An Interview Tip From a Washer and Dryer

Back before children, my wife and I purchased a small used washer and dryer set for $150. For that season of life, the capacity of the washer and dryer was perfect. The pair nicely handled a few loads of laundry each week. Of course, this was before our family grew. Once the kids came along, the laundry requirement in our home grew exponentially. Instead of a few laundry loads each week, we found the machines were in operational mode about eight hours a day! Being the cheap-skate that I am, we held on to that old washer and dryer up until several months ago. I was finally convinced by my wife to upgrade to a set with a much larger capacity. Now we have the ability to wash both small loads and big loads with ease.

One principle of human behavior operates in a similar manner as a washer and dryer set. We each have a unique combination of behavioral preferences called our “core.” This core rarely moves, but over the course of our work lives, we learn to adapt and expand behavior to meet demands. This expansion is called our “capacity.” Depending on the person, some behaviors have a very small capacity whereas other behaviors might have a much larger capacity.

Interviewing tip: When you come across a core behavior that appears to be a large disconnect, from what is needed, focus on the candidates’ capacity. Ask questions that will help you understand their ability to stretch their core behavioral preference to meet the future demands of the job.

Caution: Read between the lines. Ask yourself, “What are they not telling me?” and “Are they providing responses with substance that represent actual reality?” Also, be sure to prompt the candidate to provide deeper levels of insight into their ability to expand capacity for the specific behavior. Ask them to provide specifics, such as: 1) their thought process, 2) the amount of internal energy it takes to fully expand, 3) the amount they are able to stretch their capacity, 4) their ability to identify situations where expansion is needed, 5) methods they use, and 6) actual situations where they learned to expand their behavioral core to be successful.