As the job market shifts to a more candidate-driven market, the top candidates have become more selective than they have been since before the recession. Now, more than ever, the interviewers and companies doing the hiring need to prepare to attract the best talent.
The intent of this article is to help companies realize that the A-player candidate can be lost, especially when they are expected to do all the selling in an interview. My advice is to learn about their non-resume information, learn their motivations for making a job change. We call this Uncovering the Pain.
Often times, our clients go into the interview unprepared to sell to the candidate, and the company blindly assumes the candidate wants their job more than the others they’re pursuing. The best companies court the employee while evaluating them. They take the time to learn about their pain and prepare how to Sell the Remedy.
What is the Remedy?
Every candidate has pain, and all pain has a remedy. Pain is what is motivating them to go through a job interview and eventually make a job change. If the candidate’s motivations aren’t sincere or if the pain isn’t great enough to make a job change, they shouldn’t be in the process. Uncovering that pain and conveying it to the company is one of the duties of your recruiter. Creating a remedy is the job of everyone in the interview process (recruiter, hiring manager, interview panel).
Here are some very basic examples: If a candidate is concerned about his company’s long-term stability, sell the remedy and promote your company’s stability. Share stories about your attrition numbers and how your company did through the recession. If a candidate is frustrated with her lack of career progression and growth, present how going to your company is a remedy for that pain. Share your story about how you got into your management position or explain the career ladder that is in place at that company.
A Simple Solution
Take a few minutes to call your recruiter and learn about the non-resume information about your finalists. Uncover their motivations and pain, and begin to diagnose if your company is the remedy. If it truly is, then craft a message that is consistently presented by everyone on the interview panel. The A-player candidate will come away from the interview realizing that going to your company is the remedy for their pain.
