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“Is Interviewing the Redheaded Stepchild of HR?”

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Feb 24, 2020

Editor’s Note: A reader recently wrote in about this article: “Please get with the times and avoid biased and insensitive language. Especially for a professional article. I expect more from ERE.” I agree. I should’ve known better. I should’ve done better. Upon reflection, I should’ve chosen a different title for the article, and maybe not run it at all. So why is this story still up? Why does the title remain? Because I want to highlight my own error as a teachable moment for me, and perhaps one for you. The words we use matter. We all do better when we give more thought to them. 

Additionally, after a conversation with the speaker referenced in this article, I added quotes to the story’s title and changed the image form a girl wearing a red wig to one featuring the speaker herself. This is because the story told in the video below is a very personal one; it is not about a child in a stock image but about the speaker herself. I urge you to watch the clip to learn more.


“What makes me successful is not what makes an accountant successful.”

Anna Papalia points this out in her recent DisruptHR talk in Philadelphia. It was an epiphany for her that made her realize that the system we use to determine talent is good at reinforcing our own egos.

Interviewing is broken, Papalia explains. Despite the reality that the most important decisions are made during interviews, “90% of hiring managers were never trained to interview. You know how they learn? They Google it, they wing it, or they shadow someone.”

Check out Papalia’s five-minute talk below for more of her views on interviewing.

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