“A Girl Scout always leaves an area better than she found it.”

A company should work to make sure that an employee is continually “better” than when they were hired. “Better” can mean a lot of things, including skills or expertise, but it is important that these are aligned with their goals as well as the company’s. Knowing what this means for each person starts during the hiring process, and a good way to do this is ask them, “What do you want to learn in the next year?”

I would love for everyone to ask this question! Please, ask this question. Aside from improving hiring success, it is also requires a company to look internally and encourage a culture of growth, engagement, and accountability. If you ask people what they want to learn, and then you hire them, you’d better provide opportunities for them to learn.

Employee learning and growing should benefit both the person and the company. Sometimes what the person wants to learn isn’t compatible with what the company can provide or what the role requires, and this can lead to issues with retention, morale, and company growth. For many employers, there is the assumption that the growth they want for an employee is the same as what the employee wants for themselves, and people will assume that the company can and should accommodate their professional objectives. Both assumptions are often wrong.

Here’s an example of when “what do you want to learn in the next year?” reveals a mismatch for the role: at a previous company we were hiring a software developer and both the CEO and lead developer had interviewed a very promising candidate. I then interviewed the person and asked the person what they wanted to learn in the next year. They told me that they had just learned to code but what they really wanted was to start their own company, and they were excited about the opportunity to be mentored by the CEO. While I admired the ambition and honesty, that is not what the company needed — if this person had said that this was their goal in five years, it might have been a better fit. We were very early stage and needed someone who wanted to build a product, not be an disciple of the CEO. The CEO decided to not hire them. The person we ended up hiring said that they wanted to become an expert in the software language that was at the core of our product and they wanted to learn how to speak at conferences — something the CEO did frequently and could also help them with.

Some people will be reluctant to answer honestly, I once had someone tell me that they didn’t want to grow, they just wanted the same-same — thinking that this was the answer I wanted. I called bullshit (without the profanity), I knew this person’s background and that most people who work in the startup world generally aren’t capable of the same-same. I told them that as their boss it would be my responsibility to make sure they were given the resources they would need to be successful, both in the position and in preparing for the future. They perked up and re-answered the question, and turned out to be an amazing employee.

So don’t hold it against people if they don’t initially know how to answer, or if they change their answer. It’s not a question people are used to getting and they will sometimes think it’s a trick question. It should never be a trick question, goodness, please don’t use it as a trick question. If the person’s future boss or the company doesn’t want people to improve or grow, be honest about that, there will be people out there who are a good fit and asking them what they want to learn in the next year is a good way to find them. It could be that the person is in school and just needs a steady job, and in a year you could have a reliable employee who is now ready for a management position just when you need a new manager.

As a candidate, if specific growth or learning is important to you, offer this information during the hiring process. Share what it is that you want to learn, don’t make assumptions, find out if it is viable path. It could be that the company will be excited about this, that this is an area they need to grow in and they would welcome someone who wants to work on it. On the other hand, it could turn out that this role won’t have room for the growth or learning you want. Either way, now you know and can use this information when making your decision.