The Top-Down Interview: Uncovering a Candidate’s True Potential
After successfully screening candidates with the phone interview, it’s time to dive deeper with a more thorough and structured approach—the Top-Down Interview.
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This interview is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of a candidate’s past experiences, accomplishments, challenges, and growth trajectory. By methodically exploring each role they’ve held, you’ll gain valuable insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and how they might perform within your organization.
The Top-Down Interview is your opportunity to differentiate between A-players who have consistently excelled and B/C-players who may not be the right fit for your company’s growth. This process isn’t about rushing through a checklist; instead, it’s about conducting a deep dive into the candidate’s career to uncover whether they truly possess the skills, mindset, and values that align with your team.
The Purpose of the Top-Down Interview
While the screening interview is designed to identify glaring red flags quickly, the Top-Down Interview is a comprehensive evaluation that requires a more detailed, structured approach. It involves examining each candidate's job history, allowing you to build a complete picture of their career journey. You’ll gain insights into their accomplishments, challenges, and decision-making processes by asking probing questions.
Key Objectives:
• Understand the candidate’s career trajectory and how they’ve grown in their roles.
• Identify patterns in their accomplishments, challenges, and responses to different work environments.
• Assess their ability to work with different types of teams, managers, and colleagues.
• Evaluate whether they have the experience and qualities needed to thrive in your organization.
Pro Tip: Start from the beginning of the candidate’s job history and work your way forward rather than starting with their most recent job. This approach helps candidates feel more comfortable sharing their experiences, and you’ll be able to identify consistent patterns in their behavior and performance.
Key Questions for Each Job: The Framework of the Top-Down Interview
For each position the candidate has held, use this structured set of questions to guide the conversation:
1. What were you hired to do?
This question will give insight into the candidate's perceived responsibilities and mission in each role. You’ll discover their key outcomes and core competencies and whether they understand the expectations that were placed on them.
• Pro Tip: Pay attention to whether they talk about tasks versus outcomes. A-players will typically focus on results and how they contributed to the organization’s goals, while B/C-players may focus more on tasks they completed without tying them to outcomes.
2. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
This question allows the candidate to showcase their most significant achievements. Ideally, these accomplishments should align with the job description you’re hiring for. The more their successes mirror the role you’re looking to fill, the better the fit.
• Watch Out For: Candidates whose accomplishments don’t match what they were hired to do may not be A-players. A-players tend to discuss outcomes linked to expectations, while B/C-players might focus on people they met or aspects of the job they enjoyed without demonstrating tangible results.
3. What were some of the low points during that job?
Everyone has faced challenges or low points in their career, and this question will reveal how the candidate handles adversity. Encourage them to share a genuine experience, as this can be one of the most telling aspects of their journey.
• Pro Tip: If the candidate provides a vague or evasive answer, don’t let them off the hook. Follow up with questions like, “What was your biggest mistake?” or “How did peers outperform you?” A-players will be able to discuss setbacks and how they learned or grew from them.
4. Who were the people you worked with specifically?
Understanding how candidates interact with others provides insight into their ability to work in a team, manage relationships, and adapt to different personalities. Break this question into two parts:
4A. What was your boss’s name? How do you spell it? What was it like working with them? What will they tell me is your greatest strength and most significant area for improvement?
The goal is to signal that you may contact their previous boss, prompting them to provide honest answers. A-players rarely speak poorly of former bosses, even if they were challenging to work with, and they’ll be more willing to discuss their areas for improvement.
• Pro Tip: The use of “will” instead of “would” when asking about their strengths and weaknesses pushes candidates to provide truthful answers. Candidates who are self-aware and actively working on their weaknesses are often A-players.
4B. How would you rate the team you inherited on an A, B, or C scale? What changes did you make? Did you hire or fire anyone? How would you rate the team you left on an A, B, or C scale?
This question is particularly valuable for candidates applying for management roles. It reveals how they assess talent, make tough decisions, and build or improve their teams.
• Insight: This question helps you understand how the candidate approaches building a team, dealing with low or high performers, and whether they actively work to improve their surroundings.
5. Why did you leave that job?
This question is incredibly telling. A-players are typically recruited or promoted to new positions, while B/C-players may be pushed out. Candidates who have been let go or left under adverse circumstances often provide vague answers, so be prepared to dig deeper.
• Pro Tip: If the candidate’s departure reason isn’t clear, ask follow-up questions until you get a transparent answer. Candidates who give thoughtful, honest explanations about why they left are more likely to be a good fit.
Probing Techniques: Digging Deeper into Their Experiences
As with the phone interview, your goal in the Top-Down Interview is to dig deeper into each answer. Using probing questions such as:
• “What do you mean by that?”
• “How did that make you feel?”
• “Tell me more about that particular situation.”
These follow-up questions help you uncover the true depth of their experiences, motivations, and problem-solving abilities. An A-player will have a rich history of detailed, insightful experiences to share, while a B/C-player may struggle to provide specifics.
Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to push for more details. This is your chance to understand how the candidate operates under pressure, adapts to different situations, and handles adversity.
Identifying Red Flags and Ending the Process When Necessary
The Top-Down Interview is thorough, but it’s also an opportunity to identify red flags before investing further time in a candidate. If a candidate struggles to answer key questions, shows inconsistency in their story, or displays negative attitudes about their previous experiences, consider it a warning sign.
Common Red Flags:
• Vague answers: Candidates who can’t provide specifics about their achievements or challenges may not have the experience you’re looking for.
• Negative talk about previous employers: This suggests a lack of professionalism and could indicate potential issues with collaboration or adaptability.
• Inconsistent career stories: Watch out for candidates who can’t explain career transitions or gaps clearly.
Pro Tip: End the interview early if you encounter multiple red flags. This process is about finding the best fit for your team, not dragging out conversations with candidates who won’t make it to the next stage.
Final Thoughts: Using the Top-Down Interview to Identify True A-Players
The Top-Down Interview is a powerful tool for thoroughly evaluating a candidate’s career history, work ethic, and potential fit within your organization. By delving into their past roles, accomplishments, challenges, and interpersonal dynamics, you’ll gain invaluable insights into whether they have what it takes to thrive on your team.
Key Takeaways:
• Be thorough and systematic: Cover each job the candidate has held, working from their earliest position to the most recent.
• Probe deeply: Use follow-up questions to understand the candidate’s motivations, challenges, and thought processes.
• Identify red flags early: Don’t be afraid to end the interview if a candidate doesn’t demonstrate the qualities you’re looking for.
The Top-Down Interview is your chance to separate the true A-players from those who might not be ready for the demands of your growing company. By deep-diving into their past experiences, you’ll be well-equipped to make informed hiring decisions contributing to your team’s long-term success.
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