If you’re a regular WorkPuzzle reader, you know we frequently discuss tactics for helping employees leave their traditional jobs and transition into the real estate industry.

While the mastery of these tactics can be helpful, there is a premise that undergirds the thought process of most traditional employees who engage in this dialog:

Individuals consider changing jobs/careers when they are unhappy in their current positions.

If during an interview, you’re able to help a candidate understand, articulate and own their unhappiness, you’ll be much more successful at converting interviews into hires.   Success rates improve because candidates will only listen to your “solution” when they become convinced that you understand the uniqueness of their problem.

How do you become more effective at addressing happiness (or a lack thereof) in your interviews?

To address this topic, we’ll lean on the expertise of Jessica Pryce-Jones, the CEO and founder of the iOpener Institute for People and Performance, a consulting company that has done extensive research on happiness in the workplace.

In Jones’ research involving more than 9,000 people from around the world, she investigated what might be missing or misaligned in an individual’s work experience.  In turn, she identified five components that tend to be characteristics of people who are happy at work.    Here is a list and quick summary of each component:

Contribution.  This is about what you do, so it’s made up of some of the core activities which happen at work. Like having clear goals, moving positively towards them, talking about issues that might prevent you from meeting your objectives and feeling heard when you do so.

Conviction.  This is the short-term motivation both in good times and bad. That’s the key point: keeping going even when things get tough, so that you maintain your energy, motivation and resources which pull you through.

Culture.  Performance and happiness at work are really high when employees feel they fit within their organizational culture. Not fitting in a job is like wearing the wrong clothes to a party—all the time.   It’s hugely draining and de-energizing.

Commitment.  Commitment matters because it taps into the macro reasons of why you do the work you do. Some of the underlying elements of commitment are perceiving you’re doing something worthwhile, having strong intrinsic interest in your job and feeling that the vision of your organization resonates with your purpose.

Confidence.  Confidence is the gateway to the other four drivers. Too little confidence and nothing happens: too much leads to arrogance and particularly poor decisions. Without greater levels of self-belief, the backbone of confidence, there will be few people who’ll take a risk or try anything new. And you can’t have confident organizations without confident individuals inside them.

It stands to reason if these are the common characteristics of people who are happy at work, those unhappy are typically going to be missing one of more of these components in their current environment.

To the thoughtful hiring manager this information is the treasure map for interviewing—it tells you right where to dig to find the unhappiness that your candidates are experiencing.

This insight can be easily turned into open-ended interview questions having a high probability of resonating with candidates.  For example:

“What type of meaningful contribution are you making in your current job?”

“When things get difficult in your current job, how do you maintain a sense of energy and motivation towards your tasks?”

“Tell me about a job you had in the past where you were a great fit on your team.  Do you feel this way in your current job?”

You get the idea.  Make up a few more questions on your own.  After asking these questions, be quiet and let the candidates tell you about their experiences.  Resist the temptation to share your own experiences.

Finally, once the candidate reveals their unique pain, tactfully suggest how becoming a real estate agent on your team could solve their specific problem.

Using research to guide your interviews will make you more effective.  These are simple guidelines you can start applying your next interview.

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.