Getting Candidates Ready For The Plunge

One of our goals is to get great candidates prepped to do a superb job of interviewing in front of our clients.

Here is a recent email that I wrote an executive candidate before he went into a first interview with our client:

“Dear Steve,

We hope you do very well when you interview on Friday. Our client is ready to make an offer to a great candidate if this looks like a win-win for you and the company once all your interviewing is completed. We also realize that this opportunity has to sell to you too and that you can see yourself doing this in the long term.

Some thoughts…..

Please do some research by checking the company website and other information that you can gather and have a couple of questions about the company lined up in advance. Check LinkedIn for everyone on your interview schedule and make some good icebreaker comments where appropriate. I noticed that the CFO also went to school at Wisconsin so that area will be ideal for a natural icebreaker.

Keep in mind that our client wants a candidate who is both strategic and tactical and please make sure you bring up examples of both when asked.

We told the client that you are direct, bring a great confidence level and you are a very collaborative executive with all levels. Of course, those are all great descriptors of the company culture so you should be a great match. Just be who are you in the interview setting and engage, engage, engage.

I believe your mergers & acquisition background will be of great interest to our client and be prepared to talk about that in specific terms.

Dress at the company tends to be business casual so I would wear a sports jacket and pressed shirt for the interview (no tie). Austin tends to be a very casual town for business so wearing a tie would be overkill.

If you have any other questions, call me directly right before you go in and I will help you. If you can be who you are and do your homework, you will perform absolutely amazing in the interview setting. You already have with me. “

Keep the coaching prep with candidates simple, concise and also encouraging. If you do so, your candidate has a chance of hitting a home run in the interview setting.

2017-07-15T02:06:00-05:00By sbalistreri|Austin Executive Search Firms, Candidate Communication|

“As a search committee member, we selected Sal's firm to help us with a key CEO search. They made the process painless both for the candidates and our search committee. We made the right choice and Sal's team delivered.”

Michael Bennett, Head of the APRO Search Committee, APRO Search Committee

“Sal specializes in executive search and has delivered some outstanding results for Silvercar. He has assembled a great team and they conduct searches the way it should be done – from scratch! He understands the importance of not only finding the right skill set, but also finding the right cultural match. He does his homework before he starts and does it well. Sal has jumped through hoops for me and delivered great results. He provides personalized service from start to finish and won’t stop until you are satisfied. I highly recommend that you consider Sal and his team for your next search.”

Kay Stroman, Former Chief Administrative Officer, Silvercar

“Sal was definitely a huge asset in our recruiting efforts. He spent a lot of time getting to know our culture and understanding the values that were essential to the makeup of of our team. Sal is a great partner and I certainly recommend him and his firm to anyone looking to recruit a great team. You will not be disappointed!”

Craig Taylor, Former CEO, Cirrus Systems

“Sal clearly understands the culture of the client and clearly understands the REAL person behind the candidate. This allows him to best match clients and candidates because he sees beyond their words and understands their real talents and value systems. Sal also has the ability to present a candidate because he is committed to her/him and their talents and values they could bring to the job. He is even MORE committed to the client’s analysis of the candidate so that he learns from any rejection of a candidate in order to fine-tune the search for the next better candidate.”

Vickey Thayer Kleinsmith, Former Vice President Human Resources, Lozier Corporation

“I appreciate the fact that Sal takes not only the job requirements into account, but he also considers culture and “fit”. These are rare and valuable traits for a recruiter and that is one of the many reasons that we love working with Sal.”

Debbie Mitchell, President/CEO, Velocity Credit Union

“Sal is able to communicate our company culture and organic growth strategy and along with his high level of responsiveness, is a great partner to work with.”

Karen Ganzlin, Former Chief Human Resources Officer, TD Ameritrade

"Sal and his team are awesome partners in our success. His team has taken the time to become part of our team so that they understand the "fit" component of our hiring process that includes the mission, vision and values and most importantly, our culture."

Scotte Hudsmith, Chairman & CEO , Specialized Dental Partners

“Consider Sal if you need a recruiter for key management positions and C-Level searches. Sal is very focused on finding the right person for the right position. He produces solid candidates across a variety of industries and will personally work with his clients to help them achieve success in hiring. He is a seasoned expert, well networked and very responsive.”

Kurt Halvorson, President, Imprimis, LLC

“Sal and his team offered a great process with a very good long term result for Lozier. It was a process made easy for our team to meet all the candidates in a short period of time and come to a conclusion.”

Sheri Andrews, Co-Chair, Lozier Corporation

“Sal is one of those rare business executives who truly believes in the power of ‘doing well by doing good.’ He is generous to a fault with his time and his network. He spends his professional capital to help others in his community with no eye towards personal gain.”

Cat Nawawi, President, The Highland Group

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!