This CEO’s Controversial Interview Tactic Could Be the Secret to Hiring the Right People: ‘Wondering If I’m Insane or Brilliant’
Gagan Biyani calls job candidates’ reactions “the most telling part” of the interview.
Key Takeaways
- Gagan Biyani is the CEO of education platform Maven and cofounder of the online learning platform Udemy.
- In new social media posts, Biyani disclosed that he shares 鈥渄irect feedback鈥 with job candidates while the interview occurs.
- He then assesses candidates in real-time 鈥 if they freeze or get offended by the feedback, he can tell that they aren鈥檛 a good fit.
A CEO is taking a controversial approach to hiring by giving candidates blunt, real-time feedback during interviews. He then registers their reaction as a pass-fail signal for the role.
Gagan Biyani, CEO of education platform Maven and cofounder of the online learning platform Udemy, said in and that he now shares “direct feedback” with candidates during interviews, sometimes in front of a panel and other times in a one-on-one setting.
He called the feedback section “the most telling part of a candidate’s interview” because if the candidate freezes up or gets offended, he can tell that they aren’t a good fit. On the other hand, if they lean in and find the feedback exciting, their reaction boosts their chances of an offer.
Related: Here’s How Many Interviews an AI Bot Creator Got in One Month
“Anyone else do this? I’m wondering if I’m insane or brilliant,” Biyani wrote in the post.
Started to give candidates direct feedback during the interview process. Often in public during our panel interviews or live at the end of my 1:1 with them.
鈥 Gagan Biyani ? (@gaganbiyani)
It is often the most telling part of a candidate’s interview tbh.
If this is their nightmare, candidate freezes up or鈥
Biyani noted that he reserves feedback for candidates he likes, mostly for people with whom he is likely to move forward in the interview process. Sometimes he gives feedback to candidates he “really liked” but who weren’t the right fit for that position.
He wants to see if candidates can absorb comments and change course on the spot.
“No matter what, we expect the candidate to take the feedback in real-time and change their answers from then on out,” Biyani wrote in the post.
The interview technique has garnered mixed reactions on social media. One professional on LinkedIn that Biyani’s approach was “how you find resilient, adaptable team members.”
Related: Major Companies Are Bringing Back In-Person Job Interviews to Combat AI Cheating
Many others disagreed with Biyani’s tactic. The most-liked under his LinkedIn post argued that real-time feedback in interviews does not really measure coachability, but rather which candidates are “willing to suppress their nervous system response to humiliation, stress and social threat in exchange for a job.”
Career coach Kyle Elliott told on Tuesday that Biyani’s approach reads like an “insensitive science experiment,” emphasizing that the feedback is one-sided, lacks previous rapport and directly affects if someone gets the job.
“If your company doesn’t care about psychological safety [and] likes to put people on the spot鈥 I suppose you could run this test,” Elliott told the outlet.
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Key Takeaways
- Gagan Biyani is the CEO of education platform Maven and cofounder of the online learning platform Udemy.
- In new social media posts, Biyani disclosed that he shares 鈥渄irect feedback鈥 with job candidates while the interview occurs.
- He then assesses candidates in real-time 鈥 if they freeze or get offended by the feedback, he can tell that they aren鈥檛 a good fit.
A CEO is taking a controversial approach to hiring by giving candidates blunt, real-time feedback during interviews. He then registers their reaction as a pass-fail signal for the role.
Gagan Biyani, CEO of education platform Maven and cofounder of the online learning platform Udemy, said in and that he now shares “direct feedback” with candidates during interviews, sometimes in front of a panel and other times in a one-on-one setting.
He called the feedback section “the most telling part of a candidate’s interview” because if the candidate freezes up or gets offended, he can tell that they aren’t a good fit. On the other hand, if they lean in and find the feedback exciting, their reaction boosts their chances of an offer.
