NFIB

How to Determine a Job Applicant's Motives
03/ 28/ 2002

By Charles R. McConnell

How can you tell if someone you're interviewing is likely to become a steady, productive employee or just another candidate for short-term turnover? There's no certain answer to this question, but there's a way to make an accurate answer more likely. Look for the applicant's real motive for seeking employment. Interview in a way that helps you decide: Is this person trying to attain something desired or escape something disliked?

The interview is an uncertain, error-prone process for choosing employees, but it's the best means available. Interviewing has become more difficult since legislation began to dictate what an applicant can or cannot be asked. For years, interviews involved many personal questions, an approach emphasizing finding out who the person is. In restricting personal questions, today's interview focuses on one's ability to do the job.

In addition to assessing the applicant's capabilities, you should also try to learn what the person desires. The applicant who is trying to attain something, perhaps an upward move or preferred kind of work, is more likely to become a productive long-term employee than one whose primary motive is to escape an unpleasant work situation.

You want "hard" information from an interview--job knowledge, experience, etc.-- but it's appropriate to also try acquiring a "gut feel," to infer tendencies from the person's answers. Do this by getting the person to talk, not just supplying factual answers but speaking a few sentences at a time in response to certain questions.

What do you ask to determine what the person is really seeking? After you've determined the applicant has the proper qualifications and can probably do the job, it's time to look into the intangibles and see what you can learn that might lead you toward or away from a hiring decision.

Here are a few ideas for questions.

What would you like from this job that you're not getting from the work you're doing now? You'll hear a variety of responses, but you need not be too concerned with specific answers. Tune in carefully, listening closely for enthusiasm. If the person visibly perks up at the opportunity to talk about what he or she is reaching for, you're probably on the right track.

What were a couple of major problems you experienced and how did you resolve them? Once again, enthusiasm should be evident. Listen for a sense of pride in his or her accomplishment.

What, if anything, has kept you from advancing as far and as fast as you would have liked? The response to this question can give you a sense of whether the individual's progress has been impeded by limited opportunity or by personal shortcomings.

What parts of a job are most important to you? Responses to this may be tough to interpret but sometimes contain useful information. Often the person who is trying to escape something has trouble zeroing in on an answer while the one who truly wants this kind of work can respond readily.

Tell me about the style of a supervisor you admired and respected. Listen for the level of respect accorded that supervisor, and why that respect was conferred.

Tell me about the style of your least effective supervisor. How the applicant handles this request can speak volumes. Listen for how diplomatically the person responds in communicating negatives without being harshly critical.

A final precaution applicable to most selection interviews: Be wary of the applicant who voluntarily criticizes another employer. One who badmouths a present employer is clearly trying to escape that situation.

Why should you care who's seeking what as long as the person can do the job? Because someone who takes a position to escape something will likely never become dedicated to the job and will have little reservation about escaping your company in the future.

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us