Your
ability to express yourself in an effective manner is critical to landing a
job. We will explore this issue in greater depth
in the next few weeks, but at this time I would like to focus on your interface
with the Executive Recruiter. As you
now understand, the recruiter is the gate-keeper. You must do an effective job selling her
before you will have an opportunity to sell the hiring manager. So let’s discuss those critical touch points
and your responsibility during each.
My preference is to make my initial contact via
email. It is more productive and
eliminates the embarrassment of catching someone off guard. In that email I indicate the basic parameter
for the search I am working and ask the recipient for their interest or
referrals. If there is interest we will
schedule a preliminary phone conversation.
Phone conversations have their limitations, however, the best candidates
understand and overcome those limitations.
I have found that some otherwise solid candidates do not perform well on
the phone compared to weaker candidates who may have a very good telephone
presence. Generally speaking, however, good
telephone skills follow the better candidates.
The preliminary call is my first opportunity to take the
measure of the candidate. I want to
gauge the individual’s ability to communicate their interest, enthusiasm, motivation,
and personality. It will be a short
conversation so the prospect (not really a candidate yet) must get to the point
and resolve the most pertinent and immediate questions. Vague, non-committal responses will likely
eliminate one from further conversation.
If we decide to move to the next step, I will provide more information
so the candidate can begin his due-diligence.
When the candidate becomes comfortable with the client and the job, we
will schedule a more in-depth phone interview.
This is usually a 60 minute
conversation designed to fully understand her background, strengths, and
skill-set.
As I discussed in last
week’s post, I need to understand my candidate’s complete work history. I like to listen to their career “story” and ask
questions that focus on specific accomplishments that dovetail with the job
requirements. The savvy candidates have
given a lot of thought to their career and know how to present their history in
an interesting way. This is my opportunity
to gauge their communication skills for content and language. If an executive has difficulty telling their
career story, they will likely have difficulty performing effectively in the
job. I expect the candidate to talk in
complete sentences, using appropriate grammar.
Communication skills matter! The
questions I ask about specific accomplishments are meant to reveal the
candidate’s approach to leadership, problem-solving, and project
management. Questions about job changes
reveal the candidates thinking about career management.
I usually leave time for the candidate to ask a few
questions. Oftentimes I do not have the
answers to questions about broader corporate strategy, but can be helpful with
questions related to the specifics of the job.
The questions asked by the candidate and the timing of those questions are
revealing. If the candidate does well on
the in-depth phone screen we will schedule a face-to-face meeting.
In summary, communication
matters! The savvy candidate understands
the recruiting and selection process and prepares for each conversation as
appropriate. Telephone conversations
have their limitations. It may be
difficult for some people to make a meaningful emotional connection over the
phone. If you are one of those people, I suggest that you practice becoming
more demonstrative over the phone. If
necessary, seek out professional help.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim
Weber, President
New
Century Dynamics Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com
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