Clients often ask what they should look for in applicants. Most default to education and technical skills. Those matter — but they’re not what separates good employees from great ones. I always recommend they also look for character traits like optimism, flexibility, resilience, and grit.
Ask any manager what they want most from their employees. Before they mention technical competencies, they almost always say two things: (#1) show up every day, and (#2) work hard, persevere, and finish the job.
· Number 1 is strength of character. Number 2 is strength of will.
o Strength of character includes courage, integrity, resilience, and honesty.
o Strength of will is the ability to stay focused, manage emotions, honor commitments, and push through difficulty.
Isn’t that what you want in your employees? If the answer is yes — and it should be — here are two practical behavioral interview questions that reveal each:
1. “Tell me about a time when you were under intense pressure to hit a deadline, but doing so would have meant compromising quality or your personal ethics. What did you do?”
· Why it works: It forces a choice between will (get it done) and character (do it right).
· Character Indicators: Integrity, honesty, accountability, empathy.
2. “Describe a project that failed or a time you received significant negative feedback. How did you react, and what steps did you take afterward?”
· Why it works: It tests emotional resilience and humility (character) and the drive to improve (will).
· Will Indicators: Persistence, proactivity, solution‑orientation, stress management.
It’s simple — but breaking old interview habits is not. Talk with your hiring managers about adding these questions to the technical ones they already use. Have them practice. Encourage them to try these in their next round of interviews and see whether they uncover more well‑rounded candidates.
My experience is that they will. Let them try and come to their own conclusions today.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 – 1948): Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule.[1]
[1] He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (from Sanskrit, meaning great-souled, or venerable), first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is used worldwide.
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