As an Austin retained executive search consultant, there comes a time in the hiring process with a very good candidate that you must assess whether they have a true interest in the opportunity you are attempting to fill.
I like to use a simple exercise to understand their interest level.
If the candidate has interviewed with me and has had a first interview with my client, I will ask the following question: “on a one to ten scale (with ten being the highest), how would you assess your interest in the opportunity after the initial interview discussion with me?”
After you obtain that ranking from the candidate, then ask this question: “now that you have interviewed with my client, how would you assess your interest level in the opportunity and has the number ranking changed for you?”
When you hear that the ranking has increased in relation to the one to ten scale, you can better make a judgement on whether the recruitment of the candidate is truly going to happen. It also forces the candidate to make a self assessment on whether they intend to continue the interview process. It will help to open up any concerns the candidate may have about the opportunity that could include the job challenges, resources, culture, compensation or chemistry with the future executive manager.
As the retained executive search consultant, it is our job to predict for our client whether the recruitment of a top candidate will eventually happen or not and what future obstacles need to be overcome.
