We often have preexisting impressions of well-known national and local companies. But should those impressions affect HR’s decisions about hiring people who used to work for them?

For example, say you get two candidates with similar qualifications — but one is coming from a successful, respected local employer, while the other’s currently with a company that’s gotten bad press. Do those facts impact the hiring decision?

They usually do, but that doesn’t mean they should, says HR expert Kris Dunn. A candidate’s previous employer is only part of the story. Bad people work for good companies all the time, and vice versa.

What you want to find out is what impact the candidate as an individual had on the company’s success. The only way to find that out is to ask for specific examples during the interview — and probe enough to figure out what was really an individual contribution.

Tags: interview, previous employer