I am about to give away one of my secret weapons when I am interviewing people. It is a super easy tip to implement, it doesn’t take any special training, yet it is something that not very many people do.

Are you ready for it?

When someone comes in for a face-to-face interview, I like to ask the receptionist for their impression of the candidate.

I find this to be not only very insightful, but also very helpful. It’s insightful because the candidate is more likely to be their normal, everyday selves around the receptionist as opposed to someone who is involved in the hiring decision.

I once read about an executive who always took candidates they were interested in to lunch, with one of the main objectives being to observe how they treated the wait staff. I think this isn’t a bad strategy, but it is still flawed in that you are there, and therefore they are likely to tone it down a bit. With the receptionist, they have no idea you are going to talk to them…. Besides, it’s cheaper since you don’t have to buy them lunch.