The Who Interview: A Proven Method for Selecting Top Performers

When it comes to hiring, few decisions have a greater impact on a company’s success than selecting the right people. Yet most hiring processes still rely on instinct, résumé impressions, unstructured conversations, or psychometric tests. “Even when automated, these processes still leave results largely to chance.”All of these leave results largely to chance.

What chance? Roughly 50/50. Most hiring decisions are , no better than a coin flip.

For more than three decades, the leadership advisors at ghSMART have studied how to dramatically increase the odds of hiring the right candidate. After assessing more than 30,000 leaders, the conclusion is clear: with the right methodology, hiring success rates can reach 90+ percent. That methodology is built on the Who Interview.

Grounded in the principle that past behavior is the strongest predictor of future performance, the Who Interview is a structured, chronological walkthrough of a candidate’s career. When executed correctly, it reveals patterns of achievement, leadership, and potential risk areas that typical interviews miss.

A Simple Method with Extraordinary Predictive Power

The Who Interview guides candidates through each chapter of their career. It explores what they were hired to do, what they accomplished, what they are most proud of, and what they would do differentlycould have done better.

It sounds straightforward, but the structure uncovers what intuition often overlooks. It reveals consistent patterns that indicate whether someone is likely to thrive in a particular role. Paired with a clearly defined Scorecard, the method becomes a powerful, evidence-based measuring stick. It helps leaders understand how a candidate’s track record maps to the business outcomes the role must deliver.

Why It Works

The Who Interview works because it anchors the conversation in real evidence of what the candidate has actually done.

It helps uncover:

• Achievements and results: What measurable impact did the candidate deliver?
• Decision-making and learning: How did they grow and adapt through successes and setbacks?
• Team dynamics: How did they work with others, bosses, peers, and direct reports?
• Decision-making and learning: How did they grow and adapt through successes and setbacks?
• Patterns over time: Are there consistent strengths or risks across roles?

By understanding these patterns, leaders can make more accurate predictions about who will succeed in a specific role and within a specific cultural context.

Human Judgement Meets the AI Advantage

The Who Interview has long been the gold standard for selecting top performers. But like any rigorous process, it takes discipline and time to master. Recruiters and hiring managers that want to make great hiring decisions may not always have the time to do it right. That’s where WhoAi comes in.

WhoAi builds on this proven methodology to help leaders and recruiters apply it more easily and consistently. It uses AI to structure interviews, capture insights, and surface patterns, freeing hiring managers to focus on the candidate, not the process. They can get curious, build a connection, and use their judgement, knowing WhoAi has their back. human side of the conversation: curiosity, connection, and judgment.

Bringing It All Together

Great hires do not happen by accident. They happen by design, through a repeatable process that treats hiring with the same rigor as any other high-stakes business decision.

The Who Interview Method provides that process. WhoAi makes it practical at scale.

Together, they move us closer to a world where more leaders build great teams, and more people are in roles they love where they can  that fit, perform at their best, and love what they do.