Interesting idea:<p>> Then, as the interview progresses, do exactly this. About half the time give your best answer. The other half of the time give an intentionally poor answer. ...<p>> What this does is free your co-worker to be 100% honest. They don't know which parts of the interview were really you trying to perform well. Moreover, they are on the hook to notice the bad answers you gave. If you gave an intentionally poor answer and they don't “catch” it, they look a little bad. So, they will give an honest, detailed account of their perceptions.<p>This reminds me of the second part of the Rosenham experiment [ <a href="http://psychrights.org/articles/rosenham.htm" rel="nofollow">http://psychrights.org/articles/rosenham.htm</a> ]:<p>> The following experiment was arranged at a research and teaching hospital whose staff had heard these findings but doubted that such an error could occur in their hospital. The staff was informed that at some time during the following three months, one or more pseudopatients would attempt to be admitted into the psychiatric hospital. Each staff member was asked to rate each patient who presented himself at admissions or on the ward according to the likelihood that the patient was a pseudopatient. A 10-point scale was used, with a 1 and 2 reflecting high confidence that the patient was a pseudopatient.<p>> Judgments were obtained on 193 patients who were admitted for psychiatric treatment. All staff who had had sustained contact with or primary responsibility for the patient – attendants, nurses, psychiatrists, physicians, and psychologists – were asked to make judgments. Forty-one patients were alleged, with high confidence, to be pseudopatients by at least one member of the staff. Twenty-three were considered suspect by at least one psychiatrist. Nineteen were suspected by one psychiatrist and one other staff member. Actually, no genuine pseudopatient (at least from my group) presented himself during this period.<p>There is a version of this exercise you could do where you <i>say</i> you are intentionally giving bad answers and give none!!!