We heard this statement so many times we decided to survey our recruiting and search partners on this subject. There was not one who has not heard this statement hundreds of times. Interestingly, few could give us examples where in the end, the statement was found to be true.

If you are a job search candidate and have never been a recruiter you just don’t know the lay of the land. You rely on your instincts, just like   when you drive for the first time in a city you are unfamiliar with. You make mistakes. Interviewing is both tactical and instinctive but it is not like making a sales pitch. It is like making a sales pitch without looking like you are making a sales pitch. How much experience could a person have doing that?

The search firm owners and managers we surveyed said that thay work in the profession every day and see business titans make silly (some said stupid) mistakes during the interview and then rationalize why they did not get the job.

Here are a couple of comments we heard when we asked our search firms about this subject;

“When a candidate says; “Just get me in front of them. I will get the job!”, it’s like my 5 year old asking me to let them play with the real shotgun because they are good with the plastic one!”

“Dad, let me take the motorcycle out, I ride my bicycle every day!”

Have you seen that commercial where the dad is giving his daughter the keys to the car and when they show the daughter she is 8 years old? It’s not until the end of the commercial that you see the 8 year old is really a young woman going off to college. Unfortunately, false reasoning is the most common mistake made by executive level job seekers. The second is the notion that a great writer makes a great resume writer. In desperate situations it is even more common. The frustration we heard from our recruiters when asked about his subject was

“I cannot get executive candidates to just stop talking and listen.”

Our advice to the recruiters was that they have to do something that will convince the executive or manager that they don’t know the lay of the land. To ask them some of the questions that have caused others to lose the opportunity in an attempt to show the candidate what they don’t know and convince them to be more prepared.

It is interesting that we as human beings will plan and prepare for a presentation to sell a product that does not mean all that much to us personally, but do not prepare nearly as intensively for something like this, which is so much more important to our future.

If we truly were all great presenters then why so often are there people in authority over us who do not offer as much as we do?

The moral of our story is;

Try not to fool yourself into thinking that interviewing is a core competency. Ask any recruiter anywhere about the people who interview for positions in leadership and they will tell you what they told us.

Think about it for a moment. If you are really great at what you do at work, how could it be possible to develop a core competency in an area that you have so little experience? Have you ever seen a commercial where the star is the business owner? Have you ever seen one where you thought the business owner was fabulous? Have you ever seen a freeway billboard with a confusing message? You think; I know they didn’t have professionals involved in that one!

If you have only interviewed from the candidate’s side of the desk a few times in your life, how could you be an expert?

Expert candidate interviewing is a gift that very few people in the world have. We polled our Search firms and they agree. Most cannot think of one candidate that “aced” every question but they could all think of several situations where a candidate was fabulous at what they did at work but failed to make an impression on the employer.

So take the time to truly prepare yourself for the interview, just like you would an important sales call. If you are not the persuasive type, ask around and find someone who can help you but make sure they have worked at your level in an organization and have extensive candidate side interviewing experience, then, only work with a firm that will allow you to pay them by the hour.

JSR has lots of free interview training modules on the way. Watch for these insights to help you navigate these uncharted waters. Good luck to you!

Jackson Stevens Resumes

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In this modern, internet driven job market, Search Firm owners and operators need help sourcing some of their most difficult searches. JSR works on behalf of the Search Firm sourcing and forwarding resumes of appropriate candidates. Since we work on behalf of the search firm there is no fee to the candidate. Post your resume in our system and be found when appropriate searches are conducted.

Jackson Stevens Resumes

Click here to hear why more Search Firms partner with Jackson Stevens than any other Executive Resume Service

Click here to put your resume in our system and get notification on new positions

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Objective, Summary, Profile, and many others. With so many options, which is relevant? What influence does the market economy have? How does the term become relevant in the current business climate?

A “Seller’s Market”

25-30 years ago, the term “Objective” was commonplace on a résumé. This was due to the fact that it was a good economy from a jobs perspective or what we in the industry call a “seller’s market”. In a “sellers market” the candidate’s “Objective” or what you are looking to get out of the job is relevant or at least a weighting factor.

Today’s “Buyer’s Market”

In today’s difficult economy, it is clearly a buyer’s market. Until the employer expresses interest in you, they are not interested in your objectives. Jackson Stevens recommends the use of a “Summary” or “Profile” to show potential employers that you are focused on their needs.

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Remember that recruiters are constantly bombarded with the unemployable, the desperate, and often the financially troubled potential candidate. The last thing you want to happen is for them to put you into one of those categories.

Unfortunately, today many recruiters are so sensitive to it they may suspect that any candidate who calls them has the potential to be one of “those.”

Remember why they call it recruiting, the recruiter is supposed to recruit you, not the other way around. Just like with employers you simply need to make sure your résumé has been received.

3 Simple Rules when contacting the Recruiter

1. Do not ask if they have any openings they are working on at the moment. That is too obvious.
2. Show interest in their business, ask how their practice is going and if there are any contacts you might have that might help them.
3. Make sure they take the impression that the purpose of your call is simply to verify they have your résumé on file so that if an appropriate opportunity arises, they will have it. You just want to introduce yourself. If they have an appropriate opportunity, they will take the conversation from there.

You will find that when you approach them in this way, the recruiter may start looking for ways to market you.

Jackson Stevens Resumes

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So, you have all of the needed qualifications and skill sets but still did not get the position.   Remember, your perception of a good fit is not always theirs. The match is crucial when employers assess your candidacy.  Once they are beyond the qualifications match, they continue to assess the skill sets match and then finally to the cultural match. More positions are lost in the first 5 to 10 minutes of the interview than at any other moment. They have decided to speak with you because from the moment they began reading your resume they began to see a fit. If you can keep that momentum going, you may get to the offer. You have to see to it that the elements you bring out from your past experiences flow with the needs of the position. The better the explanation of your experiences, the more likely you advance. It is your job to control yourself in that moment to make sure that the employer has an accurate view of you as a person. That is why preparation is such a key element to success in the interview; chemistry, personality, appearance, communication skills, energy, motivation, passion, assertiveness, are all areas that may be misinterpreted if you are not careful. You must plan your marketing image, not hope for it. The following is the first “What to do” and “What not to do” so bookmark this page for future articles.

Be Prepared

Advanced preparation is not just important, it is imperative. Being prepared is something you cannot do once you have failed the interview. Interviews are the #1 event where you are asked open-ended questions (#2 is a courtroom).  Ambiguous questions are asked so that the interviewer can get to the heart of who you are without the benefit of you filtering your answers, what we mean is; most people have the persona they want the outside world to see and then there is the “real” persona. This is more true in an interview than in any other scenario. When the interviewer asks the infamous “Tell me about yourself”, it is only the first of many open ended questions that will be hurled at you. This can be a trap as you cannot possibly know what part of you they want to hear about and frankly we at Jackson Stevens recommend that you be yourself first and foremost. The simple truth is “you” are what they will get if they hire you.  So begin your preparation by thinking hard and long about your answer. Categorize it into as many categories as you can think of. How many different elements are there to you? Start with an organizational pyramid, with “you” at the top, and then divide the question into 2 segments; you as a person on the left, and you the “employee” on the right. They are not likely to be interested in you as a person at the beginning of an interview process so this question is almost always about you as “employee”. Now, break you the employee into further categories; your dedication, your work ethics, you as a manager, your tenacity, your ability with customers, finance, technology etc. make as many categories as you can think of. Answer the question in detail for each area of “you” that you discover but no more than 1 minute on each area. Do not elaborate too much unless they ask you a clarifying question, which would indicate interest in the subject. Make sure to keep a mental note on both what their questions are and when they were asked. That way you can determine what areas of you they were most interested in. Make sure when you build your answers that you think about how the listener will perceive what you say.

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When a firm asks this question it can be a two-edged sword.

The recruiter or search firm represents the employer, but even more they represent themselves. They have to get some idea of what kind of income you expect in order to avoid wasting their time. If your salary requirements are iron clad, give them the minimum base. But don’t backpedal later. Every search has a salary range. Knowing your requirements enables the recruiter to qualify you financially. Just remember, they may use this information to disqualify you as well. Your requirements may be flexible but you do not want to look desperate.

So what do you do? The recruiter needs to at least have some idea of your needs and at the same time you need to be vague enough to be flexible and get to the offer. Jackson Stevens Resumes recommends you answer this question in stages;

The Best Answers

Answer 1 – For those who wish to avoid giving a number

Am I to assume this information is confidential?

If the recruiter says no;

“I appreciate your question. You should know that my career growth has primarily been based upon my performance. I believe when I focus on and achieve results, the money will take care of itself.”

Now be careful. You might get ruled out by some because they feel you are not being cooperative. If you feel forced to give a number, don’t use your current or most recent salary as a template. It is not relevant to the new employer. However, if you need to make $120k, our advice would be to state the following;

Answer 2 – For those who want to give a range

“I appreciate your question. You should know that my career has always developed based upon my performance. I believe that when I focus on and achieve results, the money takes care of itself…

I want you to know that I am open to any level of compensation to start as I believe my performance will dictate my financial future. Please do not consider my salary history when speaking to employers.” My base income has always been in the low 100’s. Understand, though this is not a requirement.

Remember, the recruiter and employer do not know what you can do for them yet and you are no where near the negotiation table. Do not let your answer keep you from even being considered. Make sure they know that growth and development are your primary motivators, not living expenses. The recruiter will respect you as a player.

Jackson Stevens Resumes

Click here to hear why more Search Firms partner with Jackson Stevens than any other Executive Resume Service

Click here to put your resume in our system and get notification on new positions

Contact Jackson Stevens Resumes