A Better Way to Vet Potential Partners, Part I

I've said many times that I have perhaps the worst possible background for what I do. In May of 1997, Cornell University awarded me a masters in industrial and labor relations. Equipped with that degree, I promptly began working in corporate human resources.

Big mistake.

For a bunch of reasons worthy of a separate post one day, I didn't last long in HR. Still, I remember very well many things from the experience. For instance, I learned how to conduct behavior-based interviews at CapitalOne. The theory is simple: the best performance of the future is the past. Rather than pepper people with silly theoretical questions, get specific.

To be sure, anyone can easily search for questions that individual companies ask for specific positions. It's not hard to school yourself on what to say if you really want the job.