Is the candidate a pure seller in an interview exchange, or are they also a buyer? While some might raise their eyebrows at the obviousness of the question, you would be surprised how many people get this wrong. And I am not just talking about junior people but very senior people as well. And they pay a big price for it.
Many candidates approach an interview is an audition in which they are given a specific period of time to strut their stuff before the next contestant steps up. As result they view the interview as a one-way exchange in which questions are tossed and answers offered up. Best answers win.
But candidates are also buyers, of jobs and companies, and in my business the best candidates are often those who ask the best questions, not those that simply give the best answers. I cannot tell you how many times clients have told us, “We liked the candidate, but when we gave him the opportunity to ask us questions, he posed few. How is it possible that he has no questions? How will he know if we are for him?” When we debrief with the candidates and ask about this strategy of silence, they invariably respond that they have elected to wait until the company selects them as their preferred candidate before formulating their own questions. Unwittingly, their strategy, or in some instances laziness, has reduced that likelihood.
Though stressful times render a great many of us into pure and indiscriminate sellers of labor, job seekers must always keep in mind that wearing a buyer’s hat is important. The motivation to find the right job and company alone should drive job seekers to research potential employers, their industry, reputation, culture, and key people. It should also prompt them to ask questions about each in the course of an interview.
Second, candidates should remember that most hiring managers are poor interviewers. They do not know which questions will unlock the keys to selecting the best candidate nor do they know how to evaluate the ensuing answers. Thus, they look for other windows into each candidate, other clues as to which one is best suited. This may include indications of motivation, drive, proactivity and preparation. Candidates help their cause immensely when they are prepared and have done their homework. Insightful questions are also indications of analytical ability and intellect. The right questions gives evidence that the candidate understands the company, gets the issues, sees the problems, and in some instances, perhaps can solve them. As we have seen slam-dunk candidates destroy their candidacy through silence or lackluster due diligence we have also seen many long-shot candidates catapult themselves into the lead position by impressing the client with both the depth of their research and the insightfulness of their probing.
Notwithstanding market conditions, job seekers will make more informed decisions and increase the likelihood of better outcomes if they remember to be both sellers and buyers.
An Abject Failure in Due Diligence and Judgment
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I was browsing in my local bookstore on the weekend when I came upon a small book titled ‘Toughest Interview Questions'. Always interested in this subject I quickly leafed through it and put it in the pile to buy.
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The Perils of the Successful Matchmaker
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Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Patti Stanger who runs The Millionaire's Club, a Los Angeles-based "elite" matchmaking service and reality television program.
Interviewing: The Quest for Patterns and Themes
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Last week, two seemingly unrelated articles caught my attention. The first was a magazine obituary on C.K. Prahalad, the management thinker best known for his work on core competencies. The article spoke extensively of his ‘big ideas' and noted his habit of traveling the world "prying useful information out of everyone he met…always looking for connections and patterns, hoping to predict change".
Checkers vs. Chess: Why Candidates Play The Wrong Interview Game…and Pay the Price !
May 4, 2010
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The superhero hiring game and why everyone loses
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Why candidates should expand and prep their references
February 3, 2010
As headhunters scramble to match candidates with their shapeshifting clients, process and painstaking due diligence rule the day. To some candidates such rigor may feel intrusive or simply unnecessary. It shouldn't. In fact, rigor should be embraced and used to all candidates advantage. Consider the use of references as an illustration.
The Unwanted CEO Job …and the one individual who thought otherwise
January 8, 2010
Several recent articles have lauded the success of Ottawa-based Bridgewater Systems. With skyrocketing revenues, a growing market, and money in the bank, the firm's prospects have never been better and the street appears to love the story. It was a much more difficult story to sell in 2003, with one notable exception.
Interview Mistakes: You are a Buyer and a Seller
February 6, 2009