A former senior recruitment executive at Bridgewater Associates has revealed the unconventional interview questions he used to identify candidates he believed had the conviction, resilience and independence needed to succeed at the hedge fund, according top a report by Fortune.
Dave Kline, who spent almost a decade in senior recruitment and executive roles at Ray Dalio’s investment firm before leaving in 2020, said traditional interviews often favour candidates who are good at following instructions rather than people capable of taking the initiative.
Kline has dubbed one of his key assessments the “(Un)popularity Contest”, which focuses on whether a candidate has ever walked away from a secure or comfortable position to pursue something more uncertain.
“Have they walked away from something safe for something risky?” Kline wrote in a post on X. If the answer is no, he argued, the candidate may never have been forced to take a meaningful bet on themselves.
For Kline, that experience can reveal whether a person is comfortable trusting their own judgement when others disagree with them.
“You want someone who’s survived feeling alone before,” he wrote.
He said he used the question with hundreds of candidates while at Bridgewater, looking for what he described as high-impact employees capable of creating momentum rather than waiting for instructions.
Kline now runs an executive coaching business and shares advice on hiring and management. He argues that many conventional interviews are poorly designed to identify people with the initiative and determination required to perform in difficult environments.
His wider interview framework consists of five tests.
The Conviction Test, which asks whether a candidate has taken a position that went against prevailing opinion and was later proved right. Kline believes the answer can indicate whether someone is prepared to act before consensus has formed.
The Relentless Test examines whether a candidate has persisted through an experience that would have caused most people to give up. Kline argues that performance in easy conditions says little about how someone will behave when circumstances deteriorate.
The Resourcefulness Test focuses on what candidates do when they face a problem without a roadmap, budget or formal authorisation. Kline believes high-agency employees will look for alternative ways forward rather than simply conclude that something cannot be done.
The Obsession Test meanwhile, explores whether a candidate has ever pursued a subject deeply without being required to do so. Kline recommends asking interviewees to teach the interviewer about something they are genuinely passionate about, arguing that the depth and energy of the response can reveal how they learn and think.
His approach reflects a broader trend among employers seeking alternatives to traditional résumé-based recruitment, particularly as artificial intelligence has made it easier for candidates to submit large volumes of applications.
