You Can't Interview For Character. You Have To Catch It.

The problem with interviews is that candidates will tell you what you want to hear.

They've rehearsed the answers.
They've studied the company.
They know exactly which version of themselves to present for the next thirty minutes.

So if you're relying on the interview alone to judge someone's character, you're judging a performance.

Character doesn't show up in what people say.

It shows up in the small, unguarded moments when they don't think anything is being measured.

Here are three I use.

1. Offer them a drink

A coffee. A soft drink. A water. Something served in a mug or a glass that you or a team member physically hand to them.

Then watch what happens when they finish it.

Do they return the glass?
Do they offer to rinse it?
Or do they leave it sitting there for you to deal with after they've gone?

It's a tiny moment, but it tells you whether they instinctively clean up after themselves, or whether they assume someone else will.

2. Put a shopping trolley in the equation

Take them somewhere a trolley is involved. Grab a few things. Load them into the car.


Then watch what they do with the trolley.

Do they walk it back to the bay?
Or do they leave it stranded in the car park for someone else to chase down?


The trolley test is famous for a reason… no one is watching. There's no penalty for leaving it. Returning it is a small act of consideration with zero reward attached, which is exactly what makes it so revealing.


3. Train with them

This one is especially useful in the fitness world.


Invite them to a workout and use a piece of equipment that's plate-loaded or pin-loaded.
Then finish the exercise and see what they do.


Do they strip the plates and return them to the rack?
Do they put the pin back at the top of the stack?
Or do they walk away and leave it for the next person?


How someone treats shared equipment when no one is keeping score tells you how they'll treat shared responsibility on your team.


Here's why these work.

None of them can be rehearsed.
None of them feel like a test.
And in every single one, doing the considerate thing carries no reward and skipping it carries no consequence.

That's the whole point.

When there's nothing to gain and nothing to lose, what someone does is no longer a performance... it's just who they are.

You'll learn whether they're entitled or considerate.
Self-absorbed or aware of the people around them.
Whether they leave things better than they found them, or leave them for somebody else.

And that will tell you more about how they'll show up on your team than any answer to any question you could ever ask them.

If you know someone who would benefit from reading this, please forward it to them. It may change the trajectory of their life for the better, and the catalyst could be you.