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Tips for Recruiters
Table of Contents
Strategy & Tactics
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Make Placements --
FAST!
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Voice Mail &
E-mail: Eight Simple Rules
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Job Orders --
Better, Faster, Smarter
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How to Switch Desk Specialties
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Who Makes the Most
Money?
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Retainers: Look
Before You Leap
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How to Add Value, Not Redundancy
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Intelligent Online
Recruiting
Skill Building
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Counteroffers: Can You Spot the
Signs?
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Resume Makeovers: Quick Tips
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Is There a MAGIC to Closing?
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Finding the Right Recruiting Script
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Storyboarding for Maximum Impact
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How to Stimulate Candidate Referrals
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Expand the Supply of Candidates
Candidate Management
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Playing Softball
with Your Candidates?
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The Power of Interview Preparation
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Control: The Key to Recruiter Success
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How to Fight the Counteroffer Bug
Employer Relationships
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You’re Worth the Money You Charge!
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Negotiate for Higher Recruiting Fees
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Anti-Discount Tactics for Recruiters
For Candidates &
Employers
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Graceful Exits for Job-Changers
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Advice for Engineering Candidates
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What’s Your Capture Strategy?
Q & A
for Recruiters
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Answers
to Your E-mail Questions
Bill Radin answers letters from recruiters around the world.
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The Power of
Interview Preparation
By Bill Radin
You’d be surprised how much money we lose by arranging interviews for candidates who
are ill-prepared, poorly dressed, and lacking in the basic interviewing skills required to
compete in a tight employment market. In our daily activities on a desk, we’re so busy
marketing our service and digging for new referrals that we sometimes forget that
it’s the successful interview that ultimately pays the rent. All too often, candidate
preparation gets put on the back burner.
I’ve found that I can increase my sendout-to-placement
ratio by making certain my candidates are well prepared prior to their interviews. To do
so means taking the necessary time to help them understand the fundamentals of a
successful interview.
In addition, I ask my candidates to read two of the Career
Development Reports I’ve written, entitled “Seven Keys to Interview
Preparation” and “How to Master the Art of Interviewing.” These 2,000-word
essays reinforce the messages I’ve communicated with them verbally, and at the same
time enhance my credibility and professional image, since people generally respect the
authority of the printed word. Here are a few excerpts from the Reports, as told to the
candidate:
Fundamentals of a Successful Interview
To a large degree, the success of your interview will depend on your ability to discover
needs and empathize with the interviewer. You can do this by asking questions that verify
your understanding of what the interviewer has just told you, without editorializing, or
expressing an opinion. By establishing empathy in this manner, you’ll be in a better
position to freely exchange ideas, and demonstrate your suitability for the job.
In addition to establishing empathy, there are four
intangible fundamentals to a successful interview. These intangibles will influence the
way your personality is perceived, and will affect the degree of rapport, or personal
chemistry you’ll share with the employer.
1. Enthusiasm. Leave no doubt as to your level of
interest in the job. You may think it’s unnecessary to do this, but employers often
choose the more enthusiastic candidate in the case of a two-way tie. Besides, it’s
best to keep your options open -- wouldn’t you rather be in a position to turn down
an offer, than have a prospective job evaporate from your grasp by giving a lethargic
interview?
2. Technical interest. Employers look for people who
love what they do; people who get excited by the prospect of tearing into the nitty-gritty
of the job.
3. Confidence. No one likes a braggart, but the
candidate who’s sure of his or her abilities will almost certainly be more favorably
received.
4. Intensity. The last thing you want to do is come
across as “flat” in your interview. There’s nothing inherently wrong with
being a laid-back person; but sleepwalkers rarely get hired.
Both for your sake and the employer’s, try not to
leave an interview without exchanging fundamental information. The more you know about
each other, the more potential you’ll have for establishing rapport, and making an
informed decision.
The Short and Long of It
There are two ways to answer interview questions: the short version and the long version.
When a question is open-ended, I always suggest to candidates that they say, “Let me
give you the short version. If we need to explore some aspect of my answer more fully,
I’d be happy to go into greater depth, and give you the long version.”
The reason you should respond this way is because it’s
often difficult to know what type of answer each question will need. A question like,
“What was your most difficult assignment?” might take anywhere from thirty
seconds to thirty minutes to answer, depending on the detail you choose to give.
Therefore, you must always remember that the interviewer is
the one who asked the question. So you should tailor your answer to what he or she needs
to know, without a lot of extraneous rambling or superfluous explanation. Why waste time
and create a negative impression by giving a sermon when a short prayer would do just
fine?
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