Starbucks’ former HR exec says a job candidate’s answer to a simple interview question predicts success better than their entire resume.
- Asking interview questions about challenging work experiences can help discern whether a candidate is willing to learn from their mistakes.
- That’s according to Traci Wilk, senior vice president of people at The Learning Experience and former HR exec at Starbucks.
- Wilk wants to see evidence of a “growth mindset,” or the belief that talents can be developed through hard work.
One of the hardest parts of a job interview is talking about your flaws and stumbles.
Sometimes the prompt is literally, “what’s your greatest weakness?” Other times it’s, “why were you let go from your last job?”
If you’re interviewing with Traci Wilk, there’s a good chance she’ll encourage you to “tell me about the most challenging work experience that you had and what you learned from it.”
Wilk is the senior vice president of people at The Learning Experience, an early education and childcare franchise. She has also led human resources departments at Starbucks, Coach, and rag & bone. She told Business Insider that, when she asks candidates to share their most challenging work experiences, she’s not exactly trying to suss out their tendency to miss deadlines or talk back to their boss.
Instead, she’s looking for evidence of a “growth mindset.”
Wilk said that if the candidate naturally talks about “things that they would have done differently,” that’s a good sign because it shows a “high degree of self-awareness.” She especially wants to see the candidate share some “reflection or a postmortem that they may have done after the situation, how they’ve taken that and applied it into future situations.”
To read the rest of this story by Shana Lebowitz in Business Insider, please click here.
