[dilemma]

Using proxies for competence is a slippery slope towards misdirection and irrelevance - and as a result, incorrect hiring decisions.

In another thread today, someone mentioned they reject every CV that has two typos or more. It's a proxy, and it is irrelevant for the job.

Once you start going down the path of proxies, you add more and more far removed ones. To keep hiring performance high, resist adding the first proxy. Actually ask questions relevant to past work experience that maps to the actual job. Maybe do work samples.

To circle back to the two questions in the blog post, no interviewer can answer them because they use proxies too far removed.

[logfromblammo]

Think of the resume as a deliverable. This potential employee sent out the deliverable without reviewing it for spelling and grammatical correctness. They almost certainly did not ask someone else to proofread it and suggest corrections.

Would you want to put this person in a position where they may have to deliver binaries, code, or other documents to a customer? Would they ignore or skip steps in your delivery process, too?

[richmarr]

Agreed. Work samples are the most predictive form of assessment, you just need to be able to isolate them from other factors such as confidence bias...

i.e. no whiteboard interviews (unless hiring for someone whose job it will be to solve problems on whiteboards in front of strangers in situations that effect their financial security and sense of worth)