What are the best tools for testing candidates' motivation?

Motivation: a difficult concept to identify

When it comes to hard skills (e.g. technical skills) and soft skills (the candidate's ability to fit in with the work environment), recruiters know how to recognise and test candidates.

But when it comes to motivation, it gets more complex. While hard skills are easy to detect (technical skills can be formally demonstrated), what about motivation?

The motivation of candidates is a complex labyrinth to understand.

How do you know what the candidate really thinks about the job or the company? Is their enthusiasm real? It's not always easy for recruiters to detect a candidate's true feelings.

Companies are looking for safe candidates

Generally speaking, the company defines a good candidate as a motivated and competent individual who is able to fully embrace the corporate culture. A motivated candidate is likely to fit in more quickly, stay longer and be more productive…

So motivation is one of the key factors in recruiters' decisions.

Can we test candidates' motivation without scaring them away?

Recruiters seem to have found the solution to testing motivation. It's all about creating a challenging candidate pathway: personality test, situation role-playing, multiple interviews and so on.

But doesn't this complexity turn off good candidates?

Obviously, it depends on the skills required to succeed in a job or the employer brand's potential. Some people take the risk and don't regret it. For example, at mobile application designer Bam Tech, the recruitment process includes 3 technical tests and 5 interviews. According to Louis Le Mouel, Head of Talent Acquisition, this requirement is perfectly reasonable:

"Our employees have to be good technically, know how to work in a team and collaborate directly with customers. They end up becoming very well-rounded professionals. They generally leave our company for big jobs that they wouldn't have got without this triple skill set."

Of course, it all depends on your company and your needs.

Do the interview behaviors match the qualities described on the CV?

The link between CV and motivation needs to be examined. Recruiters pay attention to a number of signs, depending on what is mentioned on the CV.

When a candidate mentions "energetic" in his skills, the recruiter expects to see this quality shine through during interviews.

If the candidate is not at all energetic during the interview, the recruiter may wonder whether the candidate has exaggerated his qualities or whether he is lacking the foresight to know his own strengths and weaknesses.

How to avoid penalizing applicants who are not very confident orally but who are nevertheless motivated?

The use of non-verbal communication to measure a candidate's motivation has its limits. Some candidates, caught up in the stress and anxiety of the interview, can quickly lose their confidence despite being highly motivated.

If a candidate seems shy, hesitant in their answers, this doesn't prove their lack of motivation.

It may therefore be worth using tools to better identify candidates' motivation and give them a chance to prove it.

What tools can be used to detect candidates' motivation?

The formal interview: an essential tool for motivation screening

As the name suggests, the cover letter is used to show how keen you are to join a company in just a few paragraphs. But this exercise is losing its relevance because candidates often produce content based on a model that is always the same (or since a few years... AI tools to write cover letters for them).

Motivation is best demonstrated in the second phase of the recruitment process, during an interview.

Detect motivation with specific questions

The recruiter can ask a number of standard questions to get a better idea of the candidate's motivation (the list is not exhaustive):

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years' time?
• What is your ideal working environment?
• What motivated you to apply?
• What was your worst professional experience?
• Why should we choose you?
• Do you have any questions?

There are no "right" or "wrong" answers to these questions; their purpose is to better understand the expectations of candidates.

However, this exercise can seem quite off-putting for candidates, who feel they are repeating themselves each time (and therefore don't always give the most authentic answers).

Candidates often expect these "trick questions" and base their answers on what they think the recruiter wants to hear. In other words, if they are well prepared and well coached, candidates may succeed at this stage of the recruitment process without being particularly motivated for the job.

Could the interview be biased, depending on the candidate's level of preparation and verbal fluency? Yes and no.

A little information about the company is still an essential requirement.

Alexandre Guégo, co-founder of Pepit.io and recruiter explains:

"During an interview, it's not a question of "sifting through the candidate". On the other hand, if they haven't done their homework about the company, that's going to be a problem. The key is to make that effort. Then it's up to the recruiter to put stars in their eyes”.

Detect motivation through non-verbal communication during the interview

What the candidate wants to show - or hide - may be inconsistent with their non-verbal communication. So there are plenty of clues here!

The first element to take into account is obviously eye contact. Then the analysis focuses on :

• The candidate's posture (relaxed, tense)
• Attitude during the interview (pro-active or passive)
• Do they take notes during the interview? 📋
• Does he/she practise active listening? 👂
• The voice (tone and volume) 🎙️

Interpersonal skills are closely observed by recruiters, particularly when the candidate's job involves contact with customers.

Digital tools to detect a candidate's motivation

Many new digital recruitment tools have recently appeared, helping to detect the motivation of candidates while offering them an opportunity to reveal their personality in a much less intimidating way.

Pre-recorded video interview

The pre-recorded video interview doesn't happen in real time, so candidates can prepare as they wish and broadcast their video only when they are ready. In practice, the candidate receives a series of questions which they answer in video format.

The recruiter can decide to send the questions in advance. The candidate can redo the video as many times as the recruiter allows, giving the recruiter control.

The recruiters, on their side, can detect the candidates' behavioral skills during the video just as they would in an interview, except that they don't put stress on candidates who feel they are being observed!

Watching the video is also an opportunity to assess the degree of preparation. And above all, this stage allows you to make an initial selection: between those who are going to play the game and are therefore motivated and those who didn't have enough motivation to carry out the exercise.

👉 Identify your candidates' soft skills easily with our Pre-Recorded Video Interview tool.

E-assessment tools: online tests to identify a candidate's motivation

Candidates can receive online tests from e-assessment tools before or after the interview.

Candidates can answer a series of questionnaires on personality, motivation, logic and even creativity. Once again, if they respond positively and complete the tests, their motivation is already genuine.

There are two main test types:

• Situational exercises to certify technical skills
• Psychometric tests (personality, logic)

These tests provide a precise assessment of the candidate's attitude and personality.

More precisely, these tests are able to identify the candidate's driving forces, as well as the match between personality, skills and the vacancy.

Some candidates with less-than-perfect CVs can be "rescued" with the help of these tests. In this way, e-assessment promotes diversity and equal opportunity.

Jobdating escape game

The Escape game jobdating format is a gamification thing in which candidates are "prisoners" in a room 🚪. They have to solve enigmas to escape. At the end of the session they are usually invited to complete a one-to-one interview to discuss their experience.

This tool is particularly suitable for positions requiring managerial skills, resistance to pressure as well as listening skills.

The recruitment process is a bit forgotten and candidates are more easily able to express their personal aptitudes and personality skills.

This method helps to understand team behavior, which is very useful to assess for managerial and sales positions for example.

• Who will step forward and show their leadership skills?
• Who will take a back seat?
• Who's very creative?
• Who can resist pressure?

Job interview scenarios

Recruiters can use a simulation of one or more professional situations during the interview to assess a candidate's motivation.

The aim is to analyze the candidate's determination, motivation and resilience when faced with complex situations.

However, this practice has its limits. Faced with dramatization and theatrics, candidates may feel embarrassed, preventing them from displaying all their qualities.

At cybersecurity specialist Wallix, sales profiles all go through this stage to reveal their potential. Salomé Ragot, Talent Acquisition Manager, explains:

"The process is less standardized than for a technical profile. So we can have fun at interviews. We love what we do and we show it! We propose to the candidate a situation where he/she can sell us our product or the old product he/she's used to. We tease them a little bit by playing the role of the recalcitrant prospect."

Online jobdating

Online jobdating is an online recruitment session generally lasting a day or half-day.

Companies and candidates meet via videoconferencing, in the form of individual or group job interviews in ten-minute sessions. ⏲️

Companies and candidates meet on this occasion without necessarily knowing each other.

For recruiters, the time saved on this kind of interview is considerable. It also enables them to renew their pool of candidates, by attracting profiles who would not initially have applied to them.

Recruiters do not rely on the CV or cover letter, but on the exchange of ideas to help them get an idea of the candidate. Candidates are able to showcase their personalities.

However, this practice is only relevant for highly sought-after positions that will generate high volumes of applications.