The three questions that prevent bad hires

Not interested in hearing from Lean Leverage or Go Carpathian?

You've done 30 interviews this year and hired two people. One of them didn't work out.

You may think that’s a talent problem, but there’s a big chance it’s actually an interview problem.

The most common question we hear from founders is: "What should I actually ask in an interview?"

And I’m going to break this down today. 

Because a bad hire can cost you months of momentum and tens of thousands of dollars, so you can't afford to wing it.

This is your chance to ask the right questions and avoid the mistakes we see time and time again.

Now, don’t get me wrong, you should always trust your gut. But in interviews you need to trust the process, too. 

If you ask surface-level questions, get polished answers, and mistake confidence for competence. Six weeks later, you could be right back at square one, down $15,000 and two months of momentum.

We screen 100s of candidates a week at Go Carpathian. Every single one goes through the same three types of questions because we know what works.

Here are the three types of questions that consistently separate great hires from expensive mistakes.

These assess baseline competency. Can this person actually do the job? Ask about specific skills, platforms, and industry knowledge they'll use on day one.

"Give me a specific example of a project where you applied [specific skill]. Be as detailed as possible."

"How do you stay current with new developments in [your industry]?"

"Walk me through what you'd do in this technical scenario."

The key: specificity kills BS. Anyone can say they're proficient. Make them prove it with real examples. If they can't get detailed, chances are they can't do the job. Next.

Here's the catch most founders miss: culture doesn't matter when things are easy. It matters when things get hard.

Base your culture questions around scenarios where your team has actually struggled. That's where values show up.

"You're responsible for an important project due tomorrow morning. It's almost end of shift and you realize you made a mistake that makes it impossible to finish on time. What do you do?"

"Describe a time you had to adapt to a completely new team culture."

"How do you ensure effective communication on a remote or distributed team?"

We hired an ops manager from Serbia last year. Her answer to that first question was the reason we chose her. She didn't talk about "communication styles." She described exactly how she'd flag the issue, what she'd fix before logging off, and what she'd hand off with a note. Specific, accountable, no spin. That's the answer you're looking for.

If they passed technical and culture, these questions make sure you can actually give them what they're looking for. Misaligned expectations kill retention faster than anything.

"If we're having this conversation a year from now after you've been hired, what would have to happen for you to say it's been a successful year professionally?"

"Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years, and how does this role fit?"

If their answer doesn't match what you're offering, save yourself the trouble. A great candidate in the wrong role is still a bad hire.

Most founders treat interviews like conversations. The ones who consistently hire well treat them like a repeatable system.

If you want a team that already runs this system 100 times a week, reply to this email or book an obligation-free call with us.

We'll show you exactly how we screen so you don't have to.

Until next time,
Nathan