It seems like every applicant to our store lists “hard working” as one of their attributes. But if they really were “hard working”, why would they be looking for a part-time, seasonal job in a toy store?

Here are two questions you can use to see how much hard work your applicants are willing to do.

• What accomplishment are you most proud of? Tells you whether they take pride in hard work, talent, dumb luck or any combination of the above. If their pride is in something they worked hard to achieve, you know they’re capable of doing hard work and will take pride in the hard work they do for you.
• What is the hardest task you have to do in your current (previous) job? Easiest? Tells you what they think of as hard work and what they find fun and enjoyable. If your hardest tasks fall into the fun and enjoyable category for them – hire ’em!

Hard work is a subjective notion. Until you know how they define hard work, you’ll never know if your applicants are willing to work as hard as you need.

Note: If you have questions you’ve used on this subject that have proven effective, please share. The more questions we can put in our interviewing arsenal the better.

-Phil