Wednesday Wisdom: The Amazing Houdini Candidate

Dear Claudia,

What do you do when a candidate simply disappears? It’s happened to me twice this month: I screen them up front, they’re all excited about the opportunity, they go to the interview…and then nothing. No returned calls, no emails about taking another job, nothing. It's hard enough to find good candidates at all these days, what can I do to keep this from happening again?

Feeling Cheap in St. Louis

Dear Feeling Cheap,

It sucks to lose a good candidate, and we’ve all been there. But what you’re describing sounds more like losing wishful thinking than real candidates. Oh sure, they all sound real enough on the first date, but the minute you hint at commitment the pretenders are off flirting with someone else. So how do you separate the real from the imaginary before wasting your valuable time or reputation?

Simple: timing and take away.

Timing means you deliberately break your decision about a candidate into smaller pieces. Instead of “going with your gut” on a single phone screen, try inserting a few hidden checkpoints in the path to test for a level of commitment. For example, I rarely interview a candidate on the first call; I ask a few qualifying questions, and then set an appointment for a more in depth conversation. I make it the candidate’s responsibility to contact me and always give them some prep work to learn about the client or industry before our call. And then I take notes: is she on time for the call? Has he done his homework? There’s nothing random in this evaluation; it is designed solely to catch them in the act of commitment.

Take away is the other useful tool, and one of the most difficult to do with an otherwise qualified candidate. Take away simply means you remind the candidate that they are not perfect – that they lack something, no matter how small, which makes them less desirable than other candidates also under consideration. You might say that they have fewer years of experience, or that others hold a more advanced degree. Taking something away allows you to test the perceived value of the object to the individual, and again it is important to carefully watch the reaction. Do they spend energy defending their qualifications? Do they compete at all for the opportunity, or express continued interest?

My grandmother used to say that the truth lies in what people do, and not what they say. My teenagers taught me that when words and behaviors don’t match, it’s time to turn off the volume and simply watch the behavior. Real candidates are willing to make and keep small commitments on the road to larger ones. Breaking your assessment into smaller pieces keeps this in the right perspective, and helps you remain focused on making a long-term match rather than a short-term hire.

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Comment by Jan Simpson on April 9, 2008 at 10:03am: Clearly, any time you are looking to close the deal, it is all about the presentation. However, I would think a little more relationship building on the front end would allow you to know what the person is like rather than play games with the person's background. In an industry where there is little, if any, cooperation between any recruiters - knowing who is working with what candidates, getting to know your peeps especially if they are a good candidate (cause you will want to place them again) is far more damaging to your competitors than everyone using the same script. We all know that there is no perfect person for any job, but if the person has the passion and carry that position to the degree of that exceeds the employer's expectations, then haven't you secured your incumbency with both the employer and the candidate? I really value and appreciate the peeps who want to build relationships with me first before tearing up my background, as I have worked hard building my career. Just my humble opinion.

Comment by Amitai Givertz on April 9, 2008 at 2:47pm: "Catch them in the act of commitment" -- cuts both ways!

Comment by Tektree Gopi on April 9, 2008 at 9:56pm: Thanks Claudia. I like this these 3 points.

1. Take away is the other useful tool.
2. My grandmother used to say that the truth lies in what people do, and not what they say.
3. My teenagers taught me that when words and behaviors don’t match, it’s time to turn off the volume and simply watch the behavior.

Link by gopi@tektreesystems.com

Yahoo/MSN/Google - IM: velloregopi

PSave trees. Print Only When Necessary.

Comment by Claudia Faust on April 10, 2008 at 9:58am: Here's what I'm lovin' about the collective wisdom in the comments so far...

Jan Simpson says: "I would think a little more relationship building on the front end would allow you to know what the person is like rather than play games with the person's background." You got it, perfectly! The point is to build relationships in a way that lets you reasonably predict what the candidate (or anyone, for that matter) will do next. No surprises.

Jonathan Nazarian says:"Don't marry the candidate, and don't marry the client!" I love this, Jonathan. Always keep your sense of "show me" intact. Questionable behaviors show up all the time... you see it once, the person might just be having a bad day. You see it twice, sit up and pay attention. When you see it the third time, it's a trend of behavior -- and now you have two choices: go deeper to understand the motivation, or close it off.

Ami Givertz says: "Catch them in the act of commitment" -- cuts both ways!" Funny thing about human nature, it shows up in candidates, hiring managers, recruiters, parents, children -- just about everyone. Watching for trends of behavior (either good or bad) just helps you make better decisions.

Thanks to all for jumping into the conversation. Happy recruiting!