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How to Evaluate a Prospective Hire’s

True Motivations & Interests

f you’re like most executives and hiring managers we speak with, a critical component of your success is securing talented employees. And, as the new year begins, you may find yourself thinking about potential hires for 2014. Hiring is not easy – it requires a significant investment of time and resources, and often, a leap of faith when you ultimately select an individual to hire. As executive search consultants, our goal is to minimize those stresses by assisting our clients in confidently securing professionals who will fit within and positively impact their companies.

Evaluating a candidate’s true motivations for considering a new opportunity and understanding his or her primary interests in your company and role are crucial elements of a successful hire. We find that most individuals involved in hiring are comfortable asking questions to learn about a candidate’s skills, capabilities and experience, but they are less certain of how to determine the intangibles that also factor into a successful hire, such as cultural fit, motivations, ambitions and career goals. In this article, our consultants share their insights on these critical areas so you too can gain confidence in selecting and hiring the right individuals.

Assessing a Candidate’s MotivationsOne of the first things to consider is why the individual has decided to pursue a new opportunity. Most people instinctively resist change, so when someone is willing to leave their comfort zone and seek new employment, there are likely to be several reasons compelling them to do so. A report by Deloitte entitled “Talent 2020: Surveying the Talent Paradox From the Employee Perspective” cites the following as primary reasons professionals consider actively looking for new employment:

• 27% – Lack of career progress• 22% – New opportunities in the market• 22% – Dissatisfaction with manager / supervisor• 21% – Lack of challenge• 21% – Lack of compensation increase

How can you gauge a candidate’s reasons for embarking on a job search? Taking the direct approach – simply asking, “What has prompted you to look for another opportunity?" – can sometimes uncover a candidate’s motivations. However, that question is expected and will most likely invoke a rehearsed response. Jim Lord, one of Helbling’s Managing Directors and search consultants, suggests asking other questions to reveal the primary reasons the individual may be considering a change such as:

‣ What are the responsibilities and / or challenges of your current position that you do not enjoy or that make you dissatisfied?

‣ What aspects of your role do you not like?

‣ What are the characteristics of your current company that make you feel like you do not belong there?

‣ Where do you see yourself in five years?

‣ Describe the opportunity for career progression with your current company.

‣ How would you describe your current supervisor’s management style? What do you like and not like about that style?

‣ If you could change one thing about your current position / situation, what would it be?

‣ What is your current compensation? What types of increases do you typically see?

‣ Why did you leave your prior job? (Explore the reasons why he / she has made changes in the past. This may reveal a pattern of behavior and be indicative of how they will behave in the future.)

By listening to the responses to the above questions and prompting the individual to elaborate when necessary, you are likely to acquire key information. Understanding their motivations will allow you to consider  whether your company and its opportunity will be more of the same or a refreshing change for the candidate.

By Tracy L. Boczkowski & James G. Lord

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How to Evaluate a Prospective Hire’s True Motivations & Interests Winter 2014 Navigator

Determining a Candidate’s Fit within Your Company’s Culture & RoleJust as it is important to understand why a candidate is interested in seeking a new opportunity, it is critical to determine whether your organization is a good fit for the individual. Regardless of an individual’s technical capabilities and past experience, it is often his or her fit within the company’s culture that truly determines ultimate success. When conducting searches for our clients, one of the first things our consultants do is to interview client representatives to really understand the uniqueness of the company. Later in the search process, when evaluating candidates, they can then ask questions to gauge the individual’s likelihood of fitting into that environment.

According to Lord, because company culture – and even individual departmental culture – can vary so greatly, it is important for hiring managers to plan how to address cultural fit within the interview process. The first step, before interviewing candidates, is to really understand your company’s culture. Consider the following, and if appropriate and helpful, obtain insight from other key individuals in the organization for additional perspective:

‣ What makes your company’s culture unique?

‣ Why do people stay with your company and why might people have left in the past?

‣ Why is this particular role open? Are there traits that the incumbent didn’t have that would increase the success or effectiveness of the new hire?

‣ What qualities and attributes do the peers, direct reports, customers and supervisors of the role expect in a new hire?

‣ How structured is the decision-making / authority process within the organization?

Once the culture of the company and the desired leadership style and personality of the new hire are identified, interview questions can be developed to help to evaluate a candidate in comparison to those traits. It is important that a hiring manager ask behavioral questions to understand the candidate’s personality, style, and cultural fit. Such questions might include:

‣ Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult client.

‣ Tell me about the last time you had to deliver bad news.

‣ Tell me about a time when you had to influence others without authority.

Lord adds, “Be sure to consider what the ‘right’ answer is to each of these types of questions so you can drill in with follow-up questions to gauge fit and style and to assess whether that will work within your company’s environment. Also, end these and similar inquiries by asking, ‘What was the outcome?’ It’s not always necessary for the outcome to be absolute success. There are often

limiting factors beyond the candidate’s control, but by learning how the candidate dealt with a specific challenging situation, you can gain insight into their interpersonal skills, their management style, their decision-making skills, and their general personality.”

Additionally, connecting with the candidate on an individual level and learning about his or her interests outside of work can shed light on what motivates them intrinsically, which can sometimes be helpful when hiring. For example, Lord cited a recent search he conducted for a nonprofit client that provides services through group home and outpatient programs to adults with developmental, psychological, and physical disabilities. He identified several candidates who were very qualified technically, but there was an individual who stood apart from the others due to her heavy involvement with public service and participation as a board member of a home for battered women. It seemed natural to pair her compassion and dedication to human services with a new career opportunity that would allow both the candidate and the organization to benefit. Also, the style she brings – leading with a soft touch and openly caring for her subordinates – has contributed to her success to date and will likely continue to lead her to success in the new role with our client.

Be wary of candidates who appear to be seeking new employment solely for the following reasons:

➡ They simply want to get out of their current job.

If someone seems completely dissatisfied with their current employment and seems primarily motivated by the goal to find any other opportunity, they may take anything that is offered, but if it’s not ideal and doesn’t support their true professional and personal goals, they may be using your company as a stepping stone or “filler” until they find something that suits them better.

➡ They are dissatisfied with their compensation.

It’s rare that a person is content a few months after taking a new job simply because it gives them more spending money. If other professional needs aren’t fulfilled by the new role, the individual is likely to continue to be unhappy despite the increased earnings. Also, if compensation is the only motivator, the candidate is ripe for accepting a “counter offer”.

Authors: Tracy L. Boczkowski, Managing Director James G. Lord, Managing Director

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Leveraging References to Further Evaluate a CandidateAt the completion of each interview, make notes of any lingering questions or concerns related to the candidate’s personality, leadership style, experience and general capabilities. These can be used as topics of conversation when conducting references on the candidates. Ask open-ended questions that are similar to the behavioral questions asked of the candidate during the interview. Compare and contrast the candidate’s own response with that of the individual providing the reference. If he or she has difficulty recalling a specific example, present a hypothetical situation (or use a past scenario that presented challenges similar to those the new hire may have to face), and ask the person giving the reference to address how the candidate would likely handle it.

Lord suggests the following types of questions and, again, he stresses the importance of asking specific follow-up questions to further delve into the candidate’s style and capabilities:

‣ How would you describe the candidate’s interpersonal / leadership styles?

‣ How do others – peers, direct reports, clients, etc. – respond to the candidate?

‣ How does the candidate handle pressure and / or criticism?

‣ Can you recall a situation in which the candidate had to take a difficult stance with a client, direct report, or superior? What was the outcome?

‣ Have you interacted with the candidate outside of work?

Selecting the “Right” CandidateThere’s a lot of pressure associated with hiring, and unfortunately, there aren’t any foolproof ways to ensure a “perfect” candidate. However, by taking the time to truly understand a candidate’s motivations, technical capabilities, personality and other intangible traits, you can increase your confidence in selecting an individual who will be successful within your company’s culture. The onboarding of a candidate who has the right cultural fit will be much smoother and, because the new hire will not have to worry about the cultural components, he or she can act naturally and focus on achieving results.

How to Evaluate a Prospective Hire’s True Motivations & Interests Winter 2014 Navigator