Former CEO's go-to question instantly identifies any red flag traits in job interviews

The hiring process may not be a cakewalk if there are several potential candidates to choose from. In those times, some well-thought-out methods can make the job easy for the employers. Even the most common questions asked during interviews can have the ability to set apart that perfect candidate. Stephen Kaufer, the co-founder and former CEO of TripAdvisor, spoke about one such failproof question that helped him eliminate the bad apples among the candidates. While talking to podcaster Logan Bartlett during The Logan Bartlett Show about hiring the right people, Kaufer revealed his secret to identifying red flag traits in interviews.

The host asked Kaufer, "Are there any non-starter things that you definitely would never hire someone if it comes out in an interview that might be counterintuitive?" The entrepreneur responded with a couple of techniques that helped him simplify the recruitment process. Urging other employers to try this method, Kaufer explained the significance of founders directly interviewing the finalists. "A lot of founders are nervous about being accused of micromanagement or not delegating, which is generally a fair thing to be concerned about, but never delegate that last step in the hiring process," he pointed out.

Secondly, Kaufer judges the candidate's potential with the question, "Hey, tell me about a really hard project and why was it hard?" When the candidate begins to explain a challenging project from their past, Kaufer digs deep to understand why they found it to be hard. "Was it hard because the other people weren't cooperating? Was it hard because it was just a hard technical problem? And I'm listening to if they blame other people or if they are empathetic to what other people have to go through," he added. The former CEO also tried to comprehend if the project was difficult from the individual's perspective or their team's viewpoint.

Kaufer pointed out that if a person mentioned "working one Saturday" as a challenge, then it was surely a red flag. "I have a different definition of hard work that can often tell me if they are a team player and if they are ever taking responsibility for why something became difficult. It can tell me, kind of, their definition of hard," he explained. The former CEO prefers candidates who can look back at those challenging times and contemplate how things could've gone better. "I'm looking for people who, whether the project worked or not, are always in the mind of self-improvement," he added. So, by simply asking about one of the hardest projects they've worked on, Kaufer manages to identify the candidates' personality traits.

While speaking of red flags, hiring managers shared some red flag personalities they do not want in their prospective employees. u/greyghost6 questioned the Reddit community, "Hiring managers of Reddit, what red flag did you miss or ignore during an interview that ended up costing you later?" and some insightful responses came in. Lying during the interview, criticizing the previous workplace, arrogant body language, prioritizing other jobs, being too opinionated and being misogynistic were some of the traits that created an instant bad impression for the recruiters.