Carol Quinn

My favorite class was one that focused heavily on understanding motivation. I got straight A’s in every class that had anything to do with the study of people. My favorite job was when I was hired by a large company to re-do their entire hiring process. I had free rein. Even though they paid me well, I probably would have done it for free. I was living my passion. By now I had taken all the classes, seminars and workshops I could on how to hire. I always sat in the front, paid close attention and took lots of notes. Applying what I learned didn’t seem to produce the good results the instructor touted however. Sure, I hired some good people but it was those not-so-good ones that continued to baffle me. Why was I getting great results one time but not the next? After all, I was doing the very best I could each and every time I interviewed someone. Call me a perfectionist but I wasn’t OK with being wrong about a candidate I hired.

While most of the women at my apartment complex pool were reading Cosmopolitan, the magazine, I was reading Herbert Lefcourt’s out of print book titled Locus of Control that took me 6 weeks and $80 to get one copy printed. It was so worth it. With highlighter in hand, I was engrossed while I tanned. As I read, I realized the huge potential this powerful, insightful, researched information would have if applied to the interview process. Through simple, skill-related interview questions, the interviewer could gather candidate information that would distinguish those likely to produce great results from those less likely. As excited as I was, I knew I didn’t have all the pieces quite yet. Something was still missing. I wracked my brain for months and eventually put everything together. Next, I began shooting holes in it to see if it would withstand. It did well. As I used it, it worked better than any thing I had tried prior. When you understand what motivates a person and create an interview process that aligns with basic human nature, it does work. I spent a year tracking and validating my hiring results. Not being the direct supervisor of those I hired, I got valuable unbiased job performance information. I spent the next year struggling with one big problem that was still nagging me…it was too simple. No joke! I thought, for as long as interviewing has been around, if it was simple and effective someone else would have already thought of it. I believed an advancement in hiring had to be complex to be worthwhile. Then, I realized a complicated process doesn’t make anything better.  Part of what made it so great wasn’t just its effectiveness but also it’s ease-of-use.

Next, it needed a name. What truly fit it best was “Motivation-Based Interviewing” (or MBI for short) because it is so much more effective at accurately assessing an applicant’s level of motivation. I took a big risk quitting my job and starting Hire Authority but something inside told me it would be harder not to do it. Now, 13 years later in 2011, I’ve written a book on it (Don’t Hire Anyone Without Me! – softcover), it’s been translated into Spanish, there is a Train-The-Trainer program with more than 40 people trained, and it’s being taught in over 10 countries. The e-book, titled Motivation-Based Interviewing, can be read on your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Nook or on your PC. My next book published was on the High Performer’s “attitude” and the role it plays in their success. It’s not about hiring (surprise!) but rather about bringing out the High Performer that’s in all of us. After that came the big 2-year project of creating an interactive, cutting edge, multi-media MBI web course. Now that it’s done, I have to say it’s an amazing course! It has two (2) different practice ‘virtual interviews’ where you have to write your interview questions, interview two job candidates, score them and then make your hiring decision. Both candidates have the skill to do the job…but one is NOT a High Performer. The course is all about teaching interviewers how to effectively hire the best. After the web course was finished, next came two more books. They are small, quick-reads that cost only $7 each. They contain a powerful philosophy for achieving greater success. One book (Awakening Outrageous Potential  – 48 pages) is designed for every employee to read and the other book (Outrageous Potential Unleashed – 40 pages) is the ‘Leadership Edition’. They offer powerful pointers for creating a maximum performance organization.

It’s been an out-of-this-world journey, and one that’s not over yet. Understand…it’s not just an interviewing methodology that I believe in and am passionate about. It’s also a concept that I’m living proof of that it works and one that I want to share with the world!!!

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