The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week

“Imagine you’re a seasoned chef,” writes Psychology Today in a recent article, “tasked with judging a cooking competition. But instead of tasting the dishes, you’re only allowed to interview the contestants about their recipes. Sounds absurd, right? Yet this job interviewing process is precisely how we’ve approached the lion’s share of hiring for the past 200 years.”

Have we been taking for granted that interviews — no matter their format — are essential to the hiring process? Citing recent research from over 30,000 participants, Psychology Today highlights that both structured and unstructured interviews may often be leading hiring managers astray. In fact, the research found that “interviews only explain about 9% of the variance in future job performance.”

Yes, you read that correctly. Nine percent. “In other words,” writes Psychology Today, “91% of what determines how well someone will do in a job is completely missed by the interview process. It’s like trying to predict the outcome of a chess match by watching the players set up the board.”

To learn more about the potential pitfalls of interviews — as well as tips for improving the hiring process — be sure to check out Psychology Today’s story at the top of our list below of must-read articles for talent professionals.

And further down our list, you can also find out how to rein in long-winded answers to your interview questions; why company leaders should be doubling down on values and civility; and what’s caused the drastic cooling of what was the hottest U.S. job market in a generation.