Working with a Recruiter

A professional recruiter is your partner. You have the same goal…to hire the best possible manager for the position you have available. It is critical that you be open, honest and forthright with your partner. You should provide him with as much information as possible so that he can sell your opportunity appropriately. At a minimum make sure your recruiter has a thorough understanding of your company, its history and plans for the future. Of course a thorough job description is required along with a description of the "company culture". In addition to a compensation range (including details of the benefits package), growth opportunities for the position should be discussed. An acceptable search plan should be reviewed with the recruiter (i.e. geographic and company targets etc.)

A good recruiter should have a lot of experience and knowledge that you should take advantage of on a consultative basis. He should be helpful in areas of compensation, interview preparation, post-interview follow-up (gathering feedback from you as well as the applicant), and generally shepherding prospects through the recruiting process. Listen to his advice……..he has your best interest at heart.

return to top of page

The Preliminary Phone Interview

Prior to an interview make sure that your recruiter has briefed you with respect to the candidate (i.e. the candidates compensation, motivation for making a change, family situation, potential obstacles).

If a prospect is not local to your area you should interview him briefly on the phone first. The recruiter should make arrangements for the candidate to call you so that he will be in a position to speak freely. It should be your goal to gather just enough information about the candidate to determine if you should invite him to your office for a face-to-face interview. Briefly describe your company, the opportunity and the key ingredients you are looking for in a candidate. Then, referring to the candidates resume ask a few questions to determine if he is qualified based on the criteria you have set. If you feel good about him, set up an appointment immediately or tell him that the recruiter will contact him shortly.

Prepare the candidate for your face-to-face interview by providing him with information about the company and the position (job description) as quickly as possible. Include a meeting agenda so that the candidate can prepare himself for the interview (this will also give the candidate a sense of professionalism and organization about your company). Make sure that you include a letter (preferably handwritten) that lets the candidate know you are looking forward to meeting with him and that you will have your assistant coordinate the travel arrangements with him.

return to top of page

The Face-to-Face Interview

Prior to the meeting arrange to have 2 or 3 other managers meet briefly with the candidate. They should be peers or superiors to avoid insulting the candidate. It is your responsibility to make sure that the other managers have a copy of the candidate’s resume, some appropriate discussion topics prepared, and a thorough understanding of the candidates reason for interviewing. Make sure that you carefully pick trustworthy managers who will make a positive impression on the candidate. You should obtain feedback from these managers as quickly as possible after the candidates departure.

If the candidate is traveling via air, it is best for you to personally pick him up at the airport. If this is not possible try to make his ground transportation as easy as possible for him by having your assistant or someone else pick him up.

Remember, you are recruiting the candidate. Most of the time good candidates are presently employed and if actively looking they are interviewing with other firms as well (some may be your competitors). Of course it is important that you satisfy yourself that the candidate is qualified for the opportunity, but it is also your responsibility to be polite, courteous, and forthright in selling the position to the candidate and answering any questions he may have. Don’t allow interruptions during the interview. It is not only impolite but leaves a bad impression with a candidate.

It is very important that you be the first one to meet the candidate and interview him. Have an "icebreaker" ready to relax the environment. Perhaps you can discuss something from his resume that both of you have in common. It is your responsibility to lead the discussion and control the interview process. We recommend that you review the company, its’ history and future goals, the opportunity, and why the position is open (at the risk of being repetitive). Ask if he has a clear understanding or any questions. Prior to the interview you should have prepared some questions (some derived from his resume) and now begin the interview by reference to them. The following represents a brief list of questions that we have found are helpful in evaluating a candidate:

Ask questions that are relevant by reference to the candidates resume.
How do you manage your subordinates?
What do you feel are your most significant accomplishments?
Why did you leave your previous employers?
Describe how your skills and experience relate to our opportunity.
How do you feel about the way we are currently doing things?
Why are you interested in the opportunity?
What do you like the least/best about your current job?
What are your near and long term goals?

Do not discuss compensation at this point. Your recruiter has already informed you what the candidate is earning and has given the candidate your parameters as well. It is best to gather input from others and carefully consider an offer before actually presenting one.

return to top of page

The Offer

Next, solicit comments from the other interviewers and the feedback from the recruiter with respect to the candidate.

If you decide to make the candidate an offer, consider the following:
Don’t wait more than 2 days to make the offer. In a tight labor market you risk losing a candidate to another company.
The offer should be verbal and followed up in writing with a "Welcome" letter. We advise against a legal contract except for very senior positions as they are difficult to enforce and seem to open doors to future litigation exposure. Instead, prepare a friendly letter that lets the candidate know that you are looking forward to his joining the team and then confirm your verbal offer with a specific outline of the terms you discussed. Ask him to sign and mail a copy back to you. While this generally has no legal teeth , it helps to bind a candidate mentally to the opportunity.
Make the offer contingent upon acceptable reference checks and verifications.

return to top of page

The Family

DO NOT FORGET THE CANDIDATES FAMILY. You should be very cautious about hiring a new manager when the spouse is not supportive of the change. If the family life is not a happy one, it is reflected in job performance.

We suggest to our clients that they invest in a "relocation" trip for the candidate and spouse as soon as possible. Sometimes this may be a necessary second trip prior to a candidate acceptance to enlist the support of the spouse. Make arrangements with a realtor that you trust to spend a day showing the candidate and spouse around the city. Invite a few key managers (with spouses that you trust) to have a social dinner with the candidate and spouse. This will provide an environment where the spouse can get impressions from others regarding the cultural environment in the company as well as the community, and opinions about schools, shopping, churches etc.

return to top of page

Reference Checks

Although we are happy to perform reference checks if our clients ask us to, we advise them to do it themselves. Recruiters have an inherent conflict of interest and we want to avoid even an appearance of one. We also believe that this is a critical step and we want the client to satisfy himself directly regarding a candidates background.

If a candidate is currently employed you need to be sensitive to a possible leak back to his employer. Ask the candidate for permission to speak to previous superiors. It is appropriate and desirable for a candidate to notify references in advance that you will be calling them. And, it paves the way for your call to reach its target.

If a candidate is unemployed request the names of 2 or 3 previous superiors. You should also let him know that you may talk to others who are not on his list, if appropriate, but do not reveal who they may be.

DO NOT share responses from references with the candidate. It not only breaches a confidentiality but may lead to possible litigation.

Have reference questions prepared in advance and be brief out of respect for the time of the manager you will be talking to. When we are asked to perform reference checks we find responses most informative by using the following questions:
What can you tell me about "John" (You will be surprised what you will learn by just listening now).
Describe his work ethic. Is he reliable?
What were his responsibilities?
How did he get along with others?
How would you describe his management style?
No one is perfect, what were his weak points?
What do you think his greatest strengths were?
What do you think his greatest accomplishment was?
Why did he leave the company?
Are you aware of any personal problems (substance abuse, financial, family)?
Would you hire him again?

return to top of page