So I flubbed a job interview this week. I am not sure what job I was seeking, what it paid or when it would start. I know only that I failed the interview conducted by my 5-year-old granddaughter.

I think I am going to be just fine keeping the job I have as a coach for business executives. My granddaughter’s questions, however, provided critical (and adorable) insight into how good children can be at penetrating to the heart of the matter.

To set the stage, when you look up the dictionary definition of “precocious” you see a photograph of Oakley. Her outsized vocabulary and personality more than make up for her diminutive size. She articulates her emotions better than most adults. She possesses fearless curiosity. She laughs at herself often and empathizes with everyone she meets. Her humor is insightful and hysterical.

She sat down in the big chair in my office this week, asked for a notebook and a pen and began our interview.

My vast experience and accolades did not interest her. She asked about my spelling, my personal hygiene (“Do you take a shower every day?”), my computer skills, my coffee consumption, my hobbies, my age, my relationship with her nana and whether I had any pets. She took copious notes with a lot of check marks. I thought I was sailing through the interview until she said I was not getting the job because I had failed to sing the “ABCs” song properly.

Although we were both aware (at least I was aware) that the job interview was a false construct, I was left to reflect on the insight of her questions. She wanted to know me. Not my resume. I had no time to boast of my accomplishments. She was asking questions that would have made James “Atomic Habits” Clear proud. She wanted to know about my behaviors. In her own way, she was trying to find out how we would mesh together. (I hasten to add that I know some of her questions are illegal by today’s standards, but no one is going to sue a kid this cute.)

Can you remember a job interview where you were asked formulaic, wooden questions and all you could do was try to figure out “the right answer”? How much better those interviews would be at forecasting success if we focused on learning the candidate’s behaviors and habits. If we got away from questions and answers that merely checked boxes. In my own experience, I often asked candidates what books had influenced them; what interesting articles they had read in the morning paper; the behavior of their favorite teacher. I wanted to know them.

I didn’t get this job, but I am glad I will have the job as Oakley’s papa for a very long time.