BOO! Christmas is coming and the turkey is getting fat! With the end of the year approaching quickly and the holidays coming faster than the speed of light, things for recruiters are about to pick up.
Hiring managers are going to be putting the pressure on recruiters to fill their jobs before they vanish into thin air and the pressure to fill roles is coming to an all-time high, which means you’ll be setting up more interviews during the busiest personal time of year. To be efficient and to help you make your hiring manager is as happy as a stuffed turkey, as well as your family (ho, ho, ho, Santa’s coming to town), we have some tips to help you better prep your candidates for the interview and the interview process that will land them job and get your hiring managers off your back.
Reassure your candidates you’ll focus on the little things if they focus on selling their skills to your hiring manager.
It happens more often than not in the interview process that the candidate focuses on the little things. They don’t even realize they are doing it and it could cause the hiring manager to say, BOO, NO THANK YOU. The candidate can be so sure that they can do the job because they’ve done the job for 10+ years, so they focus on the amount of PTO time, how the bonus structure is paid out, or how big their office will be. First things first, tell them to get the job and you’ll make sure they have everything they need before signing the offer. If they nail the interview based on their experience and skills you can assure them that once you have the offer in hand you will happily negotiate the terms of PTO, comp structure and everything else on their behalf.
Give your candidates everything they need to be prepared.
Help your candidate be prepared—which means, help them over-prepare…always. Never assume your candidate will already know information about the company. Always be their guide and provide resources for them to research. You should also help them craft 3-4 good questions to ask in their interview to impress your hiring manager.
Provide interview etiquette advice. AKA how to dress and impress.
Remind them to represent themselves well and iron the wrinkles out! Yes, it doesn’t matter what level the role is they are interviewing for. ALWAYS dress for success, which also holds true for body language and non-verbal communication. Communicate the do’s and don’ts. The Do’s: A firm but not overbearing handshake, good eye contact, good posture and never cross your arms over your chest. You want your candidates to exude confidence for the biggest impact!
Communicate well.
This is the most important. Remember, as the recruiter you are running the deal and your candidate needs to know that. You’re there to help ease them through this process, especially during this time of year. Always keep them up to date on the status of the recruiting process. The last thing you want are candidates that are so impatient that they are going around you and contacting your hiring manager directly just to get an update.
If you can do all these for your candidates, we can assure you this upcoming holiday season will be a breeze. Happy hunting. P.s. Winter in coming.