There is one way to ensure that your first choice of candidate will be excited about your company and accept your position. And, here it is …
Put on your best sales hat and be sure to impress on your candidate the three “whys”:
- WHY your company and your job are better than any job offered by a competitor. Take the candidate on a tour of your office. Show and explain your equipment, systems, plans, samples of your work, etc. Answer his/her questions completely and succinctly.
- WHY your employees are happy and stay longer with you than the average. Introduce candidate to some key employees. (Prepare employees ahead of this introduction)
- WHY it would be a smart career move for the candidate to work for your firm.
Explain how other employees have grown with your company and advanced in the industry. Do make sure you are saying the same things to the candidate that you say to your prospective customers. If you need to brush up on your sales presentation, now is the time do it.
And here’s a strategy to help you do this during the interview: Make sure you weigh the time you spend selling the opportunity as heavily as the time you spend examining the qualifications of the candidate.
To save precious time, you can have your human resources department “pre-qualify” the candidate so you can spend extra time talking about the tremendous opportunity that exists in your company. Or “pre-qualify” the candidate yourself on the phone before the in-person interview. If you are using a recruiter, (and this is where Kemper Associates comes in), the candidate already will be pre-qualified for you.
If you do a good job of selling, each candidate you interview will WANT your job when they walk out the door. In the end, the choice will be yours. And won’t it feel nice to opt for the candidate who really wants the opportunity – and brings the most to your team?
Philip Kemper is Founder/President of Kemper Associates, a 35-year-old, Chicago-based national executive search firm, specializing in Permanent and Contract staffing for Tradeshows and Exhibits, Staging and Equipment Rental, Business Meetings and Events Production, Video, Training and Incentives and more. His more complete bio is on LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/philip-kemper/2/795/308/. You may view Kemper Associates’ website at: www.Kemperassociates.net and contact Phil with questions or employment needs at Kemperassoc@hotmail.com or by calling his private phone line at (312) 944-6551.
