“But what about a question looking to the future? Could this reveal their goals and help us understand how to motivate them?” asks Bob in response to yesterdays post. For the past two days, we have been looking at the question –Where do you see yourself in 5 years?-

In our Hiring Talent Workshop, we spend a great deal of time looking at ineffective questions and the 5 year question is at the top of the list. So what about Bob’s interest in learning how to motivate a prospective candidate who is about to become a new hire?

Is motivation a critical issue? Absolutely! So, Bob brings up an important subject.

The problem with the 5 year question is that it calls for speculation. Any question about the future invites the candidate to make stuff up or outright lie. Now, I know that no candidates you interview ever inflate the truth, but I have run across a few that have.

But if motivation is critical, and it is, then I am keenly interested. And if past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, that will be my focus. And if all motivation springs from interest and passion, here is what my questions sound like.

Tell me about a time when your manager struck gold with you, and tapped into a particular interest that got you revved up on a project. What was the project? What was your interest? What were you passionate about? How did your manager know about your passion for this project? What was the result of the project?

If goals are of interest in the hiring interview, here are my questions.

Tell me about a time when goal-setting played a critical role in the success of a project. What was the project? How were the goals set? Were these personal goals or goals for the team? How often did you review the goals with your manager? What was the result of the project?

These are critical issues, interest, passion and goals. Future questions simply invite candidates to make stuff up. Focus on the past. Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior . -TF