Can Interviews Assess Candidates' Passion?

At some time in their career, every manager has dealt with a difficult situation where they employ a candidate with excellent credentials and a proven track record, only to discover that they are unmotivated, disruptive, and disengaged once they start working. Unfortunately, it is notoriously difficult and unreliable to evaluate a candidate's passion using only the interview. To assist you to add some certainty to the process, use the following tactics.

People that are enthusiastic tend to be passionate about everything, both at work and in their free time. Determine the candidate's degree of excitement by learning what they enjoy doing on their own time. Be wary of candidates whose interests seem to be a continuation of their professions, such as marketing professionals who spend their free time listening to business podcasts. These applicants could lack the variety of experiences required to have a significant influence at your business.

It's not necessary to work only for a living to be passionate about your profession. The workers who are most committed really tend to carefully balance their personal and professional lives. They invest so much time and energy into their profession that they naturally require and crave time to unwind, rest, and recharge. Those who can't or don't usually work themselves to the bone and lose motivation.

A candidate that is genuinely devoted to their profession will aspire to do even more in the future. Inquire about their goals over the next five to 10 years. It shows that they truly enjoy what they do if they say they would prefer to have greater responsibilities and challenging tasks rather than just a better title and bigger compensation.

When someone is passionate about something, they are frequently eager to take risks, engage in the unknown, attempt new things, and go above and beyond. Rarely are passionate individuals characterized as upholding the status quo. Ask the applicant to discuss a period when they needed courage in their professional life. When you hear a wonderful response, you'll know it.

During the interview, passion is one thing to look for, but it's not the only one. Throughout the interview, your prospect will give you hints about what, if anything, they are enthusiastic about. Choose the subjects that they seem most interested in discussing by observing their body language and listening to how they speak. It's a safe bet that they will bring a healthy level of passion to the workplace if they freely display enthusiasm and seem to be enthused about the precise things your open position requires.