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"He Interviewed Well. That Was the Problem."
The person who interviews the best is not always the person who performs the best. In fact, sometimes they're the worst hire you'll make. Hamza Khan knows this firsthand. His own company, SkillsCamp, a soft skills training company, fell into the exact trap he teaches others to avoid: they hired someone who interviewed brilliantly and failed in the role. The wake-up call was brutal. If this can happen at a company whose entire business is power skills, it can happen anywhere.
Hamza is a bestselling author, leadership researcher, and keynote speaker whose TEDx talk "Stop Managing, Start Leading" has been viewed millions of times. He's also the co-founder of SkillsCamp and Sage.
In this episode, Hamza introduces the dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) as the hidden bias most companies have no way to screen for, explains why hope has become the number one thing employees need from leaders, and makes the case for distributed hiring decisions and real reference checks.
What you'll learn:
→ Why hiring for technical skills while ignoring soft skills is the biggest mistake companies keep making
→ How the dark triad presents as positive traits in interviews (confidence, strategic thinking, charisma)
→ What a real reference check looks like versus the version most companies skip
→ How AI is creating fabricated personas that pass the interview but fail in the role
GUEST
Hamza Khan — LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/khanhamza/
YOUR HOST
Anita Chauhan — LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan/
LISTEN & FOLLOW
Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/0dbfz6y0tMq3crViHQD66H
Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/looks-good-on-paper/id1625835562
All episodes → https://looksgoodonpaper.buzzsprout.com/
WATCH ON YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/yGj5uLLcA8g
POWERED BY WILLO
Hire humans, not resumes
→ https://www.willo.video/looks-good-on-paper
CONNECT WITH US
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/10170893/
If this episode changed how you think about hiring, share it with one person who needs to hear it. And subscribe — we're rewriting the rules of hiring, one episode at a time.
The person who interviews the best is not always the best hire. Companies continue to over-index on technical skills while ignoring the relational and leadership skills that actually predict performance, retention, and team health. The dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) presents as positive traits in interview settings: confidence, strategic thinking, and charisma. Without structured assessment for soft skills, communication, and collaboration, even companies that specialize in leadership development can hire the wrong person. Hope has overtaken trust, stability, and compassion as the number one thing employees need from their leaders.
Show Resources
- Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
- CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
- Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host
View all episodes
By Anita ChauhanThe person who interviews the best is not always the person who performs the best. In fact, sometimes they're the worst hire you'll make. Hamza Khan knows this firsthand. His own company, SkillsCamp, a soft skills training company, fell into the exact trap he teaches others to avoid: they hired someone who interviewed brilliantly and failed in the role. The wake-up call was brutal. If this can happen at a company whose entire business is power skills, it can happen anywhere.
Hamza is a bestselling author, leadership researcher, and keynote speaker whose TEDx talk "Stop Managing, Start Leading" has been viewed millions of times. He's also the co-founder of SkillsCamp and Sage.
In this episode, Hamza introduces the dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) as the hidden bias most companies have no way to screen for, explains why hope has become the number one thing employees need from leaders, and makes the case for distributed hiring decisions and real reference checks.
What you'll learn:
→ Why hiring for technical skills while ignoring soft skills is the biggest mistake companies keep making
→ How the dark triad presents as positive traits in interviews (confidence, strategic thinking, charisma)
→ What a real reference check looks like versus the version most companies skip
→ How AI is creating fabricated personas that pass the interview but fail in the role
GUEST
Hamza Khan — LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/khanhamza/
YOUR HOST
Anita Chauhan — LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan/
LISTEN & FOLLOW
Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/0dbfz6y0tMq3crViHQD66H
Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/looks-good-on-paper/id1625835562
All episodes → https://looksgoodonpaper.buzzsprout.com/
WATCH ON YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/yGj5uLLcA8g
POWERED BY WILLO
Hire humans, not resumes
→ https://www.willo.video/looks-good-on-paper
CONNECT WITH US
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/10170893/
If this episode changed how you think about hiring, share it with one person who needs to hear it. And subscribe — we're rewriting the rules of hiring, one episode at a time.
The person who interviews the best is not always the best hire. Companies continue to over-index on technical skills while ignoring the relational and leadership skills that actually predict performance, retention, and team health. The dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) presents as positive traits in interview settings: confidence, strategic thinking, and charisma. Without structured assessment for soft skills, communication, and collaboration, even companies that specialize in leadership development can hire the wrong person. Hope has overtaken trust, stability, and compassion as the number one thing employees need from their leaders.
Show Resources
- Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
- CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
- Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host