“Passion” may seem like an overused word in the business world – but there’s a good reason for its popularity. Being fully committed to and caring deeply about what you do produces the highest-quality results.
Building a culture of employees who truly embrace their work starts during the hiring process. It’s easy to assess whether an individual has the necessary skills and qualifications for a job. But when capability, passion and cultural fit align, then you have found your ideal hire!
How to Identify Passionate Candidates
You can greatly enhance the performance of a team – or a company – by hiring the right people, who drive success because they love what they do. Pinpoint candidates who meet this requirement by:
- Learning about their hobbies and interests: Discover what a candidate sincerely enjoys doing, outside of work. Passionate people show unbridled enthusiasm when sharing details of what they do, both at work and in their spare time. If all their hobbies are work oriented, they are probably not the employee you’re seeking, because they may not bring diverse thinking to their role.
- Assessing their ability to maintain a work-life balance: Ask candidates how much they value equilibrium between their work and personal life. Those who know how to both work hard and play hard tend to make the best team members.
- Discussing their professional growth goals: A great question to ask is, “If we were to hire you, what would you see yourself doing here three years from now?” Their response should provide clues that they are growth and advancement oriented.
- Measuring their capacity for generosity: Passionate people like to see – and help – others to succeed. Ask potential hires if they do community volunteer work outside of their work day.
- Testing their bravery: Individuals with drive and passion often also are courageous. Ask your candidates to describe situations where they had to display true bravery and hard work in order to succeed in their previous positions.
- Finding out what thrills them: Passionate people show great emotion when talking about the things that make them tick. Note areas of the conversation where a candidate gets excited.
Key Questions to Ask
When interviewing, look for self awareness. The best candidates inherently understand their own strengths and weaknesses. Ask deep, open-ended questions that lead them to reflect on how and why they make decisions. Don’t settle for having them tell you what they would do … You want to know what they have already done.
Additional questions you may want to include in your interview are:
- What work projects have you most enjoyed? Ask for two or three specific examples.
- What parts of your work have energized you the most? Why?
- What work projects have you least enjoyed? Why?
- Describe a situation where you didn’t give up on an idea, despite opposition from others.
If you’re looking for driven, passionate candidates in accounting and related financial fields, consider partnering with Talent Bridge for your human capital solutions in the Charlotte market and beyond. We can help flesh out your hiring strategy and exceed your needs for temporary, temporary-to-permanent and direct hire staffing. Contact us today to learn more.