S 2 E. 26: Gut Instincts Are Not a Hiring Strategy: The Power of Skills-First, Evidence-Based Hiring with Guest Mark Smith

Let’s be honest—if your hiring strategy starts with “I’ve got a good feeling about them,” you’re probably gambling with your company’s time, budget, and retention rate.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mark Smith, talent psychologist and author of A Better Choice: The Manager’s Guide to Skills-First Hiring, to challenge outdated hiring practices and explore how skills-first strategies and structured assessments create better, fairer, and more effective hiring outcomes.

From role-play simulations to breaking up with gut instinct, we’re diving into what evidence-based hiring really looks like—and how it actually works.

💡 What We Covered:

✅ Skills-First Hiring:
Why prioritizing what someone can do over where they did it leads to stronger hires and more diverse teams. Dr. Smith shares how top companies are leading this movement.

✅ The Role of Assessments:
Not all assessments are created equal. We break down which ones are worth the investment (hint: think job simulations and cognitive ability) and which to ditch.

✅ Bye-Bye, Gut Instinct:
We unpack how unconscious bias shows up in instinctual hiring—and how structured interviews and scoring systems help keep things fair and consistent.

✅ Structured Interviews for the Win:
Behavior-based questions, anchored scoring, and repeatable rubrics? They don’t just sound fancy—they reduce bias and boost prediction accuracy.

✅ Innovative Simulations & Role Play:
Dr. Shaw spotlights companies using scenario-based hiring—putting candidates into real-life challenges to see their skills in action.

✅ Evidence-Based Hiring:
Why data beats guesswork. We talk about integrating hiring analytics, assessment validation, and how to measure what really matters.

🔍 Key Quote from Dr. Mark Smith:

“When we hire based on gut feelings, we’re hiring based on bias. When we hire based on structured assessments and evidence, we hire for performance, potential, and fit.”

📚 Recommended Reading & Resources:

 LinkedIn Economic Graph – “Skills‑First: Reimagining the Labor Market and Breaking Down Barriers”
https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/research/skills-first-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com

World Economic Forum – “Adopting a ‘Skills‑First’ Approach Could Help More Than 100 Million People Worldwide Get Better Jobs”
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/05/adopting-a-skills-first-approach-help-people-better-jobs/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

SHRM Foundation – “Skills‑First at Work” report
https://www.shrm.org/foundation/skills-first?utm_source=chatgpt.com

📬 Connect with Dr. Mark Smith:

🔗 LinkedIn: 
🌐 Website: 
📩 YouTube:  

💬 Enjoyed the episode? Leave a review and let us know how your hiring mindset is shifting!