Candidate & Employer Interview Tips

By Kevin Kurtz, Practice Leader, Recruiting 

I am wishing the LinkedIn Community a wonderful start to the week. Today’s view from atop the Recruiting Soapbox will offer some helpful thoughts and observations for candidates and clients. Since I recruit both for Wiss and our clients, I can offer a unique perspective.

Candidates:

Your resume is your golden ticket! It is what the Recruiter/Hiring Manager sees first and will determine if you receive an interview (not the ATS the Humans do)! Your resume serves as your marketing tool to best highlight your past body of work and potentially an indicator of your future value. Take special care of your resume and spend time on it. If you need assistance, seek out a professional like Adam Karpiak! Trust me you deserve it!

It is perfectly acceptable to ask the Recruiter about benefits when being presented with a job opportunity. If something matters to you, you should always ASK. Don’t be surprised at the end of the process!

Find out what the company’s plan is regarding work arrangement. It is great to know what the current state is but what is the future plan? Just because it is hybrid today does not mean it will remain that way in the future.

Perform your due diligence on the company prior to an interview. At the very least have a general understanding of what the company does, products/services and any potential recent news regarding the company.

It is your prerogative to turn down an offer and YES even rescind (nails on chalkboard) BUT…..BE PROFESSIONAL and Communicate your decision to the Recruiter. Phone call, text, carrier pigeon are all acceptable modes of communication.

Clients/Employers:

If you are going to require a candidate to physically come into the office to interview (especially multiple times), how about you afford the candidate’s options earlier or later in the day. If your interview team is not willing to come in early or stay late to meet a prospective employee what does that really say about your organization? We meet candidates at all hours at Wiss!

Are you really going to hold up a potential offer while you check references?

Thank you emails are a nice touch, and I encourage candidates to do it. BUT…let’s stop with comparing and contrasting them or having them influence the outcome of a process.

Not a week goes by without me being asked to keep a candidate warm. My approach on this is very simple. I tell the candidate the truth of what is happening. What is the harm? We are in Tax season so our own processes may be delayed. Some clients are just indecisive (so I tell the candidate that). Transparency Wins!

The perfect candidate DOES NOT exist. There is always an element of risk involved with any hire. If your interview team feels good about the candidate, and they meet 75/80% of what you need, that is an intelligent risk. Take it! Otherwise, you may be waiting endlessly while burdening your current employees!

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