How often have you encountered candidates who, on paper, seem perfect but lack the passion and drive that aligns with your organization’s greater purpose?
How do you distinguish between those simply looking for a job and those who genuinely want to contribute to your company’s journey?
As leaders and managers, you understand the significance of assessing a candidate’s ‘why’ – that intrinsic motivation propelling their professional aspirations.
How can you ensure that every new addition to your team resonates with your company’s ethos and values, fostering a culture of purpose-driven work?
Let’s explore answers to these challenges in a structured hiring policy manual for leaders for evaluating candidates – one that goes beyond the conventional checkboxes and traditional skill assessments.

Objective:

To determine if candidates are aligned with our company’s “why” and if they have a strong personal “why” motivating their career and leadership aspirations.

1. Testing Methodology

1.1 Personal Statement:

Personal statements act as detailed run-downs of who the candidate is – their professional motivations, passions, long-term goals, career expectations, skills, and potential growth trajectory. Ask candidates to send a personal statement to gauge their emotional quotient, skills, aspirations, and more.

1.2 Interview Questions:

Quit assessing candidates like robots! With AI tools segwaying into almost all job roles, you need to assess if the candidate can adapt to dynamic market and technological conditions. These three questions will give you an insight into a candidate’s personality:
  • “Can you describe a project or role where you felt truly motivated, not just by the outcome but by the underlying purpose?”
  • “What would you say is your professional ‘why’? What drives you in your career?”
  • “How does our company’s mission align with your personal or professional ‘why’?”

1.3 Scenario-based Question:

Dig into role-specific pitfalls that your team has encountered and make them into scenario-based questions for the candidate. You’d be surprised by the innovative and creative solutions/answers you get with this tactic.

2. Scoring System

2.1 Personal Statement:

Rating personal statements can help you select the best fit for the role and filter out the rest! Here’s how you could possibly rate the candidate’s submission:
  • Strong Alignment (10 marks): Clear demonstration of a personal “why”, alignment with the company’s “why”, and evidence of past decisions influenced by this “why”.
  • Partial Alignment (5 marks): Some demonstration of a personal “why”, but may lack depth or clear connection to the company’s mission.
  • Weak Alignment (0 marks): Little to no mention of personal “why” or alignment with the company’s mission.

2.2 Interview Questions:

As an interviewer, you get to know when a candidate is playing by the book, and when they’re being real. Here’s how you can rate candidates based on the answers they give in their interviews:
  • Strong Alignment (10 marks): Provides a detailed, genuine response that clearly demonstrates a deep understanding and connection to their “why”.
  • Partial Alignment (5 marks): Provides an answer that touches upon their “why” but may lack depth or clarity.
  • Weak Alignment (0 marks): Unable to articulate a clear “why” or provide a superficial answer.

2.3 Scenario-based Question:

This is where things get interesting! There are no right or wrong answers here. That said, you can still go ahead and rate the candidate based on how natural they are while answering.
  • Strong Alignment (10 marks): This provides an approach driven by a strong underlying purpose and clearly connects the project’s goals to their personal/professional “why”.
  • Partial Alignment (5 marks): This gives an approach based somewhat on purpose but might be more task-oriented.
  • Weak Alignment (0 marks): The approach is purely task-oriented with no evident connection to a deeper “why”.

3. Determining the Perfect Fit

3.1 Total Score Calculation:

The report card you can’t wait to get your hands on! The last and final step is to sum the marks from each section and find the perfect fit. Maximum possible score: 100 marks.

3.2 Interpretation

These brackets are created purely on the basis of hypothetical assumptions. You are at absolute liberty to alter based on your business goals and requirements.
  • 80-100 marks: Highly Aligned Candidate – Strongly embodies the philosophy of working with a purpose and is in sync with the company’s “why”.
  • 40-79 marks: Moderately Aligned Candidate – Shows some understanding and alignment but might benefit from further alignment training.
  • 0-39 marks: Poorly Aligned Candidate – Likely not a fit for the company’s culture and philosophy based on the importance of “why”.
I hope this guideline provides you with a structured approach to evaluate a candidate’s alignment with the company’s “why” and their own personal motivations.
Got some thoughts on it? Hit me up at Sachin@amsinform.com