I had a discussion recently about whether a personal job interview still matters. You know…Moneyball. AI. Spectrum-adjacent super-billionaires in charge. Etc.
They are. But the reason might not be what you think it is.
Useful team members have the adultiness quality.
They show up. They (attempt to) do what they say. They’re (mostly) honest. They know their limitations, but also will do their best even if they’re not the right person for this task. They get along with others. They share. If they don’t know, they find out. They put the team’s purpose ahead of their personal purpose. They know when to defer.
You might be saying, “Yes, of course.”
But what I’ve found is that not every human walking around in an adult body has the adultiness quality. In fact, dissappointingly few have it.
Adultiness doesn’t come across in a resume. AI can’t find it for you. No amount of keyword screening will uncover it.
The only way to find it is to have a conversation.
