Don’t assume all candidates are ambitious – make them prove it!
The goal of the behavior-based interview is to identify the qualities that work well in your organization. But you also need to look at the other side of this as to what are the characteristics of your problem people.
Look at the qualities of people that didn’t work out so well AND BE HONEST. In some cases, the responsibility may lie with you for how you interviewed, hired, or trained them. In other cases, it will be a part of your personality that you missed in all your pre-planning, but turned out to be a crucial skill set on the job.
If you can remember, think about the interview questions you asked them, or at least the types of questions. I recommend making a standard set of questions that you have on hand to constantly ask all candidates. You can improvise and dig deeper into a candidate’s experience in a different area, but the list should be a baseline to ensure you’re asking consistent questions for all candidates and give you confidence that you’re conducting fair and accurate interviews.
Let’s take an example. Let’s say you hired someone with a fresh MBA. He assumed, because they went back to school for an MBA, that they were ambitious, goal-oriented, and interested in learning as much as they could about their company to further their career. That was your assumption. Since then you discovered that they were the complete opposite. He also learned that an important quality in that position is ambition and a sense of drive. In the interview, did you ask them why they took the time to work on their MBA? What was your favorite class? Did you probe them for experiences they had in school that show you what their passions are?
If you need someone with ambition, then you need to ask questions that demonstrate that quality.
Thinking of going back to school for another degree? Are they taking any classes now, even as part of a continuing education program?
The following questions will also help you determine a candidate’s ambition, but should be asked outside of the sit-down interview setting. This is why. These questions are most effectively asked when the candidate is a bit off guard because he wants an honest answer. Once most candidates enter the interviewers’ office or conference room, they know the game is on and they’re going to give the answers they think you want to hear. If you ask these questions casually, either on the way to or from the receptionist’s desk, you’re more likely to get a truer answer.
Here’s how you can start the conversation: “I just read an interesting article online (or book or magazine) about [insert something relevant to your business or industry, or an event in the news]. This topic fascinates me because [give a short explanation here]. Have you read anything about it?” or you could ask “What topics are you interested in learning about (read more, research?)?” The actual topics you and they bring up are somewhat irrelevant. The goal here is to loosen them up. Educate yourself and find out if there is some depth to them.They may not have an interest in what you specifically mention, but if their eyes light up when they talk about learning more about diving and overcoming their fear of diving, you may get a clue that they are interested in improving themselves. , and this is an indication of your level of ambition.If you don’t give a concrete answer, make a mental note and, if possible, try to ask a similar question at the exit of the interview to get a better answer.
It’s okay to ask about any hobbies or skills they’ve been interested in learning. If they don’t have a great answer to this question, you don’t have to rule them out completely, but you should take into account how they performed in the rest of the interview to determine whether or not they’re a good fit. .
Copyright 2006 Melanie Szlucha
