When hiring, how can you tell if a candidate would be willing to go the extra mile?

That may be a tough nut to crack. My best advice and what I practice is to ask strongly worded behavioral questions asking the candidate for specific examples of when/how they have gone the extra mile in a work setting. I want specific examples and will ask follow upquestions until I am satisfied!

I will then ask the same questions of the candidates references to see what is uncovered there as well.

Caty, you asked another question the other day that dovetails completely with this one. The drive and team motivation of a candidate is in my opinion more important than current skill level, for the reason Shaleen stated. A driven employee will learn. A skilled but not driven employee stands a good chance of stagnating. Your previous question dealt with interviewers' most revealing question, and is found here

http://www.focus.com/questions/your-opinion-whats-most-revealing-interview-qu...

I really think many of the responders to that question missed the inherent depth of thought it requires, for traits like the one you are stressing in this question are what interviewers ought to be looking for from the beginning.

Rather than rewriting my comment from that post, please click the link above. In synopsis of what I wrote there, though, there is absolutely no question an interviewer can ask that will yield the result you are asking for, because interviewees prepare (if they don't prepare, you don't really want them anyway, do you?) and they are ready to answer any type of question you throw at them. The ONLY way to pull this sort of thing up from the deep well of our candidate is to devise a scenario and run your candidate through every step of it until you can discern with accuracy how they will behave and respond. You have to lead them into a situation that has no right or wrong answer, the outcome of which cannot be predicted, and from which they cannot escape by any pat means.

I have been assisting managers to create and run these scenarios for many years, and have yet to hear of a candidate hired this way failing to meet expectations. After the scenario is complete, I often tell candidates what I learned about them from the exercise, good and bad. Even the candidates themselves have been shocked how accurately the process painted them.

Ron I hate to disagree, but references cannot be relied on to tell the story, especially if the candidate came from a very large company. Some will, but the larger the company, the less likely they are to open themselves to liability by revealing anything negative about the prospect, except for the legally acceptable comment that they would not hire the candidate again. I have coached more than one manager who has received cease and desist orders for sharing such information.

Together, let's put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com

Agree with Shaleen. "passion' is the biggest motivator. It is the 'inner drive' which makes one go the extra mile. Not always easy to gauge during the process of interview. There are various signals which could be sensed by the interviewer, for example the body language of the candidate, whether the candidate is eager to take on certain challenging questions, develop certain case study modules or a psychometric test to gauge such indicators. Most obvious of them all is the 'twinkle in the eye'.

The 'potential' is anyday important to challenge a person to rise above the workable norm. Sometimes such candidates can come up with weird answers, which may seem usurious at the time.Though if given a thought, this could be an indication on the 'out of the box' thinking of such a candidate. Throw rapid fire questions, indicate the importance of the role being interviewed for, test the willingness of the candidate to do more than just being a 'yes men' & survive the job.

Going the extra mile need not always exactly mean climbing mountains. It could start from as small as a lower hierarchy employee welcoming a guest with a glass of water & being hospitable, without being told or trained to do so. It shows the level of involvement & sincerity which the candidate carries towards the job.

This is a recent blog that I wrote that I think will help to answer the question.

One of the great adages of hiring is: “We hire people for what they know and we fire them for who they are.”

To do a better job of hiring, we need to focus more of the applicant’s attitudes and personality traits rather than on skills. One area of focus should be “readiness” (Definition: Prepared or available for service, action, or progress; Mentally disposed; willing; Likely or about to do something; Prompt in apprehending or reacting).

Does the applicant exhibit a readiness to:

Learn and apply new ideas?
Change and adapt?
Respond positively to correction or criticism?
Listen?

Check his goals and work ethic... it's part of his "outlook".

In behavioral based interviews, we may ask that very question, “Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty” or “tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help someone else” or something along that line. Then as a recruiter or hiring manager we determine if the situation and effort is meaningful, relevant and applicable to what is required in the position and in our organization. Is the situation authentic or contrived? Was there discretionary effort involved in the approach? Was there a personal sacrifice in the effort? I have personally witnessed individuals shirk their duty to participate in emergency preparedness during hurricane alert. Then there were the heroes who were in place, worked extremely long hours through very difficult circumstances to provide patient care. My point is that when the chips are down, what will the individual do and how will they respond when they are really held to the fire?
Yes above and beyond requires passion. Engagement. Commitment. There are also elements of basic character traits of integrity and accountability.
So some things to think about as you prepare interview questions:

What does above and beyond mean to you as the hiring manager? Situation, frequency, approach?
What does it mean to your organization?
What are your specific job examples that you use as your benchmark?
Are any of your “above and beyond” opportunities really elements of meeting performance expectations? Example, participating in emergency preparedness, working long hours during quarter end reporting, or routinely helping teammates in difficult situations? Or is your “above and beyond” what it takes to exceed expectations?