| My primary goal In attracting my next big billing recruiter | | | | important to challenge your prospect with something to |
| during the First Interview is to discover what their | | | | the effect of "I am not sure if you can handle this." |
| career would look like "If they could wave a realistic | | | | People love a challenge. I have even said in interviews, |
| magic wand." After I fully explore that, and that is | | | | that "this doesn't appear in alignment with your |
| usually at least a fifteen minute conversation I begin to | | | | aspirations". They do one of two things. First, they |
| describe the opportunity. | | | | might agree, great, interview over. Second, they usually |
| The key in the first interview is to have them to | | | | defend why they are in fact IN alignment. Again, great! |
| describe where they want to go and why FIRST, | | | | In effect I am putting them in a position to ask, no, even |
| before you explain the opportunity. Again, you want to | | | | BEG for the opportunity. |
| discover if their career goals are in alignment with your | | | | One axiom of life that has served me well is that I fully |
| firm and the role you are hiring into. Also, like the good | | | | believe people want what they can NOT have! In the |
| recruiters we are, we want to be able to weave their | | | | interview I am always interested in what they say, but |
| needs into our description of the recruiter career | | | | indifferent to selling them. Your recruiter prospects |
| opportunity. While asking questions I try to keep the | | | | antennae go up when they are being "sold". Following |
| conversation as informal as possible and make them | | | | this axiom, at the end of the interview I tell them that |
| as comfortable as possible. I ask as few of the | | | | we have discussed a lot of information and I instruct |
| "normal" interview questions as possible. Why? I want | | | | them to think about it overnight. It is natural for a |
| them to drop their guard! When they drop their guard | | | | candidate to leave a 90 minute interview and come up |
| they reveal more of their "true" self. They tend to | | | | with numerous questions after they leave and we |
| reveal the person that will show up to work vs. the | | | | discuss this. Then I tell them to call me "before the |
| bright, nice, well spoken person that showed up for the | | | | close of business tomorrow" if they are still interested |
| interview. | | | | to set up the next meeting, not interview-- meeting. I |
| When discussing the recruiting career opportunity I | | | | never hear back from 25% of the people and I |
| open with the vision of the career track we offer, the | | | | NEVER call them. Once you start chasing, again, you |
| ability to interact with "C" level executives and the | | | | will always chase them. Most call the next day and we |
| ability to in effect, build companies. I explain in depth the | | | | arrange the second meeting. (Who is seeking whom |
| new recruiter training process. I also counter-balance | | | | here? |
| this with excruciating detail of what success takes. It is | | | | |