Positive Interviewing
The economy is changing and there is a significant upturn in the market, although there are many candidates seeking new opportunities, it seems many companies are looking for the same candidates. We have noticed for the first time in many months candidates getting several offers at the same time and being counter offered by their existing employers.
So how can you get your offer to be accepted? - Positive Interviewing, Enthusiasm and Speed
Speed - Arranging interviews quickly can help combat this problem.
When a candidate first starts to look for another position or is approached about another postion their motivation is generally at the strongest, more so after they have updated and sent their CV, as this is the first substantial commitment to change. Historically we have noticed that as soon as a candidate has put their CV together they will apply for several positions thus by arranging interviews quicker than your competitors this will help to put you in a stronger position and by reducing your interview process with minimum interviews as possible, or alternatively hold interviews on consecutive days this too will help to speed up the process and reduce the risk of losing the candidate to someone else, it also shows a candidate that you can turn things around quickly.
A counter offer (which is a retaliation offer made to the candidate by their present employer when their employer realises that they may lose their employee). Historically we have found that when candidates are kept waiting by prospective employees or the interview process is lengthy the acceptance of a counter offer from their exisiting exployer is increased.
Last month on 3 separate occasions when it took more than 7 days to arrange interviews after recieving the CV's, 3 candidates (each of whom had no other interviews planned when applying for our positions) had been for other interviews and one candidate had an offer elsewhere by the time they had our interviews. Fortunately we managed to recruit 2 of the candidates to the positions, but the problems would have been avoided if the interview process had been faster.
Enthusiasm - Show them you are interested in them.
By re-reading the candidates CV just before the interview, so it is fresh in your mind and preparing (especially if memorised) some questions about them and their past, getting them to talk about themselves as well as their ability to carry out the job itself will assist in making you stand out from the rest.
A quote of a candidate's feedback "OK, I'll start off by saying I don't know if I got the job yet, but I definitely WANT the job... Anyway, met with the last in a long chain of people from a local consulting company. The thing that really impressed me, though, was the time he put into preparing. He had obviously pored over my CV and committed a lot of details to memory. As I went along answering questions, he looked at me like he already knew a lot of what I was going to say, but was happy to hear more details. Now, in fairness to other interviewers I've talked with, this was NOT a technical screening interview, more of a conversation about my history, so maybe it is easier to prepare for that than remembering every little detail about which versions of SQL Server I have worked with. But regardless, he was one of the best prepared interviewers I have ever seen. There is probably much I could learn from him about dealing with people!"
Gone are the days where you can ask "Why should we employ you?" and just sit and watch the interviewee beg.
Sell them the company and the product as well as any future plans, if possible bring in one of your sales team. Advise them of the positive attributes your company has to offer, not necessarily work related, such as raising money for charity etc . Bring in a member of the team they will work with and let them ask questions. Tell them why you joined the Company, if you own the Company tell them about your vision and why you started.
Motivation - Money is not always the answer.
Finding out the key issues on a candidates motivation to move is very important. It maybe job security, technology, being closer to their home, the after work culture, the bright lights of Town, the list is endless. It is important to find this out as early as possible and address it within the interview. Ask your consultant to advise you of their motivation prior to the interview.
Recognise and address the negatives of your company and turn them to positives.
Interview in a separate room away from distractions including the telephone. At the end of the interview shake their hand and thank them for coming to see you. (Another point to remember is even if you are not interested in this candidate, you never know who he knows and when your paths may cross).