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Column This interview question will help you find the kind of person you want to hire

How to find successful and high-performing workers…

MOST JOB INTERVIEWS tend to focus on how a given candidate will perform in the office, but it might be just as useful to ask interviewees what they will do once they no longer have to work.

In a post on LinkedIn, Taproot Foundation founder Aaron Hurst explains that asking a job candidate, “How would you describe your ideal retirement,” can give you valuable insight into how a person thinks about work — a crucial determinant of whether that person will be a fit for your company.

According to Hurst, the question will help you figure out which of three groups a person falls into in terms of their attitude toward working:

1. The TGIF Crowd: This group sees work as a means to an end — nothing more, nothing less. They’re always looking forward to the weekend and would almost definitely quit their jobs if they won the lottery.

2. The Status-Seekers: These people see work as a way of gaining social status and prestige. They’re working to give themselves a positive identity and to show their peers how well they’re doing.

3. The Purpose-Driven Employees: These people find work meaningful in and of itself, and see their careers as a way of creating good in the world. They can’t stand the idea of not working.

Hurst writes that this third group tends to be the most successful and highest-performing workers, making them the sort of people you want to look for.

“My goal is to build a team of loyal, collaborative, innovative, high performers with high well-being,” he writes. “That is why this question has risen to the top of my interview list.”

– 

This is the best way to answer when an interviewer says ‘tell me about yourself’

Does what you wear to a job interview matter?

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    Mute John Meade
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    May 9th 2014, 8:08 PM

    My daughter is six now, i can still remember driving her home from Holles Street and being nervous behind the wheel for the first time since i learned to drive back in the early 90′s. i was there when she spoke her first words and took her first steps, now i’m barred from her room as “Its not for boys”. Its amazing how they grow and mature and develop their own personality’s in front of your eyes, its hard work but i wouldn’t change it for ANYTHING. Being a Dad is the coolest thing in the world.

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    Mute Rick Grimes
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    May 9th 2014, 8:22 PM

    Coolest thing ever? Your life must have been pretty lame before you had your daughter

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    Mute Paul Sweeney
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    May 9th 2014, 8:56 PM

    Rick, you are a dick.

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    Gary
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    Mute Gary
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    May 9th 2014, 8:58 PM

    Ah Rick, you have set up a new twitter account for the sole purpose of trolling and you claim John Meade’s life must have been pretty lame prior to having children. You poor silly boy.

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    Mute Brendan Boyd
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    May 9th 2014, 9:09 PM

    Very perceptive of you Gary, no fooling you.

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    Gary
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    Mute Gary
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    May 9th 2014, 9:20 PM

    Well done Brendan, that was a pointless comment. But whatever floats your boat I guess.

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    May 9th 2014, 7:48 PM

    Deadly…kids are what’s life’s about, when you get older the rest is just shallow…well IMO.

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    Mute Rick Grimes
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    May 9th 2014, 7:53 PM

    You are a woman. Your body is built to breed kids and your brain is hard wired to want kids.

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    Mute Jimbo
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    May 9th 2014, 7:55 PM

    If you’re a slave to evolution maybe.

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    May 9th 2014, 7:56 PM

    Nobody in this day needs to be a slave to evolution, it’s called contraception.

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    Mute Jimbo
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    May 9th 2014, 7:58 PM

    It’s also evolution that makes you want to have children.

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    Mute Tommy C
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    May 9th 2014, 8:24 PM

    Rick plenty of women dont want kids.

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    Mute Rick Grimes
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    May 9th 2014, 8:29 PM

    Tommy – that’s not even kind of true. There ain’t no fighting evolution

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    Mute art vandelay
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    May 9th 2014, 9:56 PM

    I agree, but after only after the fact..Before I had kids I thought no way,I’m not ready,I’ve so much stuff I need to do first,my life will be over when I have kids,am I even sure I want to be with this woman for the rest of my life,I’m not cut out for that responsibility etc etc. now I have two I couldn’t imagine life without them. Even though they can be right little w@nkers at times…

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    Mute whitesloe
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    May 10th 2014, 8:39 AM

    I’d say you’ve heard your ma sigh and say that when she reads your posts on the Internet.

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    Mute Jen Murtagh
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    May 11th 2014, 9:19 AM

    Your comment is so witty you felt the need to repeat it??

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    Gary
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    Mute Gary
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    May 9th 2014, 7:54 PM

    Wait until you have two Patrick. I’m enjoying the “dinner on table, wife still on maternity leave” period also but it all ends in a few weeks. Enjoy.

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    Mute fergal ohagan
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    May 9th 2014, 8:00 PM

    Wait til you have 3, just getting to eat in peace is a luxury!!!

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    Mute Niall o' Sullivan
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    May 9th 2014, 8:07 PM

    That’s where grandparents and sister in laws can be a life saver from time to time when you need a break.

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    Mute Anne Marie Malone
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    May 9th 2014, 7:44 PM

    Love this update!!

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    Mute Niall o' Sullivan
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    May 9th 2014, 7:45 PM

    Ya big wuss.

    By the time my daughter was your daughter’s age I was out in Spain with her and flying back with just the two of us.

    The only one that needs to do the weaning is you man. You don’t need women. Trust me, if you want to make the missus jealous and have HER doing all the housework instead of you, all you have to do is become the real primary parent. It’ll drive herself crazy if you are fully independent with the baby. Bonkers. Trust me, I’m further on down that road than you are as a the stay at home to a 2.5 year old.

    When you reach true autonomy, she’ll get so jealous, guilty, and feel so useless, she’ll try to compensate by doing ALL the housework ALL the time.

    Christ man. You’ve a lot to learn :)

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    Mute LittleBlackPetal
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    May 9th 2014, 8:09 PM

    Wow, you’re a real catch!

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    Mute Niall o' Sullivan
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    May 9th 2014, 8:11 PM

    Yep. Have it nailed down pretty nicely if I may say so myself :)

    You can be sure she’s saying the same kinda thing in reverse to all her female friends at work :)

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    Mute Brendan Boyd
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    May 9th 2014, 8:37 PM

    Niall you sound mental. Why are you so driven to make your wife feel jealous and useless?

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    Mute Imogene Blignaut-O'Brien
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    May 9th 2014, 8:46 PM

    Yeah because every woman wants a guy that makes her feel useless. Well done for getting in spectacularly wrong.

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    Mute Niall o' Sullivan
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    May 9th 2014, 11:17 PM

    OK Imogen. Clearly, (to me at least) I was joking. Maybe it was too subtle, or brash, and I should have added loads of smiley faces and reversed the genders in parts in my post. Then you may have viewed it differently. I know my partner would have found it funny, so perhaps it didn’t translate here.

    “Yeah because every woman wants a guy that makes her feel useless.”

    Therein lies the rub. It’s not a question of trying to make someone feel useless. It can happen anyway for a period of time when traditional roles are reversed, or when the mother goes back to work

    At the exact point the author is at above with childrearing, I was there too, as was my partner in the recent past. I wasn’t trying to dismiss him at all, I was trying to encourage him. Granted, it was a poor attempt and very insensitive.

    The author’s wife has just gone back to work post maternity. A lot of women feel guilty about that. For me, as a stay at home father, it took me years before having a child to mentally prepare for the reversal of traditional roles and get my head around it.

    Perhaps I found the article almost funny in parts because I’m so hands on at this point. Perhaps I was also reacting to the author’s reality, where he seems to consider himself via the article and IMO , a third party almost to mother and child. That’s why I wanted to include him. He’s her father and not secondary.

    But IMO this article was written by someone that considers himself outside the loop of mother and child, If I wanted to hear about his wife’s experience, I can read about womens experience of going back to work or motherhood everywhere and all over the net.

    I saw the picture of Caitlin before I read the article, and the first thing I thought when I saw the red cheeks was ‘she’s teething’.

    ‘First time dad’, should be about the author’s experience, including his wife’s of course – that’s all part of it. But I wanted to hear about how he was feeling in particular and not how others were. Just my 2 cents.

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    Mute Hippocrateeth
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    May 9th 2014, 11:28 PM

    Jesus Niall, you’ve got some issues man.

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    Mute Niall o' Sullivan
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    May 9th 2014, 11:44 PM

    They’re called grown up issues. Go back to bed.

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    Mute Hippocrateeth
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    May 9th 2014, 11:50 PM

    Talk to me about your grown up issues when you have more than one kid. Yer a greenhorn yet boyo, one kid is a walk in the park. ;)

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    Mute Niall o' Sullivan
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    May 9th 2014, 11:54 PM

    Lol

    Someone entrusted you with MORE than one kid??? ANY kid??

    Of ffs I give up :)

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    Mute Denise Houlihan
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    May 9th 2014, 11:58 PM

    I got it Niall. Lighten up everyone FFS, he was messing! It’s Friday night. Y’all get so precious about stuff. It’s a lighthearted article and he meant no offence.

    I saw the pic and thought, yep, she’s teething! I’d know those hot, red cheeks a mile away and be reaching for the Teetha!

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    Mute Hippocrateeth
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    May 10th 2014, 12:00 AM

    Stop trying to make me feel jealous and worthless, I’m not going to clean your gaff for you man no matter how hard you try to be the primary commenter in this relationship.

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    Mute Jen Murtagh
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    May 10th 2014, 1:01 AM

    What a great read. Having a 4 month old daughter ourselves I can completely relate to this. Every time she is off or the least bit cranky its blamed on the dreaded teeth !! Having kids is such a learning curve that no ammount of book reading, internet researching can prepare you for but having said that its a totally worthwhile experience :)

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    Mute Jimbo
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    May 9th 2014, 7:41 PM

    No thanks.

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    Mute brains for rocks
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    May 9th 2014, 8:51 PM

    Used to think like that, after having our first 7 months ago I’m gutted I waited so long and can’t wait to get started on the second. Total life changer but absolutely brilliant.

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    Mute Jimbo
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    May 9th 2014, 9:55 PM

    Google “Buyer’s Bias” ;-)

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    Mute Noongirl Fiveoclockshadow
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    May 10th 2014, 10:28 PM

    Cognitive Dissonance…

    More people resent their kids than will ever say…

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    Paul
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    Mute Paul
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    May 10th 2014, 1:53 AM

    Really can’t stand people who go on as if there the only people on earth to procreate… I’ve 2 kids myself and I love them dearly.
    But lads seriously, I don’t really care if your kid farts, belched or coughed. That’s what they’re meant to do.
    Get over it.
    I want to hear from you when they’re 16 and coming in wrecking the gap.
    Goodnight.

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    Mute Liz Potts
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    May 9th 2014, 10:07 PM

    Knob….

    12
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    Mute Rick Grimes
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    May 9th 2014, 8:07 PM

    I’d love to knock up a bird on holidays and never see her again, but that is about it

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    Mute Tommy C
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    May 9th 2014, 8:26 PM

    Hopefully Rick there is infertile.

    108
    Dell
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    Mute Dell
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    May 9th 2014, 8:31 PM

    Yup.. I think it best that Rick not breed.

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    Mute Brendan Boyd
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    May 9th 2014, 8:39 PM

    I felt like that before. It felt like some sort of festish but its probably the most natural feeling in the world.

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    Mute Rick Grimes
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    May 9th 2014, 8:46 PM

    It’s completely natural. All thesE fools just think they are better than what they are. They like to show everyone how morally upright they are

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    Mute Ciara McCorley
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    May 10th 2014, 12:22 AM

    No Rick, you’re just a total and utter knob who should be castrated to stop breeding.

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    Mute Jimbo
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    May 10th 2014, 9:18 AM

    Oooooh. Ciara and Rick, sitting in a tree…

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