Why You Need to Do Working Interviews

Business is a talent arms race. The premise is universal. It doesn't matter where you are or what you do. Law firm in Miami. Talent arms race. Auto shop in Peoria, Illinois. Talent arms race. Vineyard in Napa Valley. Talent arms race. In every arena, the solution to almost every problem is talent. Almost invariably, talent trumps money. Find a hungry, intelligent, business-minded young attorney and give her $100,000 to launch her own shop. $100k in that person's hands trumps $2 million in someone else's hands. Why? Because, in the long run, talent almost always wins.

Think about your business. Think about the problems with your business. I'll go first: There are lots of problems with my business. I need things to flow smoother. I need to automate numerous processes. I need a better intake process. I need someone to handle hiring. I need to capture more of my billable time (I lose probably $20,000 a month in time I don't bill). I have multiple website projects that I need developed. I need someone to design a renovation of a 5,000 square foot building I'm buying. I constantly think about all the problems I need to fix. And you know what the answer is? Talent. In business, talent solves almost every problem. A brilliant executive assistant. A top-notch director of operations. Three or four more lawyers who have the raw materials to be world beaters. That's talent in my world. And that goes a long way toward solving all of my problems.

On the hiring front, I cull through thousands of resumes and applications in the hopes of finding the talent. I have no shame in admitting that we're a small shop. Five lawyers and a couple support people. So I handle the hiring. Why? Because I know what I'm looking for. So I spend several hours a week culling through resumes and screening applicants for multiple positions. In some instances, we will hire people outright based on someone's word. If a close friend of mine who I hold in high regard says, "Jane is brilliant. I would hire her"--- we do. These friends are top-notch law professors. General counsel at Fortune 50 companies. Business owners of substantial companies. To me, their word is bond. We have made a number of hires that way. But outside of the direct referral and golden seal of approval from a trusted source, it's rough territory.

And you have to pull from both buckets. Because your individual network is only so big. There are literally millions of other potential candidates outside of your network. That's where (literally) everything else comes into play: Job advertisements; recruiters; LinkedIn; Indeed; college career placement offices; everything. For any candidate who does not come directly from a trusted source, we do a working interview. It is one of our requirements. I'll explain.

I have made some disastrous hires in my day. I take full responsibility. In sifting through hundreds or thousands of applicants, you have to use various proxies for intelligence and ability. I've always done that. But my problem: I'd be working 90 hours a week, in dire need of more manpower, and someone would come along who looked absolutely BRILLIANT on paper. I wouldn't know this person. There wouldn't be any mutual connection who I hold in tremendous esteem to warrant that this person was a world beater. But I would look at their resume and credentials and say, "They've just got to be a genius!" Then I would hire these people and pay them more than what they were making at their old companies, convinced that they would deliver 110%. And you know what? This repeatedly proved to be an unmitigated disaster.

I remember one instance in particular: A recent hire came into my office at the end of his first week. He looked like death. His hair was a mess. His eyes were bloodshot. He absolutely lost it: "Look at me for God's sake! I'm sweating buckets! I haven't slept in days! I feel like I've just been thrown off the deep end! I've been thrown to the sharks. I'm not ready for this sort of thing! I'm going to have a heart attack!" It's really not for everyone. I mean, injunctions, emergency hearings, temporary restraining orders, people trying to seize assets and computer servers. This is ugly stuff. It's stressful. And he wasn't even the one who had to go into court and argue the ugly stuff (that's me!).

Eventually, I settled upon working interviews. As in: The firm pays an applicant to spend a day or two working on a project in our office. We throw the person into the mix and see how they do. If they work a full-time job, I'll make arrangements for them to do a working interview with me over a weekend! If they live in DC, we will fly them to Fort Lauderdale and put them up in a hotel for a couple nights! Some people think this is crazy. But the reality is this: Suppose you come across someone who might be an amazing candidate. They look great on paper. The big question: Can they actually deliver? The only way to find out is to plug them in and give them a shot. If they're from out of town? So what. If you don't have $1,000 to (1) pay them for a day or two (2) fly them to town and (3) put them up in a decent hotel, then maybe you are terrible at business and shouldn't be hiring anyone.

A while back, we brought in this recent law school graduate for a working interview. On paper, he looked great. I said to my team, "This guy is brilliant! Just wait and see!". In his working interview, he wrote a first draft of jury instructions. He knocked it out of the park. Fast forward: This guy is a huge part of our team and we wouldn't be where we are without him.

But there's more: Working interviews also allow us to give someone a shot who might not meet the standard hiring metrics, but who seems like they bring something really exceptional to the table. Everything is just a proxy for ability. Grades, credentials, resumes, recommendations. The only question: Can this person get it done? And if you hire on a working interview model, you can give someone a chance. Maybe their grades aren't the best. Maybe their resume is a bit spotty. But if we have a good feeling about someone, we give them a shot. And within 2 or 3 days, we have the answer.

The point: Working interviews. That's where it's at. Invest a little more time and money on the front end and you'll get a whole lot more in the long run.

JP