Top Recruiting Agency Shares Key Candidate Motivations

What inspires you? What motivates you at work? What energizes you and makes you want to go to work each day? Finding a candidate’s motivations is vital to a successful placement for a top recruiting agency. Beyond work experience and knowledge, understanding how a candidate views success will aid in job satisfaction, productivity, and ultimately retention.

“The intersection of what [employees] aspire to do, [what they] are good at and [what] would benefit the organization is where you start matching the employee to impactful initiatives that they are well-suited for,” says Julie Zhuo, author of The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You (Portfolio, 2019).

Compensation

This is the most obvious motivation. Every job candidate expects to trade work for dollars. That’s the deal. And since they believe their contributions will be valuable, they expect to be appropriately compensated through salary, and often a comprehensive benefits package and/or perks. But a top recruiting agency understands that while this is a primary candidate motivation for applying for and accepting a position, it is not the sole factor.

A sense of purpose
Employees who are seeking a sense of purpose value being rewarded for their hard work and dedication. You have probably heard that millennials are especially motivated by finding purpose in their work. According to Great Places to Work, “When millennials believe their work has meaning—that it’s more than ‘just a job’—they are three times more likely to stay. And they’re nearly two times more likely to stay if they feel their voice is valued, regardless of their position.” Of course, employees belonging to other generations may also be motivated by finding meaning in their work and being able to make a difference. A top recruiting agency relies on a variety of tools to determine an individual’s career motivations, including having a sense of purpose in their career.

Being part of a team

The synergy created by a team of passionate individuals using their diverse strengths and perspectives to achieve a common goal is a draw for some job candidates. This type of collaboration enhances productivity while fostering innovation. To make the best match, a top recruiting agency seeks out candidates that not only have the necessary skills but also are motivated by collaboration.

Leadership, accountability, and responsibility

Some job candidates prefer to take ownership of a project and guide the team’s success. They seek out roles that allow them to establish processes, make important decisions, and direct others. These employees value having the freedom to follow their vision and promotions validate their achievements.

Creativity
Still others seek out opportunities for innovation. These are the candidates a top recruiting agency matches with workplaces that encourage creativity, are supportive, encourage out-of-the-box thinking, and offer opportunities for learning and growth. Having ownership of their ideas, and the freedom to make mistakes, can give employees a sense of agency and improve retention.

Interview questions to assess motivation
Here are a few interview questions a top recruiting agency like TriStarr might ask to determine a candidate’s motivations:

• What energizes you at work? What makes you excited to come in every day?
• Tell me about a time you were not happy with your work. How did you handle the situation?
• What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
• What is the best team you ever worked on? Why?
• Tell me about a time you had complete control over a project or situation. What did you like or dislike about the experience? What was the outcome?
• Describe a time you had to use out-of-the-box thinking.

Behavioral assessments

A top recruiting agency may also use behavioral assessments to determine a candidate’s motivations as well as assess important soft skills, such as communication, adaptability, and work ethic. According to Indeed, types of behavior assessments include:

• Multiple-choice questions that let candidates choose what they consider to be the most appropriate answer
• Rating scale questions that allow candidates to select a number that most accurately represents their response
• Adjective checklists that ask candidates to choose words that describe expected actions or how they view themselves
• Open-ended questions that let candidates write brief answers
• One-way video interviews that have candidates record answers to video questions.

The talent acquisition specialists at TriStarr, a top recruiting agency in Central Pennsylvania, utilize many of these proven candidate evaluation processes, behavior assessments, and detailed candidate profiles to give employers the information they need to make smart hiring decisions.

Learn more from a top recruiting agency
Since 1989, TriStarr has been providing temp, temp-to-hire, and direct hire placements as well as HR solutions from our offices in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Our full-service staffing and recruiting agency, connects good people with top employers. Learn more by contacting our team of hiring experts online or by calling us at 717-560-2111.