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Hiring for Leaders: Become a Better Interviewer

The Interview Question Everyone Asks That Tells You Nothing

Published 3 months ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader,

"Where do you see yourself in five years?"

If you're still asking this question, you're sadly wasting your time. Here's why:

Most interview questions that feel standard are just theatre. They test how well someone has rehearsed, not whether they can do the job.

Why Your Questions Don't Work

You ask "Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership." The candidate delivers a polished three-act story. You nod. They move forward.

What did you learn? That they can tell a story. Not that they can lead.

Generic questions produce generic answers. And those answers are increasingly written by AI.

The Questions That Waste Your Time

"Where do you see yourself in five years?" Tests whether they've Googled "good interview answers." Tells you nothing.

"What's your greatest weakness?" They've been coached on this since 2005.

"Tell me about yourself." Tests how well they've practiced their pitch.

"Why do you want to work here?" Tests research and flattery. Not capability.

Candidates have heard these a thousand times. Rehearsed answers reveal nothing.

What Strong Questions Actually Do

Questions that reveal truth ask about decisions, trade-offs, and outcomes.

Not: "Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership."
Try: "Describe a situation where you had to choose between what your team wanted and what the business needed. What did you choose and why?"

Not: "What's your approach to problem-solving?"
Try: "Tell me about a problem you solved that stayed solved. How do you know it didn't come back?"

Not: "How do you handle conflict?"
Try: "Walk me through a time you were wrong in a disagreement. How did you realise it?"

Specific scenarios force specific answers. Specific answers reveal truth.

The Bottom Line

Bad questions let weak candidates hide. Good questions force evidence.

If your interview process can be gamed by 20 minutes with ChatGPT, your process is broken.

I've interviewed over 12,000 people across 20 years. The difference between people who interview well and people who actually deliver comes down to the questions you ask.

Interview Fundamentals is a cohort-based program where I teach you how to design those questions. Not just what to ask, but how to build a system that works every time. So you're not starting from scratch with every hire, wondering if you got it right.

Most of the leaders I work with tell me the same thing: once they learn this, interviewing stops feeling like guesswork. They get clarity faster. They trust their decisions more. Their teams get stronger.

I'm opening a small cohort for newsletter subscribers.

If you want to see what that looks like, reply "FUNDAMENTAL" and I'll send you the details.

Until next time,
Konstanty

P.S. I break down frameworks like this every week on YouTube. Subscribe: youtube.com/@schoolofhiring​

Hiring for Leaders: Become a Better Interviewer

A Newsletter for leaders who want to stop making expensive mistakes.

With 20+ years of expertise as a founder & executive search professional, I share actionable strategies, tools, and insights to make hiring your competitive advantage.

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