PRESENTED BY:Doug KlaresTim DonohueJohn Silver

Cost Effective Workforce SolutionsBriefing the Candidate

Briefing the Candidate – Why Brief?

Who is selling in the interview process? The candidate or the client?

Is the most qualified Candidate the one who is usually made the offer?- Often, the person who is the best prepared & sells himself or herself effectively,

receives the offer.- An article published by Career Builder states, “Unqualified candidates with very

refined interviewing skills often get the job because they present themselves well and appear to 'fit in with the team'.”

The client usually makes a decision in the first ten minutes or less.- The candidate never gets a second chance to make a first impression

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Briefing the Candidate – Why Brief?

The goal of the interview is to continue the interview process & receive an offer.

The prospective employer will make his/her hiring decision based on several factors:

- Attitude and Business Poise- Image/Presentation and Communication skills- Experience/Skill Set- Education/Certifications- Transferable Industry/Technical Background

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Briefing the Candidate – Why Brief?

Introduce the face-to-face brief during the office visit.– Sell as a benefit. It gives them the “racers edge” on their competition.– Done face-to-face if possible.– Conducted in downtime, usually the day before. Do not do it too far ahead of

time. It loses its impact.

Advantages of briefing the candidate:– Re-solidifies your relationship and shows our consultative role, which

differentiates you from your competition as a top-tier recruiter.– Added control to assist them during the process. Reality is here. No more

hypothetical.– Assist in interview preparation, role-play as if you were the interviewer, provide

company literature and hot buttons of the client.– It increases their confidence & enthusiasm.– It allows you to do an effective pre-close.

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Briefing the Candidate

Overview

– When do we brief the candidate?– When do we give them the information about the company and the contact?– What do we review with them the day before the interview?– Set aside 30-40 minutes of uninterrupted time – Make sure they take notes– Discuss with the candidate all the factors that will increase their interviewing

effectiveness– Utilize the Candidate Briefing Checklist– Send the candidate our Interview Preparation document

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Briefing the Candidate – Interviewing Effectiveness

Factors to be Covered

– Create excitement - show how their most important criteria for a change is being met. Your enthusiasm will help carry them throughout the process.

– Review the job requisition requirements & the candidate’s background and skill set that will excite the client. Highlight strengths, role-play and down play weaknesses.

– Review information on company age, size, growth, products or service and standing in the industry. Research the company’s website.

– Stress the need to sell themselves thoroughly to each person. Never assume a certain interviewer is not a key person.

– Pre-frame anything that you think may become an issue such as location, age or looks of the company’s facility, image of the person to be interviewed by, any area of the job that may be an issue or any negative press on the company.

– Emphasize that the objective of the interview for the candidate is to continue the interview process, not to receive an offer and decide if he/she wants it. That creates too much pressure.

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Briefing the Candidate – Interviewing Effectiveness

Factors to be Covered – Continued

– Focus questions on the position, interviewer, and company, NOT on salary/benefits. Ask open-ended questions whenever possible. The right questions will give you more information on their hot buttons. It also shows you what to focus on and to sell how you fill that need.

– Give them the “Interview Prep Packet” found on the ICS intranet. Also include the exact information on the company location, directions, time of the interview (being 15 minutes early, review goals in car), where to park and where to go once in the building.

– Get immediate feedback - sell while it is fresh in their mind. Talk freely; this allows you to expedite. Get client feedback. Overcome any objections while fresh in Client’s mind. You need to sell the VALUE to the candidate on the importance of this step!

– Now do a pre-close. Hypothesize on offer, refer to needs/wants/desires, re-close on salary, possible start date & re-cover counteroffer.

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Briefing Check List

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Candidate Briefing Checklist

General

Company name & web address

Directions to interview & Time (arrive 10-15 minutes early)

Names of interviewers and backgrounds if possible

Dress, appearance for interview

Application

No blanks, no "see resumes"; write "open" for salary desired

Bring copies of resume – minimum of 1 for each person you will meet

Make sure it’s the same resume that you sent to client (any changes, version, etc…)

Meeting HR is not a rubber stamp.

Meeting

Mirror the person’s greeting (strength of handshake, etc.)

Be able to walk thru your resume – dates, details, strength of answers – not what you say, but how you say it. Be able to elaborate for 30-60 seconds for each bullet point

Short little blurbs about job changes

Client Questions

No closed ended or “Yes/No” answers, Should be: “Yes, and…” & “No, but…”

Have short blurbs showing accomplishments – think in terms of Made/Saved/Achieved

Be prepared to talk about major projects (Problem, solution, Time spent, Benefit)

Know your Strengths/Weaknesses as well as Achievements/Setbacks

Other questions to consider: Tell me about yourself? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What can you do for us?

Briefing Check List - Continued

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Master the Subjective

80% of the interview is subjective. Once a client knows that you can do the job technically, the other 80% is culture and chemistry.

Counsel on handshake, eye contact, voice level, smile etc…

Questions to ask

Questions researched off web site, other well-thought out questions.

Must ask at least 3 questions:

o Greatest challenges – 6 months/1 year down the road

o Backgrounds of interviewers

o 2 Things you would change about the company

Top qualities of successful people in your department/organization

Answering the Money Question

My current package is "X"

I've discussed it with "Recruiter" & he/she told me I was within the range for the position and would entertain your best offer.”

Candidate Briefing Checklist

Briefing Check List - Continued

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Closing the Interview (ask 2 final questions)

When asked "do you have any further questions?"

o Ask: Is there anything in my background or qualifications that would prevent me from moving on in the process or handling the position?

Ask for the job!

o Ask: This is exactly the type of opportunity I’ve been looking for. How do I get the position? If 2 candidates are equal in the eyes of the client; the one who asks for the job and shows interest is the one who gets the offer.

Ask for business cards

o Why: You will need this information to obtain the exact spelling, address, phone and email of all people you meet so that you can send a thank you note and email.

Closing the Candidate Brief

Call me immediately after the interview

Why: It’s important for us to speak before I speak with the client. This way, if there were any problems or questions that you did not address as well as you would have liked, or information that you forgot to convey, I can fill in the gaps and strengthen your candidacy. This can be the difference in receiving an offer or a rejection letter.

End the phone call on a high note to build your candidates confidence.

Candidate Briefing Checklist

Interview Prep Packet

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Interview Preparation Packet

Briefing the Candidate – Final Step

Ask for the job– If 2 candidates are equal in the eyes of the client; the one who asks for the job

and shows interest is the one who gets the offer. A good salesman always asks for the order. The client knows you are sincerely interested.

Ask for business cards– You will need this information to obtain the exact spelling, address, phone and

email of all people you meet so that you can send a thank you note and email.

Call me immediately– It’s important for us to speak before I speak with the client. This way, if there were

any problems, questions that you did not address as well as you would have liked, or information that you forgot to convey, I can fill in the gaps and strengthen your candidacy. This can be the difference in receiving an offer or a rejection letter.

End the call– End the candidate brief on a high note to build your

candidates confidence.

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PRESENTED BY:Doug KlaresTim DonohueJohn Silver

Cost Effective Workforce SolutionsBriefing the Candidate

Q & A