How to Spot That Inner Fire in a Job Candidate

Traditional interview questions are very good at revealing what a candidate can do. The catch? They don’t always reveal what drives them to do it.

Consider the question, “Tell me about a time you worked on a successful project.” Most people are prepared for this line of inquiry and can effortlessly roll out statistics and testimonials to showcase their skills and knowledge. That’s useful up to a point, but you also need to learn about the candidate’s willingness to roll up their sleeves for the good of the team and their ability to negotiate obstacles and setbacks. That’s where motivation-based interviewing comes in.

As defined by author and speaker Carol Quinn, motivation-based interviewing evaluates candidates not only based on their skills but also on their passion about their work. In a motivation-based interview, you seek to assess an individual’s work ethic, resilience and genuine excitement for the role. By taking this approach, you gain valuable insights into their long-term potential and ability to make a meaningful impact on your team.

The practice has another benefit: It’s effective in remote work settings, where it’s tough-to-impossible to rely on visual cues like body language and firm handshakes to assess candidates’ confidence and presence. By making your interview motivation-based and actively listening to the responses, you can find out what makes people tick even without face-to-face interactions.

3 key traits of motivation-based interviewing

Motivational interviewing is about learning what makes the candidate tick. Here are three approaches to help you see beyond the resume.

Ask the candidate to describe a specific situation. Instead of posing hypothetical scenarios like “What would you do if a team member wasn’t pulling their weight?”, you delve into real-life incidents. This approach uncovers the candidate’s lived experiences and assesses their willingness to talk about them candidly.

Don’t focus on just the positive. Not every story has a happy ending. By giving people the chance to talk about difficulties and setbacks, you gain insight into their ability to learn from past challenges, adapt their approach and grow professionally. You’ll also be able to evaluate whether they demonstrate tact and diplomacy when times get tough and whether they are willing to take calculated risks.

Touch on ownership. Passion for the job comes from caring deeply about the role — caring how projects will ultimately benefit the company and how a half-hearted attempt is unacceptable personally. When interviewing, look for people who describe their past efforts as all-encompassing rather than just being a part of the process. Is there a sense of accountability? Ask about quality versus quantity. And ask about emotions: “How did it make you feel when a project was rushed and the final product failed to make you proud?”

As you begin using motivational-based interviewing, refer to these guideposts to help ensure a successful process.

1. Use your knowledge of the role to dig deeper into the candidate’s attitude

Interviews are often shaped by the information that the candidate has provided in their resume. So how do you move away from what the candidate wants you to see and get to the attitude underneath? Use your knowledge of the role — what a regular day of work looks like, how much client interaction there is, and so on — to ask detailed and pertinent questions. For example, if the role is project-based with lots of time pressure, you could ask them about a time when they realized they weren’t going to meet a deadline.

2. Explore their passion for the role and organization

You’re not just looking for candidates who are passionate in general or committed to the industry you work in. You want to get a sense they are genuinely enthusiastic about the specific position they are applying for and your organization. Zero in on the particulars of the role. What about its challenges and demands excite them? How do they see it fitting into the bigger picture of your business objectives? That way, you can gauge a candidate’s level of genuine investment and determine if they are motivated to contribute meaningfully to your team.

3. Assess their willingness to hold themselves accountable

When faced with difficulties, does the candidate look for solutions or try to pin the blame elsewhere? They’re not likely to admit they’re pinning the blame, but you can tell by the way they describe a situation. Ideally, they’ll mention little about what colleagues did and place emphasis on what they did to rectify the matter. The person you’re looking for takes the initiative because they see themselves as crucial actors in their own career — someone with a positive attitude who controls the situation rather than letting the situation control them.

4. Pay attention to their storytelling skills

Motivation-based interviewing is not just about the questions you ask but also about how candidates share their experiences. Pay close attention to their storytelling abilities. Do they communicate their challenges, successes and growth with enthusiasm and clarity? Look for candidates who can effectively articulate their motivations and lessons learned in a compelling and engaging manner.

Motivation-based interviewing doesn’t require you to throw out your tried-and-true techniques. It’s more like a subtle yet important adjustment that adds an extra layer of insight into candidates’ drive and enthusiasm. You’ll be able to identify people who possess not only the skills but also the inner fire to be a long-term asset to your organization.

Hiring? Let Robert Half know what you’re looking for so we can support your hiring needs.

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