Dr John Sullivan Talent Management Thought Leadership

Fortunately, candidates who are passionate about working at your company provide many benefits. First, a candidate who is passionate about your company will remain fully engaged for years.

Second, these candidates should also be prioritized because the best managers frequently refuse to hire candidates who fail to demonstrate their deep knowledge and, yes, passion for your company. 

A third benefit arises from the passionate candidate’s strong commitment and understanding of your organization. The hiring manager won’t have to sell them on accepting a job if it’s offered. And once hired, that same strong commitment will consistently motivate the new hire to outperform without any nudging from their manager.

Finally, their loyalty will also prevent your passionate new hires from becoming a turnover risk. It is this combination of benefits that justifies prioritizing the identification and hiring of these passionate candidates who are laser-focused on securing a job at your company.

Defining A “Passionate Candidate” Who Is Laser-Focused On Working At Your Company

Today, based on the breadth of a job search, all applicants can be grouped into two categories.

I call the first group “shotgunners.” They shotgun or spam their resumes (often with the help of AI) to every company that has a relevant job. In contrast, the second, much rarer group is made up of candidates who are only interested in working at a handful of select companies. I call this group “passionate laser-focused candidates.” Their focus is solely on getting their next job at a short list of select companies they are passionate about.

In fact, having and sticking to their “focused list” is one of the key indicators that you have a passionate, laser-focused candidate. Only the most desirable candidates can afford to limit their applications severely because of their confidence in becoming finalists wherever they apply.

You can quickly identify which of your candidates has a “laser-focused company list” by simply asking them during their first interview. “Honestly, how many companies have you applied to during the last month?” The answer that you’re looking for is between one and five.

A Checklist Of The Top Indicators That A Candidate Is Passionate About Your Company

Fortunately, through my research, I have found that the best way to ensure that you consistently hire candidates who have a passion for your company is to first prioritize the hiring of these candidates. By putting together a checklist of indicators, recruiters and hiring managers can easily assess the level of each candidate’s passion, knowledge, and focus on your company.

The following list contains the top indicators of a candidate’s passion and compelling interest in your company. The most powerful indicators appear early in the list.

• They reveal that they have a select list of companies that they are focused on – as previously mentioned. You can quickly identify your passionate candidates who are laser-focused on working at your company. By asking them during an interview, “How many companies have you applied to during the last month?” (and the optimal number is between one and five).
• They have been a finalist candidate at your company before – when a candidate has applied in the past and made it to the finalist level. It’s safe to assume that their willingness to apply again reveals that they have maintained their passion for your company.
• They have worked here before – if a candidate has previously worked at your company (or one of its partners/affiliates) as an employee, temp, or intern. The fact that they still have good memories of that experience means that they should be prioritized.
• An employee referred them – because most employees will gauge a prospect’s passion, knowledge, and interest in the company before making them a referral. Candidates who are now or have previously been referred by an employee should be prioritized. 
• They are one of your customers – the fact that a candidate is also a retail customer means that they have had two chances to develop a passion for your company. You can run candidate names through your customer loyalty database in order to find out which ones are also customers. Or you can inquire about their customer status during one of their interviews. 
• They have completed in-depth research into your company – honestly, you want to prioritize candidates who have sufficient passion to do deep research into your company. So alert everyone involved to be on the lookout for indications that the candidate has done in-depth research on your company. 
• Their enthusiasm and passion for your company should be unmistakable – in many cases, everyone can agree that it’s clear from conversations, interviews, and their cover letter. The candidate has an exceptionally high level of enthusiasm and passion for your company. 
• The candidate is clearly highly responsive – any candidate who is clearly passionate about your company will reveal that enthusiasm by arriving early to meetings and responding promptly to all company requests and messages.
• They have applied for one of your jobs before – when a candidate previously applied, and even after being rejected, chooses to apply again, consider it a clear demonstration of their passion for your company.
• They share your company’s values – because passion may not be enough. It’s also important to know if the candidate’s values and what motivates them are closely aligned with your company’s values. Because that alignment will drive long-term tenure and full engagement. So conduct a values check when you interview each finalist by giving each candidate a list of 5 to 7 job-attraction factors that fit your company. Then ask the candidate to force-rank them so that they reflect their own values as an employee. Only feel confident about the candidate’s passion level if they rank ‘I greatly admire this company’ higher than pay, benefits, and job security. And give extra points to finalist candidates that most closely mirror your company’s values. 

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Additional Indicators That You Have a Laser-Focused Candidate

There are several other slightly weaker indicators that will reveal whether your candidate has a high level of passion for working at your company. 

• They submitted a tailored cover letter and resume – another indicator that you have a focused and passionate candidate is when it’s clear that their cover letter was tailored specifically to your company. They are also likely to be laser-focused and passionate when it’s clear that the candidate has tailored their resume to fit your specific job requirements. And in all cases, it is clear that the resume wasn’t submitted by an AI agent.

• They applied on your company’s website or at one of your career events – laser-focused candidates will likely apply directly to your company’s website (instead of a job board). Alternatively, they may reveal their passion by sending their application directly to the hiring manager. A few laser-focused candidates will submit their resumes at one of your company’s career events.

• They never use the phrase “to whom it may concern” – candidates can show their in-depth research into the company by using the actual names or company titles at the beginning of all messages sent to the company. This means that no one involved in recruiting will ever receive a communication or message from a passionate candidate that includes the phrase “to whom it may concern.”

How A Candidate Should Select Their Laser-Focused List Of Companies

If you are considering becoming a laser-focused candidate yourself, your first step should be to make a list of the elements that make working at a company compelling to you. Those elements that should contribute to a candidate’s passion may come from the company’s reputation, track record, values, ethics, and the way it does business. The candidate should then rely on that research to guide their selection of the handful of top companies (no more than five) that they should apply to. 

Obviously, the candidate must devote most of their job-search time to building the strongest application for each target company. These more powerful applications will demonstrate a candidate’s deep knowledge and passion for the company. A laser-focused applicant will also tailor their cover letter, resume, and interview responses to the expectations of each individual target company.

Final Thoughts

Managers have wanted to hire passionate people for centuries. However, in the past, many have been reluctant to prioritize the hiring of passionate candidates, primarily because the level of a candidate’s passion was hard to measure.

Through my research and practice, I have determined that there is a relatively easy alternative way to gauge a candidate’s passion for working at your company. And that is through the specific job search behaviors that separate the passionate from the barely interested. I urge you to try this checklist so that you can determine whether the design of your hiring process is causing you to miss most of your highly valuable ‘passionate candidates.’

Thank you for setting aside the time to read and share this article.

Notes for the reader

This is the latest article from Dr. Sullivan, who was called “the Michael Jordan of Hiring” by Fast Company.
You can subscribe to his Aggressive Talent Management newsletter (which focuses on recruiting tools, current recruiting opportunities, and recruiting trends). Either here or by following him on LinkedIn.