This technique is incredibly effective at predicting candidates’ success in the role.

Which interview technique do you use?

There are many different interview techniques and methods. You probably have your own favorite technique for conducting job interviews with candidates.

Unfortunately, most HR professionals still rely on the traditional interviewing methods which are highly ineffective.

What’s wrong with your current interview technique?

In their recent research, LinkedIn surveyed over 9,000 talent leaders and hiring managers across the globe and asked them which interview methods they find most effective.

They found that the traditional job interview technique - you know, the one where you ask your candidates about their skills and experiences in order to find out if they’re a good fit for your open job position - is ineffective in certain areas. According to LinkedIn’s report, the traditional interviewing technique has many weaknesses.

For example, traditional interview technique is especially bad at assessing soft skills and understanding candidate weaknesses. It also leaves room for recruitment bias, takes a lot of time, and relies on asking the right interview questions to get a clear picture of a candidate.

Luckily, there is a highlight to this story! LinkedIn’s research has also found about the highly effective but often overlooked interviewing technique - work assignments.  

Super effective interview technique you should be using

LinkedIn has found out that work assignments are highly effective, yet often overlooked interviewing technique used by employers. Only 32% of respondents use this technique, even though 84% say it is effective.

What are work assignments?

Work assignments are interview technique that helps companies predict if a candidate if a good fit for a role more accurately.

When candidates are given a work assignment, they are being asked to complete a task they would actually do if they were hired. In other words, when you use this interview technique, you don’t ask candidates to tell you about their about their skills. Instead, you directly observe candidates’ skills and performance.

Work assignments types

Besides giving your candidates a certain task, job simulations can take on a more elaborated form. For example, you can organize a competition (such as hackathon), or invite your candidate to join your employees in a brainstorming session and help them solve a real-life problem your company is currently facing.

Additional benefits of work assignments

Besides for employer, job simulations are also beneficial for candidates, too. By taking part in a job simulation, candidates get a real-life job preview, which helps them assess how much they really like to job. Simply put, they can try out a job and see if it fits!