Test-drive employees

Interviews are only worth so much. Some people sound like pros but don't work

like pros. You need to evaluate the work they can do now, not the work they say

they did in the past.

The best way to do that is to actually see them work. Hire them for a

miniproject, even if it's for just twenty or forty hours. You'll see how they make

decisions. You'll see if you get along. You'll see what kind of questions they ask.

You'll get to judge them by their actions instead of just their words.

You can even make up a fake project. In a factory in South Carolina, BMW

built a simulated assembly line where job candidates get ninety minutes to

perform a variety of work-related tasks.

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Cessna, the airplane manufacturer, has a role-playing exercise for prospective

managers that simulates the day of an executive. Candidates work through

memos, deal with (phony) irate customers, and handle other problems. Cessna

has hired more than a hundred people using this simulation.

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These companies have realized that when you get into a real job

environment, the truth comes out. It's one thing to look at a portfolio, read a

resume, or conduct an interview. It's another way to actually work with someone.