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We
recently conducted some Director (Board member)
searches for a rapidly growing company that wanted
to put together a world-class Board as the founders
seek to grow the company to half a billion in
revenue in the next few years. We were provided with
information which included significant industry,
product line, and company financial data to share
with the candidates we deemed appropriate to meet
with the CEO. What was shocking and disappointing
was the little effort some candidates made in
reviewing the documents prior to meeting with the
CEO. In fact, some of these candidates were CEO’s
themselves of major companies. It really showed, and
quite glaringly, which candidates had taken the time
to review the information, and which had not. The
ones that prepared had meaningful conversations with
the CEO on the industry, trends, product line
issues, competitive threats, and customer
idiosyncrasies. The ones that had not taken time to
prepare generally shook their heads as the CEO
described the company and industry.
As an
executive search firm, we often source candidates
for clients that are “passive candidates”, which
means that they are not actively seeking a new
position, or in the case above, a Board seat.
However, once they are interested in learning more
about the position we’ve presented to them, they
still oftentimes forget that they are now investing
time into an effort to see if they really should
consider a new position, and skip the homework phase
of the interview preparation process. Regrettably,
this is a refrain we hear far too frequently from
both hiring managers and interviewees, for all
levels of positions. In this article, we shall share
a few thoughts that you, as the interviewee might
want to consider as you prepare for an interview,
even when you know the company and the executives
well. As this series continues next month, we shall
focus on the hiring manager considerations as he/she
prepares to interview candidates for critical
positions.
Although
“everyone knows the basics of interviewing,” let’s
take a moment to contemplate what the hiring manager
will, or should, expect in the discussion with a
candidate:
-
Industry knowledge supported by research;
-
Company knowledge driven by investigative
research beyond just the company website;
-
Being prepared to answer questions (to do that,
the candidate has to anticipate);
-
Thoughtful questions about the industry,
company, executives, position, environment,
future, the position’s contributions and values,
etc.;
-
Managing objections that stem from a candidate’s
skills, expertise, experience, accomplishments,
and capabilities;
-
Demonstrating a commitment to the opportunity,
the company and the industry;
-
Follow-up.
Clients
are often concerned that recruiters load candidates
with all of the answers and prep them with all
matter of hiring manager personality information,
company hot button issues, key words, etc. Over the
years, we have found that our role, as the search
consultant, is to encourage a candidate to think in
terms of understanding and managing all of the
information about themselves that will enable the
hiring manager and client to make the best informed
decision. In short, “what I need to make sure they
know about me as it relates directly to this
position, company, and industry.” From this mindset
framing, it becomes incumbent upon the candidate to
begin preparing as if he/she were getting prepared
for a final exam.
“I don’t
want candidates to sell me, that pushes me off and
it feels phony,” said the head of HR at one of our
clients recently. “However, part of what tells me if
the candidate might be a possible fit is when I hear
from them information that speaks directly to the
job and the company, and demonstrates the candidate
has done a lot of homework.” As a candidate,
anticipate and tailor your presentation to that
company’s industry. That includes the dreaded “tell
me about yourself” icebreaking question from the
hiring manager. We’ve seen good candidates get
declined after the initial interview, even though
the interviewer felt they were talented, because the
candidate failed to tie their experience in with the
company’s industry. Don’t forget this important
fact: Hiring managers want to take as much risk out
of the equation as possible, which means they are
looking for a strong candidate with whom they feel
they can work well and achieve their objectives, and
one that can demonstrate they have the requisite
skills and experience outlined in the position
specification. The more “must haves” they don’t
have, the less likely that candidate will be in
winning the position, even though they could have
been a great asset in that role.
If, as a
candidate, you are not prepared to run with all of
this, then, as our clients tell us, “Don’t bother or
waste my time and energy by taking the interview.”
The bottom line is: if you’re going to take the time
to interview, at least do the necessary homework to
show yourself well and get the “right of refusal”,
even if you are still trying to decide if this
should be your next career move. Interviewing poorly
due to lack of preparation leaves a lasting
impression you won’t want to leave.
Most
executive search firms have information designed to
assist candidates in preparing for interviews. Don’t
be shy: ask for whatever that firm can share with
you. Build your library with the materials to help
build your interview skills. Prepare, beginning well
in advance of the interview. It is extremely rare
that anyone can “wing-it” in the interview, and when
a candidate does, the interviewer seems to always
know.
For more
information about candidate interview preparation,
please contact Denae Butte (butte@mbsearch.net),
the Program Coordinator of the McDermott & Bull
Executive Network.
Next
month, the focus will be on the hiring manager and
interviewer preparation. As a candidate of ours
recently shared about his interview, “I couldn’t
believe how unprepared the interviewer was…his
questions seemed ad lib and he could not answer the
majority of my most basic questions about the
company.” |
