Interviewing Like Hosting a Podcast
I listened to many podcasts. Let’s interview candidates like that.
Guide, then Listen between the Lines
We start with introductions—me as the “host” and the candidate as the “guest”.
I share a bit about us, team, position, needs. As it doesn’t start as an interrogation, their breath stabilises, heart rate slows down. They get curious and ask questions.
Instead of grilling with a checklist questions, I ask them to tell me about a project or feature they built. I want to hear how they talk about it.
I guide by asking drill down questions about spark of an idea, analytical process, through development, to the final deployment, release and production issues.
It’s about understanding how they think, how they solve problems, what gets them excited, what they focus on when telling a story, what they skip, what they are passionate about, what bores them, what they see as a success.
From time to time, I tell follow-up stories about how we do things. It makes us feel equal in bi-directional conversation.
Interview ends with “Is there something I haven’t asked that you would like to share?”. This often reveals some of the most genuine insights.
Empathy Matters in Interviews
This podcast-inspired approach requires empathy. It keeps interviews dynamic and collaborative, and it gives guests a chance to show who they are.
In the AI era, software can record my voice, and it can generate answers for the candidate. Automatically generated answers seem unnatural. Checklist questions seem stressful.
Stories, curiosity, follow-ups and live collaboration. Period.
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I hope the candidates really feel this way, and this is not only my perception. :)