What is the best time of day to conduct an in-person interview?

Last year, Dan Pink authored a book called When. Unlike many books who deal with “how to do things” or “what to do”, Dan’s book deals with the “when” or the best and worst times to do things. Here is a summary from his book:

…regardless of culture or differing daily rituals, our moods follow a rigorous pattern that is “crucial, unexpected and revealing”, according to Pink who believes the quality of the decisions we make are closely linked with their timing. Essentially, morning is a good time for coming to a judgment and afternoon is bad, he argues, backing the claim by quoting many other studies that show people tend to perform better in the morning and worse in the afternoon.

• Anesthesia errors are 4 times more likely at 3 p.m. than 9 a.m.
• In colonoscopies, they find half as many polyps in afternoon exams as in morning exams.
• Doctors are more likely to prescribe unnecessary antibiotics in the afternoon than in the morning.

Generally speaking, in-person interviews should be conducted mid-morning when your ability to make good judgements is at its highest. Leave the afternoon for lower level tasks.

Have a terrific week.

Ken

Ken Lazar, CEO

Ability Professional Network

(614) 403-6079