In a slightly modified version of my recent post "How to Prepare for a Topgrading Interview" it drew quite a few comments but there was one in particular that I felt deserved some additional attention.

Member Mark Bregman shared his thoughts and I think they are valid concerns.  I'll share my answers here but would welcome comments on this blog, over Twitter or on our Facebook page.

I really believe in the principles of Topgrading, and have cited it along with Brad Smart many times in my own writing, but the candidates I’ve seen subjected to CIDS interviews have NOT had wonderful or even fair experiences.  I have three issues with CIDS:

1.  It doesn’t apply context.  The behaviors analyzed in a CIDS interview can be from 20 years ago, and don’t get asked in a way that aligns with the current goals for the position.  I advocate performance objective based questions that elicit the specific skills and experience needed today from the candidate, in the context of the specific job, not in a vacuum.

2.  CIDS provides too much ammunition by which to DESELECT a candidate.  Not every behavior or lack of behavior from someone’s past is relevant to what is needed today.

3.  CIDS interviewers are often inexperienced, and don’t know how to really use the tool to best advantage.

Here are my thoughts in response to Mark:

1.  The behaviors analyzed in a CIDS interview may be from 20 years ago but it's the interviewer's fault if they allow the discussion to drift into conversations that don't necessarily align with the current position.  On top of that, the basic questions that are used in every position are critical information that you'd want to know about someone - regardless of if the experiences are 20 years old. Example: What was the #1 thing you regret about not accomplishing in that role?

2.  At HireBetter this is a discussion that we have a lot.  Recommending someone for hire takes courage.  It's nearly always easier for a Hiring Manager or outside consultant suggest that inaction is better than action. Roosevelt nailed it in 1910 when he said [paraphrasing] "It is not the critic that counts.  The true credit belongs to the man in the arena."  With that said, if a Hiring Manager has done their homework, they're clear on what they need someone to do and they conduct a proper CIDS interview, they're going to be more prepared to make a hiring decision than with any other kind of interview that I've seen conducted.

3.  It doesn't take much for someone to learn how to conduct a CIDS interview.  However, as I shared in my response to #2, from what I've witnessed a poorly conducted CIDS interview is still significantly better than an "on the fly" interview that doesn't have a structure, purpose or plan.

Bottom line: Mark brings up some good questions and CIDS interviews do have some shortcomings but, in my opinion, there's not much else out there that will give you a better understanding of if the person you're interviewing is right for the role you're looking to fill.