3 Simple Interview Questions — To Understand If Their Motivations Are A Good Fit

Problem: For anyone who has done it before hiring and recruiting can be a crazy mess. There are so many elements to it but what it boils down to, is “Who do you want on your team?” You want the right person to work with you and that is going to meet your expectations, whether you are hiring for a company, picking someone to join your project or just trying to understand someone’s motivations.

Purpose: Interviews are a great way to get to know a candidate and also understand who they are and what qualifications they have for the role. However there are so many different ways to interview a candidate and to figure out if the fit. Each method has its purpose in the conversation from case studies to behavioral questions. The following questions are aimed to get a layered understanding of, does this person’s motivations make them a good fit for the role and for the overall company. Here are the questions and the reasons why it helps out in an interview.

“What do you want out of this experience?”

• This question is there to under the motivations of the candidate and why they are here. You want to pay attention to if their motivations come across as authentic and if they somewhat align with what the organization is trying to achieve and possibly yours too.
• The answer to this question is also good to keep note of if you like the candidate. As a leader you want to know what personal goals your team is trying to achieve and being actively aware of if their work is bringing value to them.

“What makes you a good fit for this job?”

• You want to make sure that the person understands what is required of the role to be successful. This question is aimed to see if this person knows how they can actually get the job done. Pay attention to what skills and experience the person has to fit the role.

“How do you see yourself moving the team, or company forward?”

• This final questions is suppose to be a culture and organization fit. You want to make sure the person you are bringing on board is not only being hired to get the job done but also adding value in other aspects to your group. You want to see if they are care about the overall vision and goals of the organization. Think about how you would want someone to answer this question. Their answer doesn’t need to fit your script but you should feel like their work, personality and hopes for the group align in some fashion.

Putting it all together, when you ask these questions during an interview it will give you a better understanding of someone’s motivations. It shows if they have thought about how they can contribute to what you and the rest of your team are doing. You want a good fit, not only for the role but also for overall organization.