated them.
Ask:
“Tell me about someone at work who annoyed you. What was the situation, and how did you handle it?”
Strong candidates describe behaviors, not personalities. They show curiosity about why the other person acted that way. They take responsibility for their part in the tension.
Weaker candidates moralize, blame, or generalize. They see villains instead of systems.
Mindset is a growth engine. You can hear it in how people talk about learning loops.
Ask:
“What’s something you learned recently that excited you enough to dive deep?”
“What’s the last skill you intentionally developed, and why?”
“How do you decide what to learn next?”
You’ll quickly sense whether learning is intrinsic (driven by curiosity) or extrinsic (driven by checklists). The first kind scales faster, adapts better, and thrives under change.
Not drama — just tension.
Give feedback right in the interview:
“Your answer wasn’t structured. Can you walk through it again more cleanly?”
Then watch:
Do they get defensive?
Do they update fast?
Do they appreciate the clarity?
Or do they crumble?
That one moment can tell you more than any polished story from their past.
A-players carry a coherent internal compass. They’ve thought deeply about what drives them.
Ask:
“What matters to you in a team?”
“What do you optimize for in your career?”
“How do you decide whether you’re doing good work?”
You’re not looking for the “right” answer. You’re looking for reflection. Have they articulated what they stand for, or are they operating on autopilot?
Reference calls aren’t a formality. They’re where the real signal lives.
Ask past managers:
“If you were to hire them again, what conditions would they need to succeed?”
“What situations make them shine, and which derail them?”
“What’s the one thing you wish they did differently?”
Compare what you’ve heard from a candidate with a reference. Try to dive into the same situations and compare the notes.
When someone describes an A-player, the feedback is vivid and specific. When they describe a mediocre performer, it’s vague and overly positive.
Assessing mindset isn’t a soft skill. It’s the most predictive part of hiring.
There’s no universal “right” mindset — only one that fits your company’s DNA, how you work, decide, and grow together.
Most companies get this part wrong. They run the HR interview at the very end, or worse, skip it altogether, assuming everyone who met the candidate can piece together a full picture. Nothing could be further from the truth.
All those previous interviews are snapshots — narrow glimpses of skill or experience. The mindset interview is the only one that captures the whole story.
That’s why it shouldn’t come last. It should come first. Because once you understand how someone thinks, you already know how they’ll perform.
