Rework jason fried

Test-drive employees 
 
Interviews are only worth so much. Some people sound like pros but don't work 
like pros. You need to evaluate the work they can do now, not the work they say they did 
in the past. 
 
The best way to do that is to actually see them work. Hire them for a miniproject, 
even if it's for just twenty or forty hours. You'll see how they make decisions. You'll see 
if you get along. You'll see what kind of questions they ask. You'll get to judge them by 
their actions instead of just their words. 

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You can even make up a fake project. In a factory in South Carolina, BMW built 
a simulated assembly line where job candidates get ninety minutes to perform a variety of 
work-related tasks.* 
 
Cessna, the airplane manufacturer, has a role-playing exercise for prospective 
managers that simulates the day of an executive. Candidates work through memos, deal 
with (phony) irate customers, and handle other problems. Cessna has hired more than a 
hundred people using this simulation.+ 
 
These companies have realized that when you get into a real work environment, 
the truth comes out. It's one thing to look at a portfolio, read a resume, or conduct an 
interview. It's another to actually work with someone.*Carol Hymowitz, "Any College 
Will Do," Wall Street Journal, Sept. 18, 2006, 
online.wsj.com/article/SB115853818747665842.html*Peter Carbonara, "Hire for 
Attitude, Train for Skill," Fast Company, Dec. 18, 2007, 
www.fastcompany.com/magazine/04/hiring.html+Ibid.