Why Use an Executive Recruiter?

The services of outside professionals are used by prudent companies for legal, accounting and other special needs. Executive recruiters should be viewed in the same light: as skilled specialists who can identify the best candidates to fill important positions within the company. Recruiters provide strict confidentiality, an extensive network of contacts, objectivity in candidate evaluation, and negotiation experience and expertise.

Recruiters observe strict confidentiality. Organizations with a key opening can be vulnerable. Confidentiality can keep competitors from being tipped off to management shake-ups, new product and market initiatives, and can protect against employee and supplier apprehension. Recruiters value the sensitive information they become aware of during the search process and respect their client’s vulnerability.

Recruiters can tap into a global network of contacts. Most often, the best candidates are already employed, and many of them will deal only with a recruiter. They appreciate the worth of third-party representation, confidentiality and professional mediation. Recruiting superior candidates can be a complex process and is best performed by a professional.

Recruiters are cost effective. The benefit of using a recruiter can be weighed against the cost of preparing and executing an advertisement campaign, screening and qualifying candidates, and operating without a needed employee for an extended length of time, compared to the relative insurance of getting the right person for the job. The use of recruiters is an investment in improving the quality of an organization’s staff. But even beyond that, the risk in not using recruiters can be great. For smaller companies – where one hiring mistake can have disastrous results – using recruiters is sometimes more important that for very large companies.

People are a company’s important assets. They can make or break the fortunes of a business. Professional recruiters can deliver the right people for today’s highly competitive business environment.

Preparing for a Behavioral Interview

Many employers are aware that employing somebody on the basis of two short interviews can be a risk if they do not ask the “right” questions in an interview. That’s why “behavioral” interviewing has become very popular with many managers.

What is behavioral interviewing?
It is a style of interview that forces you to answer questions that demonstrate your competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities) by giving specific examples from your past experiences. The focus of the interview is less about what you can or could do, and more about what you have done in specific situations in the past.

Prior to the interview, the interviewer will define the competencies for the position, and will then develop a series of questions that allow him/her to find out if you have those competencies. Behavioral interviewing is based on the assumption that your past performance (in previous roles) is an excellent predicator of your future performance.

What sort of questions should you expect?
If your interviewer decides to conduct a behavioral interview, you can expect questions that will focus clearly on how you handled situations in the past, such as:

• Give me an example of how you have …


• Tell me about a situation where you …


• How did you deal with a situation in your past role where you had conflict with …
  

How should you prepare for a behavioral interview?
You can best prepare by taking the following steps:

• Look closely at the position you are applying for. Get hold of a job description. What specific skills are the employers looking for?


• Analyze your past work experience and background. Match the skills that you have with those the employers are looking for. Don’t forget competencies that you have developed outside of the work environment (eg, leadership or organizational skills through not-for-profit activities, etc.)


• Now identify specific examples/situations that demonstrate those skills. You need to be able to explain an entire situation – tell a story to show how you actually used a particular competency. It pays to illustrate the level of involvement you had in resolving a situation, and to quantify the results. If there are situations where you applied a competency but things didn’t work out, use them as examples and explain what went wrong. What did you do to resolve it?


• Try the PAR approach to answering questions. (P) State the problem you faced. (A)Outline the action you took to resolve the problem. (R) And then explain the results you achieved.

Phone Interview Tips

It is important on a phone interview to remember the goal, which is to move the process forward to a face-to-face meeting in order that all parties can exchange the information necessary to determine if the opportunity is “a good fit”.

Try to make sure you are in a comfortable setting, undistracted and focused on the task at hand, and in a position not to be interrupted by other calls, barking dogs, etc. Land-lines are much preferable to cell phones for clarity and consistency of communication.

Prior to the phone appointment it is a good idea to do some pre-interview planning. Learn everything you can about the company and its culture. Check out the website, read trade journals, talk to people you know. Injecting information during the phone call that indicates you have researched the company will communicate to the inter-viewer that you are a serious professional.

Compile an accomplishments summary. You can make reference to awards, performance evaluations and any specific, truthful examples that show you have made a contribution to the bottom line success of your employer.

Be an active listener, and DON’T INTERRUPT. Try to discern what is most important to this manager and respond to questions in a concise, sincere and decisive manner. Always be as specific as possible when discussing how you would handle a situation by making reference to examples from your career. Interviewers are more interested in specifics from your background than theoretical situations.

Be prepared to discuss your career path, the reasons for job changes and your goals. In this respect, honesty is always the best policy with an emphasis on what you have learned, and your current goal, which is to find an opportunity with stability and growth potential with an organization you can impact by your contributions.

Don’t be coy. Express your interest in the position and ask what the next step will be. A couple of sample questions you may want to ask at the end of the interview are:

• "Based on our conversation today, and my background, how do you see someone like me fitting into your organization?"


• “What concerns do you have about my ability to successfully perform this job?”


• “What kind of results will you expect from me for the best possible job evaluation in the first year?”


• “What’s the next step?”

Try not to discuss money during the first interview. If the interviewer presses the issue, tell them what you are currently earning and that you are sure their organization will make you a fair offer at the appropriate time. This will enable you to avoid pricing yourself too high for the position, or selling yourself short if your answer is less money than they would ultimately offer.

If the interviewer sets up a specific face-to-face interview during the call, ask what you should bring with you to the interview—different companies have different expectations. Some will want to see performance reviews, samples of correspondence or even proof of income. If you ask, then you will know.

Call your recruiter as soon as possible after the call. We want to hear your level of interest, and any unanswered questions first, and then follow up with the company on your behalf.

Hiring Managers: How Get the Most Value from your Recruiter

The successful partnering between you and your search firm is a two-sided arrangement that requires trust and professional respect. Your approach to the partnership influences the speed and outcome of the search process just as much as the recruiter’s skill. One of the most important factors is your understanding of the process and the part you play in it. Here are a few suggestions that may be helpful:

• Do your homework before talking with the recruiter. Define long- and short-term expectations for the job. Think through key organizational issues: reporting and working relationships; number of people the new hire will manage; who he or she will work with most closely.
  
• Make sure that your team agrees on the objectives of the position and that they are willing and able to commit time and energy to make the hiring process a top priority.

Be prepared with the key elements that define the job description, such as:

• Title
• Objectives
• Criteria for measuring performance
• Major issue that new hire will address immediately
• Organization charts
• How many and what kind of people will be managed
• Current budget of the department
• Salary, including bones, incentive plans, benefits
• Career path opportunities
  
  
• Provide the additional information your recruiter needs. Be explicit about the chemistry and corporate culture of your company. Share both the good and bad, positive and negative aspects of the job and have no surprises waiting.
  
  
• Establish high standards in evaluating candidates, but be sensitive to feedback. Understand the trade-off between the candidate qualities you require and those you desire.
  
  
• Keep things moving from your side: conduct candidate interviews promptly; give timely feedback; maintain security and confidentiality.

A successful search is a team effort. You and your recruiter compliment each other’s knowledge and strengths. A spirit of partnership will go a long way toward enabling you to reach your staffing goals.

Winning the Interview

Winning the Interview by Doug Maxwell, CSPC

Many potentially great candidates spend hours and hours creating a world class resume that walks and talks, sings and dances, differentiates them from the rest of the pack and ultimately accomplishes the mission. The mission of the resume is really quite simple-to get an interview. Nobody ever hired a resume. These same great candidates often shoot themselves in the foot by not preparing for the interview with the same degree of professionalism and focus. Therefore it is important to craft a resume that is heavy on quantifiable accomplishments and literally shouts at whomever is scanning it, "interview this person!!!" Then, when you get there, make the most of the opportunity.

The goal of each interview is to advance the process. If the process is a four-step process, each step's goal is to move to the next step. Ultimately, the goal is to get an offer. Some companies only conduct one interview. The next step in that process is to get an offer. The final goal is always to advance to the final step-getting an offer.

In order to differentiate yourself from most (or all) of the competition, here are eight tips for winning the interview.

(1) Do some thorough pre-interview planning and research. Learn everything you can about the company and its culture. Check out the website, read trade journals, talk to people you know in their industry to gain as much background and insider information as possible. Make it your goal to inject information during the first interview that indicates you have done your homework. You will now have a distinct advantage over others who have not. The interviewer needs to know you are seriously interested. Don't assume they do.

(2) Compile and bring a personal performance portfolio to the interview. This accomplishments file can include: performance evaluations, recommendation letters, congratulatory and/or thank you letters, company announcements of awards, copies of news releases or trade publications that mention your name, and samples of work product (as long as the information does not violate company confidentiality or divulge client information). Specific examples that illustrate that you have contributed to the bottom line by increasing revenues or reducing costs that are quantifiable (and true) will always get the attention of the decision makers at prospective employer companies. Some people are hesitant to do this because they consider it in bad taste, or "over the top". How can you try too hard to let this interviewer know that your accomplishments have been outstanding? Give yourself the edge over others who have not invested themselves in the interview as much as you have.

(3) Bring a fresh copy of your resume. Check to be sure that it is perfect, neat and clean with correct spelling and punctuation. Be sure that it is "accomplishments oriented", not "duties enumerated". Beware of spell check. "Manger and manager" will both pass inspection with spell check. Were you a sales manger, or a sales manager? "Claims and clams" will both be acceptable to spell check. In your last insurance job did you examine claims or clams? Proof read your resume.

(4) Dress the part. Look great. The interviewer may be dressed business-casual, but it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed for the initial interview. An exception to this rule is that if you are coming from work in a business-casual environment, and don't want to tip off your current employer. In this rare case, just explain it to the interviewer. A better approach is to allow extra time, and change clothes prior to the interview into the attire that will give you an edge over those who did not. Little things mean a lot.

(5) Be an active listener, and DON'T INTERRUPT. Try to discern what is most important to this manager (or these managers), and respond to their questions in a concise and sincere manner. Always be as specific as possible when discussing how you would handle a situation by making reference to examples from your career. Examples should be well thought out and consist of 3 parts;
a) Think of a problem/challenge that impacted your employer's business.
b) Discuss your specific role in the solution
c) How your employer benefited from the solution.
Further more, it is important to be able to discuss how you can provide those same results to potential employers. Interviewers are more interested in specifics from your background than in theories. No-one wants to hire a rambling generalist. Everyone needs a decisive and confident key employee.

(6) Be prepared to discuss everything on your resume including short-term employment, and the reasons why you have changed jobs. If you made a mistake by accepting a position that turned out to be less than it was represented to be, just say so. Chances are the person interviewing you has done the same thing at some point. Honesty with a positive attitude is always the best approach. Never, never, never discuss a previous employer in a negative fashion. Look back on your career as a series of learning experiences that have brought you to where you are today, and find the positive in each of your previous situations. Be sure that your reasons for changing jobs do not convey the impression that you are a sour malcontent. The bottom line is that managers want to hire strong team players with a positive attitude who will work hard, be reliable and make them look good. Your goal is to convey that you are that type of individual.

(7) Don't be coy. Express your interest in the position and ask what the next step will be. Do not try to play "hard to get". Let them know you are excited about joining their team. The interview process is a relationship under construction. Most people like to continue relationships with people who seem to be interested in them. Interviewers are people too. Here are some sample questions you may want to ask at the end of the interview in order to advance the process:

"Based on our conversation today, and my background, how do you see someone like me fitting into your organization?"
"What concerns do you have about my ability to successfully perform this job?"
"What kind of results will you expect from me for the best possible job evaluation in the first year?"
"I am impressed with your company and I would like to be a part of what you are doing. What's the next step?"

(8) Try not to discuss money during the first interview. If the interviewer presses the issue, tell them what you are currently earning, and break it down between base and bonus or commission (or what it was in your most recent job). Then tell them that you are sure they will make you a fair offer. Toss the ball to them rather than overprice yourself, or sell yourself short. If they press the issue, just ask if you are within their range, and if they say yes tell them again you are confident they will make you a fair offer.

All other things being equal, chemistry will make the hire. If you have prepared yourself better than your competition, the likelihood that your future employer will want you instead of them is much greater.

About Doug Maxwell
Doug has been a perennial Pacesetter at Westport One for the past 10 years. Focusing in the Insurance and Financial Services industry, he has successfully conducted over 1,000 searches across the nation.