Hire for slope, not intercept

A computer science professor once put it in one line: a little bit of slope makes up for a lot of y-intercept. In hiring, the intercept is where someone starts. The slope is how fast they get better.

Most interviews measure the intercept. They test what a person knows today, under pressure, in an hour. It is easy to score and a poor guide to how good they will be in a year.

Signs of a steep slope

People who improve quickly tend to leave a trail. A few things to look for:

• They can describe a recent mistake and what they changed because of it, without much prompting.

• Their work keeps changing shape. The last two projects look different from the two before.

• They ask sharp questions about how your team works, not only about the role.

Ask what someone learned last month. The answer tells you more than what they learned in school.

When intercept matters

Slope is not always the right bet. If you need someone to run payroll next Monday, you need the intercept. The mistake is using the same test for every role.

What you can borrow

Add one question to every interview loop: tell me about something you were bad at a year ago and are good at now. Then listen for the steps, not the outcome. The steps are the slope.