Rethinking Interviews in the Age of Authenticity

We all know the routine: polished introductions, spotless office tours, a firm handshake, and perfectly rehearsed responses. Everyone—both interviewer and candidate—arrives ready to impress, fully aware of the unwritten script. It’s professional, it’s proper, and it’s often surface-level.

“My biggest weakness? I care too much. I push myself too hard. I’ve been told I set the bar so high that others feel intimidated.”

Sound familiar? First interviews often resemble first dates: curated, polite, and not entirely representative of the real thing. The challenge, then, is knowing when you’ve moved past the performance and into a space where you’re seeing the person as they truly are.

Hiring the right people—those who elevate your team and reflect your culture—is tough. No company has perfected it. But some are breaking the mold, bringing more transparency, creativity, and personality into the interview process. Here are a few ideas you can borrow.

Go Beyond the Office Walls
Spotify, for instance, believes cultural fit matters just as much as skill set. So after a strong first-round interview, they invite candidates to an offsite happy hour or casual meetup with future teammates. It’s not about the drinks—it’s about lowering defenses and seeing how candidates interact in real-world group settings. When your company culture values collaboration and connection, observing informal interactions can be more telling than a resume.

Similarly, Southwest Airlines uses group interviews as a way to assess how candidates engage with one another. It’s a strategy that aligns with their brand personality—fun, people-first, and service-oriented. This approach can be especially effective for roles that require high levels of teamwork, customer service, or interpersonal communication.

And in some organizations, the process starts even earlier. For out-of-town candidates, sedan drivers and greeters are occasionally looped into the evaluation, offering insights into how applicants treat people when they think no one is watching. That first impression—no matter who it’s made with—still matters.

Inject Creativity into the Process
As candidate expectations evolve, so should your methods. Zappos has eliminated traditional job postings entirely, instead asking candidates to build profiles and submit video cover letters that reflect who they are—not just what they’ve done. It’s a bold move, but one that speaks directly to their culture of innovation and individuality.

Pizza Hut took a similar risk when hiring for its digital media team, giving candidates just 140 seconds to pitch themselves—mirroring the brevity and clarity needed for strong micro-content. While this may not be suitable for every role, it’s a great example of aligning your evaluation with the specific skills you’re hiring for.

Use Pattern Interrupts to Get Real Answers
If you ask the same questions everyone else does, you’ll get the same rehearsed responses. Instead, disrupt the script. Not with gimmicks or irrelevant curveballs, but with thoughtful prompts that reveal how candidates think, adapt, and relate to others.

For instance, instead of asking, “Are you a continuous learner?” try, “What’s the last book you read or podcast you listened to that changed your thinking?” If you’re assessing cultural fit, ask something like, “How has your sense of humor helped you at work?” or “What’s your personal motto?”

One company asks: “Our newest hire takes out the trash until the next new person starts. How do you feel about that?” It’s simple, but it surfaces attitude, humility, and flexibility—qualities that often matter more than technical credentials.

Tell Your Story Before the Interview Begins
Take a look at the careers section of your website. Is it just a list of job openings, or does it tell the story of who you are and what someone’s life could look like after they join?

Candidates are doing just as much vetting as you are—often more. Make that space work harder for you. Include employee testimonials, career trajectory examples, team wins, and videos that give a real sense of what it’s like to walk your halls. Highlight not just the roles you’re hiring for, but the experiences and opportunities that come with them.

The best recruiting tools don’t just explain what you want—they inspire people to believe your company is the right place for them to thrive.

The Shift Toward Authenticity
Hiring will never be perfect. But by rethinking your interview process to be more creative, more transparent, and more aligned with your values, you move closer to finding the people who don’t just fill roles—but help build your culture. When authenticity becomes part of the process, everyone wins.