Uncover a Candidate’s Motivation
Finding the right candidate to fill a job opening in the mental health sector is a multifaceted process. The person you hire will impact patients’ lives, so you have to dig deep. Someone might look great on paper, but if they’re not motivated by factors consistent with your company culture, they’re not right for your team.
There’s no shortage of open-ended interview questions centered on motivation, including “How do you define career success” and the more direct “What motivates you?” Asking these types of questions is a must, because people can’t perform at optimal levels unless they’re truly inspired.
Your patients deserve the best, so you need a team of employees who can’t imagine dedicating their career to anything but the mental health sector. When you find out what motivates a candidate, you’re better equipped to determine if they’re right for the job.
Evaluate Their Passion
Anyone with the correct skills can do a job, but your mental health facility is better than that. When you hire someone focused solely on a paycheck, the work is nothing but a job to them. They’ll do the bare minimum to get by, but don’t expect them to exceed your expectations.
Conversely, if you choose a professional truly committed to helping others, they’ll give their all to the position. These people really want to make a difference in patients’ lives, so they’ll come to work each day motivated to improve patient lives.
A hunger for the work is something candidates either have or they don’t. You need to understand where their passion lies to determine whether they’re someone who will elevate or lower the quality of care your patients receive.
Identify Cultural Fit
If a candidate isn’t motivated by your company culture, they won’t reach peak performance. Learning about the type of work environment, management style, and values that drive the person to succeed is essential. For example, a candidate who feels most inspired when they’re able to accomplish a project on their own terms, probably won’t be best for a mental health job, because so much of it involves teamwork. When a person truly meshes with the team, they’re driven to do their very best work for the common good.
Gauge Long-Term Goals
Adding a new person to your mental health team is a big deal. The last thing you want to do is have to repeat the process in a short period of time, because your new hire wasn’t fully committed to the work.
Understanding a candidate’s long-term goals can help curb this issue, because people truly invested in the mental health field want to be there. On the other hand, someone just looking for a job will likely head out as soon as a more interesting opportunity comes along. Long-term goals and motivation are closely linked, because people tend to stick around when they’re on a path that aligns with their career aspirations.
Discovering a candidate’s true motivation is a crucial to making a great hire. To learn more about how we can help you find top behavioral health talent, contact us today at (513) 651-9500 or by email at [email protected].