Last Monday we published Part 1 of this post, listing 1-5 of the 10 Things Recruiters Want To Know About You when they call you in for an agency pre screening interview. Here is Part 2 of that post, items 6-10.
6. Can I establish control over this candidate?
Recruiters are trained to be able to effectively ‘manage’ their candidates. An agency meeting is perhaps the first in a series of requests and instructions designed to condition the job seeker into hearing, and following the agents instructions. Creepy as this might sound, it is classic sales / relationship management technique – making a series of inconsequential requests to establish a pattern of acceptance. Be clear as to motive – this is not necessarily an attempt at mind control, but another method by which agents can manage risk by establishing your reaction to direction.
7. Can I close this candidate so he’ll take the job?
Recruiters do not get paid his commission until you or another candidate he has introduced, accepts the job with his client. The agency interview is crucial part of his sales process to you, where the job seeker will be qualified on his or her motivation and commitment to role, and on your reaction should you be offered the post. This is the opportunity for the ‘trial close’, a forward projection technique used by many salespeople to condition you into being comfortable with the idea of accepting the job, before the offer is even made.
8. Are there any leads I can pull from this candidate?
‘Pulling leads’ is a method of business development which centres around interrogating the candidate with background questions, the answers to which can be later reused for sales purposes. A face to face agency screen is ideally set up to generate the intimacy required to facilitate the smooth transfer of this market intelligence.
9. How high risk is this candidate?
Remember the part about being paid? A recruiter typically does not charge a client until after placement, so in effect conducts a great deal of work effectively free of charge. In any business where resources are deployed for potential, rather than guaranteed future return, the risk is substantial. Risk mitigation strategies are used to minimize the likelihood of wasted time and effort. Make no mistake, an agency interview is as much about managing risk – the recruiters risk – as much as anything else on this list.
10. Do I need to keep looking? (because this guy hasn’t got it locked down)
The recruiter is not sure whether you are the one – the money candidate – who is going to get the job. Hence he undertakes the interview to confirm whether he is wrong to doubt you, or whether it makes sense for him to continue sourcing alternatives because he feels you have not got it locked down. Again, this is an risk mitigation strategy typically taken by ‘high quality’ recruiters who are aiming at high ratio of candidate to placement.
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