Over the past 
few weeks I had had some interesting conversations with employers who told me of poor experiences with Executive Recruiters. One situation was with a current client and the other a long-time friend and networking contact who I have not worked for. In the former case the hiring manager (no longer with the client) hired a candidate who did not rise to my “top three.” He lasted less than a year and I replaced him pursuant to my agreement. In fact, the replacement candidate was among the first group of candidates I presented and an all around more suitable hire. The original hiring manager was not a part of the decision process for the replacement and this candidate is working out just fine.
In the second conversation I was able to ask my friend a few questions about the company’s selection process. They have no Human Resources Department so the traditional HR functions are spread between the other Department Heads, if at all. They do not have job descriptions so it was not clear as to how the hiring managers made their selections. No one has had any formal interviewing skills training. They do meet as a group to de-brief and arrive at a consensus for each hire. This is a major positive which can serve as a base to build a better selection process if they chose to do so.
Most managers I have talked with over the years have not had any formal training in recruiting and selection. While working for one of my Fortune 500 employers prior to entering the Executive Search field I did receive formal training which I have found to be invaluable. The biggest problem with the untrained interviewer is that they talk too much. If the ideal interview is 20% interviewer talking and 80% interviewee talking, they operate in reverse. Then at the end of the interview they will say that they did not learn anything about the candidate. Not surprising if they are doing most of the talking. So, the question is; how do you ace an interview with an untrained interviewer? The answer, of course, is to help him interview you.
Fundamentally, the candidate must gain some control over the interview to ensure a favorable result. To help accomplish this I recommend that my candidates prepare a one page, key accomplishments hand-out which they can present to the interviewer at the beginning of the discussion. This is a bullet point list of up to ten prioritized accomplishments, in big bold type, that best demonstrates your ability to perform the job in question. Of course the interviewer has your resume, but this hand-out can become the agenda for the discussion, guiding his questions. Trust me, they will appreciate the additional information and will be impressed by your preparation for the interview.
In subsequent interviews I have found that a hand-out which summarizes your understanding of the employer’s need is very useful to close the deal. Personally, I find the following format to be very powerful:
- Yesterday:
- Today:
- Tomorrow:
This is a great way to demonstrate that you understand where the company has been; where they are today; and where they want to go. If you are a little off base the interviewer will point that out and give you something more to talk about. If you are right on target, which you should be if you have been listening and doing your homework, you will totally impress the interviewer with you grasp of their needs. The assumption will be that if you understand their situation, you will be effective in the job.
So, if you want to do well with trained or untrained interviewers, help them interview you by the use of visual aids to focus the conversation.
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Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com