From the Ask Tom mailbag:

For the past week, it’s been all about Hiring Talent. Watch for our new online program coming in March. Hiring Talent.

Question:
So how do you ask a question where you want to know if this person has drive? ambition? can focus on a long-term goal? Usually, that question, (Where do you see yourself in five years?) shows me, depending on how quickly they answer it, if this has been something they have thought about. If they hesitate, then I know they are making up the answer. If they rattle something off, I DO NOT CARE WHAT IT WAS, simply that they think like that and that was the purpose of the question for me. Do I still drop the question? Or can you give me a question that will assist me in knowing if they think on a long-term basis?

Response:
Whoa, pardner. You have packed a ton of questions all in the same place. So let me take them completely out of order.

“If they hesitate, then I know they are making up the answer.” STOP. You are making an interpretation. STOP interpreting. You didn’t go to school for it, you don’t have a degree in it, you are not certified to interpret. Don’t play amateur psychologist. You suck at it.

“If they rattle something off, I DO NOT CARE WHAT IT WAS, simply that they think like that.” WHAT? You are making an interpretation, again. I could, as easily, assume this person is a good bullshit artist, easily talks off the top of their head, a real empty suit. Wait, I am making an interpretation. STOP.

Let’s go back to the characteristics you are looking for. Drive, ambition, ability to focus on a long-term goal. And let’s make the assumption that these are game breakers.

I cannot interview for Drive. It is something inside a person that I cannot interview for. I can only interview for behavior. So all I have to do is ask myself the question. How does a person with Drive, behave? If I can make a short list of behaviors associated with Drive, now I can make some headway. All I have to do is interview for those behaviors.

• Takes on a challenging project, that no one else would take.
• Pushes a project forward in spite of adversity.
• Takes action, self-initiates action without being told. Executes appropriately without supervision.

You see, I can interview for those behaviors. I am looking for cold, hard evidence. Evidence that would stand up under a reference check, verifiable. And most importantly, I don’t have to interpret the response.