Talent

In our many conversations, we have come to see the world’s inability to find and mobilize enough talent as one of the most significant failures of our time, and so this is also a book about how to fight for social justice. A world of rampant inequality and insufficient opportunity is, among other things, a world failing to recognize and mobilize ta

In that same data set, if you are considering what does explain who becomes a doctor or a lawyer, parental education (and not IQ) is the main explanatory variable, accounting for 39 and 52 percent of those career decisions, respectively.

In essence there is a scarcity of talented labor relative to capital, as evidenced by the relative plenty of venture capital and what economists call “the savings glut.”

“What views do you hold almost irrationally?”

As you present your questions and listen to the candidate’s stories in response, note whether the interviewee uses unusual expressions, seems to be coining their own phrases, explains basic concepts in a way different from what you might hear in the mainstream, speaks as if they are developing useful memes, has unusual rhythmic patterns to their sp

Whom is this person responding to or used to performing for? Whom do they view as important to impress? Their parents? A particular peer? High school friends? A former boss?

“We have all committed mistakes in the workplace, as have I. What is an example of a mistake you have committed but did not come to regret for a long time?”

We both find during interviews that “downtime-revealed preferences” are more interesting than “stories about your prior jobs.” So for instance, “What subreddits or blogs do you read?” usually is better than “What did you do at your previous job?” We very much like the title of the research paper by Mohammed Khwaja and Aleksandar Matic, “Personality

“What are ten words your spouse or partner or friend would use to describe you?” •“What’s the most courageous thing you’ve done?” •“If you joined us and then in three to six months you were no longer here, why would that be?” Or ask the same question about five years down the line as well and see how the two answers differ. •“What did you like to d