The Interview Mindset Hiring Managers Should Look For

Dexterous
Jun 17
3 min read

This photo shows a woman in a hospital bed, dressed in a pale pink gown with an IV in her arm. She’s holding a piece of paper, possibly interview notes, and resting her head in one hand deep in thought but clearly focused. Even in a tough moment, she’s showing up, preparing, and staying committed. It is powerful example of the kind of interview mindset that cannot be taught.

A woman arrived at the emergency room severely ill, vomiting uncontrollably. The attending physician assumed her day was over. Instead, she said:

"I’ve got a job interview in two hours. I just need to stop throwing up."

She had her laptop. She had a virtual background. She had a plan.

She was serious.

The TikTok video shared by the ER doctor who treated her captured the moment. Hiring managers should pay close attention:

This is not about prioritizing work over health. It is about something else:

Mindset. Specifically, the interview mindset that distinguishes reliable professionals from unreliable ones.

Grit Cannot Be Taught, but It Can Be Spotted

Hiring professionals often focus on tangible qualifications including skills, certifications, industry experience. These matter. But they do not account for how someone will respond when things go wrong.

What distinguishes exceptional candidates?

Not what they have done. What they do when everything starts to fall apart.

You cannot teach resilience in a training module. You cannot test for commitment on a multiple-choice assessment. But you can observe it in:

How someone handles scheduling conflicts
How they communicate under pressure
Whether they offer solutions or disappear when challenged

These are not abstract traits. They are operational behaviors.

Indicators of Grit in Interviews

Hiring managers who want to evaluate more than resumes should watch for the following:

Behavior	What It Signals
Shows up prepared, on time	Respect for others' time and expectations
Communicates issues early, not reactively	Ownership and foresight
Troubleshoots tech problems quickly	Problem-solving and accountability
Reschedules respectfully, not impulsively	Prioritization and professionalism
Remains composed when things go off-plan	Emotional control under stress

These are indicators of what Dexterous looks for during early conversations with candidates. They are small cues with large implications.

A Real Story That Matters

The TikTok example stands out not because of spectacle, but because of clarity.

The candidate did not ask for sympathy. She did not cancel at the last minute. She did not ghost. She asked:

"What can I do to still show up?"

That is not overwork. That is professional instinct. In a real work environment—especially in fintech and payments—those instincts matter:

When a partner delays deployment
When a merchant pushes back
When a platform outage threatens SLAs

The candidate who cancels a meeting with no context may do the same when facing client pressure. The one who looks for a workaround may be the one who salvages a critical account.

How to Hire for This Mindset

It is possible to build interview frameworks that identify resilience. Here is how:

1. Ask Situational Questions That Involve Setbacks

Example: "Tell me about a time you were unwell, overwhelmed, or unprepared but still had to deliver professionally. What did you do?"

Evaluate not just the answer but the structure of the story: Do they own the problem? Do they reflect on the outcome? Do they describe actions, not just emotions?

2. Monitor Communication for Interview Mindset Clues

Do they respond promptly to scheduling requests?
Do they clarify misunderstandings proactively?
Do they treat the recruiter interaction as seriously as the final interview?

The early stages of the process often reveal more about candidate behavior than the interview itself.

3. Use Structured Rubrics That Include Behavioral Indicators

Add resilience oriented criteria to your interview scorecards. For instance:

Category	Question	Score (1–5)
Communication	Did the candidate communicate promptly?
Adaptability	Did the candidate adapt to unexpected changes?
Professionalism	Was the candidate prepared and respectful?
Problem Solving	Did the candidate offer alternatives under stress?

Documenting this formally helps remove bias and makes grit part of the hiring rubric and not just a gut feeling.

What This Means for Fintech Hiring

In fast-growth fintech environments, talent must absorb volatility. Growth targets shift. Market conditions tighten. Systems fail.

Under these conditions, performance relies less on a perfect resume and more on mental readiness.

Dexterous partners with companies to identify candidates who not only meet functional criteria but bring operational steadiness. These are not just specialists, they are people who follow through when it counts.

That mindset is not always loud. It often shows up in overlooked moments:

The candidate who dials in from the airport
The one who fixes a broken link before anyone asks
The one who keeps the meeting on the calendar when every reason says to cancel

The Wrap Up

The woman in the ER did not showcase a résumé. She showcased intent. She asked how to adapt, not how to opt out.

Hiring managers should ask the same of their candidates, not only what they have done, but how they behave when conditions are far from ideal.

In a high-stakes industry like fintech, the question is not just, "Can they do the job?" It's, "Will they still show up when the job gets hard?"

If you are looking for candidates who do, we know where to find them. Contact Dexterous