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Classy Client Prep
Episode 72nd November 2023 • The Talent Trade • Southwestern Family of Podcasts
00:00:00 00:17:40

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Don't let a first interview feel like an awkward first date. Learn the reason why a lot of interviews can start off sloppy, how to create the best 60 to 90 minutes possible, and the primacy of actual live, back-and-forth conversation.

Discover what sets ThinkingAhead apart, hear stories from recruiters, and browse opportunities by clicking here.

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Stephanie Maas:

Hi, and welcome to the Talent Trade.

Stephanie Maas:

This is Stephanie Maas, partner with Thinking Ahead Executive Search.

Stephanie Maas:

Today, I want to talk through one of my absolute favorite steps in our recruiting slash business development process here at Thinking Ahead, the client prep.

Stephanie Maas:

Most folks are pretty familiar with the candidate prep, but not everyone does what we call the client prep.

Stephanie Maas:

I have asked and asked when people don't do this, I usually get one or two answers.

Stephanie Maas:

Oh, I've worked with this client.

Stephanie Maas:

I know what they're going to do.

Stephanie Maas:

I know how they're going to do it.

Stephanie Maas:

I don't need to do a prep or, Oh, I don't think my clients would do that.

Stephanie Maas:

Um, no, yeah, we, it's okay.

Stephanie Maas:

I mean, I'll prep the candidate.

Stephanie Maas:

Let me encourage whatever your hesitation is to doing the client, get over it.

Stephanie Maas:

Said lovingly, this is a critical step in establishing ourselves.

Stephanie Maas:

Number one, as an expert in recruiting and attracting talent, it's also sets us apart from that vendor mentality.

Stephanie Maas:

This is where we start to really submit the idea that we are a partner with them.

Stephanie Maas:

And getting the right talent on board.

Stephanie Maas:

This is what most search firms will not do.

Stephanie Maas:

And that's why they get the reputation for being a vendor or a resume broker or whatever the case may be, which is not what we are here at Thinking Ahead.

Stephanie Maas:

Now, sometimes I'll get some feedback where folks go, Oh my gosh, I love this.

Stephanie Maas:

But I'm super nervous about setting it up.

Stephanie Maas:

I just get so intimidated sometimes when I'm talking to my hiring managers.

Stephanie Maas:

So let me start with that.

Stephanie Maas:

Let me give you an easy way to get this set up.

Stephanie Maas:

Whenever you do internet presentations, by the way, if you don't do candidate presentations and all you do is send over the resume, please look for that talent trade episode because that's critically important.

Stephanie Maas:

We work way too hard.

Stephanie Maas:

Especially in this talent crunch to bring good people to the table, to just send them over and resume for, we have got to be doing candidate presentations.

Stephanie Maas:

When you do candidate presentations, the way you set that up is you're already setting the tone that if you present a candidate, they're talking to them.

Stephanie Maas:

And then when you get, Hey, so I've got.

Stephanie Maas:

Pam Tuesday at two to interview with you, John Thursday at four and Eric Friday at whatever, 11 o'clock.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay, great.

Stephanie Maas:

You, you go through the logistics of getting that set up.

Stephanie Maas:

By the way, notice that that sounded like it was a call and not an email because it is.

Stephanie Maas:

We are very old school here at Thinking Ahead.

Stephanie Maas:

We try and do as many things as possible as makes sense through conversation.

Stephanie Maas:

There is so much you can learn when you are actually interacting with another human live.

Stephanie Maas:

Email and text can be great for certain things, but for most of us, it needs to be through conversation.

Stephanie Maas:

So you get the commitment on their interview schedule, then you say, Hey, one more thing, hiring manager, before I let you go, before you start.

Stephanie Maas:

This first round of interviews, I want to get on your calendar for 10 or 15 minutes just to walk through a little bit of a prep.

Stephanie Maas:

Surprisingly enough, when we get feedback from our clients, this step of the process.

Stephanie Maas:

It's one of the ones that they found most helpful.

Stephanie Maas:

So I want to make sure I do that with you.

Stephanie Maas:

So the first interview is Tuesday at 10.

Stephanie Maas:

What does Monday afternoon look like for you?

Stephanie Maas:

Notice here, we're not really giving them a choice to say no.

Stephanie Maas:

We're not saying, Hey, if you have time, if that works, how does that sound?

Stephanie Maas:

It is, Hey, third party selling.

Stephanie Maas:

This is viewed as one of the most important steps in what we do.

Stephanie Maas:

When can you make time for it?

Stephanie Maas:

If you do get pushback, Hey, I'm good.

Stephanie Maas:

I've been interviewing for 25 years.

Stephanie Maas:

I don't need your prep.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, John, I really appreciate that.

Stephanie Maas:

I'm going to challenge you a little bit.

Stephanie Maas:

Part of what you're paying me for is this step in the process.

Stephanie Maas:

And there's some things I haven't been able to share with some of the candidates that I think would be important for you to know going into an interview situation.

Stephanie Maas:

So again, Promise you I won't need more than 10 or 15 minutes.

Stephanie Maas:

How's Monday afternoon?

Stephanie Maas:

And then you get on their calendar.

Stephanie Maas:

Now, at the end of the day, we can't control people.

Stephanie Maas:

If they blow you off or if they insist, they're not going to do it.

Stephanie Maas:

Fine.

Stephanie Maas:

That's their right.

Stephanie Maas:

And we're not going to throw a temper tantrum.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

But you also have to know if things don't work out in this search, this is something you can go back and point to.

Stephanie Maas:

You weren't letting me do my process.

Stephanie Maas:

That's part of the reason why this search went off the rails.

Stephanie Maas:

So let's say it's Monday afternoon, you've got the hiring manager on the phone.

Stephanie Maas:

What do you do?

Stephanie Maas:

Same thing as how we launch a candidate prep.

Stephanie Maas:

Look for that talent trade episode.

Stephanie Maas:

Basically, you're going to want to set a little bit of rapport.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, is there anything new or different with the search since the last time we spoke?

Stephanie Maas:

I don't care if you spoke to them at 4 o'clock on a Friday, and it's now Monday at 9 a.

Stephanie Maas:

m., you ask the question, is anything new or different in regards to the search?

Stephanie Maas:

It's amazing what you will discover.

Stephanie Maas:

Oh, well, you know, it's kind of weird.

Stephanie Maas:

Uh, Friday at 5.

Stephanie Maas:

15, I got three other resumes.

Stephanie Maas:

from HR and it looks like instead of just interviewing your three candidates, um, I'm also going to be interviewing three other from HR.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay, good to know.

Stephanie Maas:

Or, you know, it's weird, over the weekend I got a call from, uh, Sally over in XYZ department and she wants to raise her hand for the position.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

Good to know.

Stephanie Maas:

We now have an internal candidate or, Hey, you know, I want to, I do want to interview these candidates, but I did find out from my boss that we might be going on a hiring hold.

Stephanie Maas:

Well, I'll know more by the middle of the week.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

Good to know.

Stephanie Maas:

It's just amazing how quickly things can happen.

Stephanie Maas:

And the onus is on us to ask the questions.

Stephanie Maas:

Not everybody understands what kind of information recruiter needs to make a search effective, but we know what we need.

Stephanie Maas:

So we need to be the ones to initiate the exchange of information.

Stephanie Maas:

Great way to start hiring manager.

Stephanie Maas:

Has anything changed since the last time we spoke in regards to the search?

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, real quick, just a quick reminder of why we're chatting.

Stephanie Maas:

Number one, I want to go through, just highlight a couple of things from each of the candidates you're going to be talking to this week.

Stephanie Maas:

Really make sure you maximize.

Stephanie Maas:

The time that you spend together also want to share with you a couple of thoughts or questions on how to approach the candidates for some of the information you're hoping to get.

Stephanie Maas:

And then remind you lovingly that we are in a talent crunch and it's going to be very important that even though we are absolutely doing the interviewing, we've got to have our selling shoes on as well.

Stephanie Maas:

So I just want to prepare you for a couple of ways to do that, that candidates have really appreciated in the process.

Stephanie Maas:

How does that sound and they're going to go, okay, that sounds great.

Stephanie Maas:

Whatever.

Stephanie Maas:

Super.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, real quick, before I jump in, anything on your mind as it relates to these interviews and just wait.

Stephanie Maas:

Well, you know, Stephanie, now that you ask, you know, I was thinking more about Eric on Friday and I don't know, some of the guys at my firm, they're not sure, you know, they knew him from X, Y, Z, they're not really sure he's the right guy.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

Then you talk through that, talk about how to answer that, but you get what's on their mind.

Stephanie Maas:

Most of the time they say, no, it's all good.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

Well, then before we dive in real quick, let me just confirm all the logistics one more time.

Stephanie Maas:

So you're meeting this person here at this location.

Stephanie Maas:

You just go back and confirm everything.

Stephanie Maas:

Yep.

Stephanie Maas:

Yep.

Stephanie Maas:

Yep.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, just real quick, hiring manager.

Stephanie Maas:

Will anybody else be joining you for those interviews?

Stephanie Maas:

Well, not that I know of.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay, could anybody jump in?

Stephanie Maas:

Well, you know.

Stephanie Maas:

Sometimes if my boss is around, he likes to just jump in.

Stephanie Maas:

Oh, okay.

Stephanie Maas:

Well, what's that like?

Stephanie Maas:

How much heads up do you get?

Stephanie Maas:

Or does he just pop in?

Stephanie Maas:

What's he looking to accomplish?

Stephanie Maas:

And you get information there.

Stephanie Maas:

If they go, nope, it'll just be me.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

Well, hey, let's dive in then.

Stephanie Maas:

Again, I've got everything written down.

Stephanie Maas:

That I want to share with you, but as we go through that information, if anything comes to mind, hiring manager, please interrupt me.

Stephanie Maas:

I want to make sure that we speak to all of your questions or thoughts and our time together.

Stephanie Maas:

And I promise you, I won't forget anything on my end.

Stephanie Maas:

All right.

Stephanie Maas:

First and foremost.

Stephanie Maas:

That's going to sound like a silly question, but what is your goal this week with the interviews?

Stephanie Maas:

And then shut up.

Stephanie Maas:

Don't ask them leading questions.

Stephanie Maas:

Don't give them multiple choices.

Stephanie Maas:

Just ask them, what is your goal with the interviews this week?

Stephanie Maas:

And listen, and they go, well.

Stephanie Maas:

I'm not really sure what you mean, what do you mean by my goals?

Stephanie Maas:

And then just stay quiet.

Stephanie Maas:

Give it three to five seconds of silence, they might start talking again.

Stephanie Maas:

What's important is that they start thinking about what are they actually trying to accomplish in this time together.

Stephanie Maas:

Then you can say, Hey, for most of the folks that I work with, their goal is skill set evaluation, cultural fit evaluation, and affordability.

Stephanie Maas:

Okay.

Stephanie Maas:

So in the past, how have you typically accomplished that?

Stephanie Maas:

And again, Be quiet.

Stephanie Maas:

They may go, well, what do you mean?

Stephanie Maas:

Like what's my interviewing style?

Stephanie Maas:

Sure.

Stephanie Maas:

And then they'll tell you, well, I like to bring out their resume, ask them about the different moves they've made, blah, blah, blah.

Stephanie Maas:

And they're going to tell you their agenda and their style.

Stephanie Maas:

This is the information that you can then bring to the candidate prep.

Stephanie Maas:

And again, the idea isn't that you're prepping for best interview gets the job.

Stephanie Maas:

This preparation is about maximizing the candidate and the client's time together.

Stephanie Maas:

Most interviews are 60 to 90 minutes long.

Stephanie Maas:

That's it.

Stephanie Maas:

And a yay or nay decision will be made if they move to the next step based on that 60 to 90 minutes.

Stephanie Maas:

You have most likely put in hundreds of calls, profiled a dozen folks.

Stephanie Maas:

And saturated the market with your effort to find these candidates.

Stephanie Maas:

You want that time, that 60 to 90 minutes to be the best possible 60 to 90 minutes that it can be for your candidates and your clients.

Stephanie Maas:

That's why we do these preps.

Stephanie Maas:

So you get them talking about their style, their agenda.

Stephanie Maas:

Listen for any inappropriate questions.

Stephanie Maas:

Some folks are really up to date with what is legal and not legal to ask.

Stephanie Maas:

If they want to ask something that you know is not going to land well, talk through ways to ask that differently.

Stephanie Maas:

Or, hey, when you ask that question, I'm curious.

Stephanie Maas:

What are you trying to learn there?

Stephanie Maas:

Help me understand.

Stephanie Maas:

Then, Get them ready to put their selling shoes on.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey client, one of the things that I will prep the candidate for and that we have found is a huge selling point for opportunity is the quality of people that they're going to have a chance to work with.

Stephanie Maas:

So one of the questions I'm pretty sure you're going to get asked is about you, your background, what brought you here?

Stephanie Maas:

What keeps you here?

Stephanie Maas:

What do you like?

Stephanie Maas:

What are the challenges?

Stephanie Maas:

So I'd really encourage you to think through that.

Stephanie Maas:

So that when it gets asked, you have thoughtful answers, by the way, I don't want you to be anything other than honest or sincere.

Stephanie Maas:

Every organization has challenges.

Stephanie Maas:

I'm not saying air all the dirty laundry, but I do think it's important for folks to know, hey, there's a lot of great things here.

Stephanie Maas:

There are also some challenges when we don't share challenges, people quit 2 or 3 weeks into the job, but when we do, they take the role.

Stephanie Maas:

Knowing what they're going to be up against, and they've accepted that as a part of the position.

Stephanie Maas:

Be prepared to talk about your leadership style.

Stephanie Maas:

This is also a great opportunity if you've got a talker to talk about being clear and concise.

Stephanie Maas:

Then be specific with each candidate.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, when you meet with Pam, here are the two or three key things about this opportunity, role, organization that really attracted her.

Stephanie Maas:

To wanting to talk to you and you better know those and you should if you do a proper profile See another episode of the talent trade if you do a proper profile, you're gonna know why she's interested Make sure the hiring manager knows that make sure he's prepared to talk to that Remind them how the candidates fit Hey, by the way, if you remember you had asked for eight plus years of XYZ skill set Just wanted to remind you Pam's actually had 12 Four years at one organization and eight years at another organization.

Stephanie Maas:

We take for granted that people spend time preparing for these interviews, but most of them don't because they're not professional interviewers.

Stephanie Maas:

They're running and gunning.

Stephanie Maas:

And then the last minute says, Hey, don't forget you had that interview with Pam today at two and it's 1 45.

Stephanie Maas:

They're inhaling their lunch.

Stephanie Maas:

Cause it's been a crazy day.

Stephanie Maas:

And they're like, yeah, yeah.

Stephanie Maas:

And they literally glance at Pam's resume.

Stephanie Maas:

And then just start talking when she walks in the door.

Stephanie Maas:

That's sloppy.

Stephanie Maas:

Help them.

Stephanie Maas:

Give them the highlights.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, when you talk to Pam, make sure you talk about these three things.

Stephanie Maas:

The other thing you need to do is remind the clients about the candidate's compensation.

Stephanie Maas:

A great way to do this is after you've highlighted why they're interested, why they're a fit, say, hey, hiring manager, let me also remind you.

Stephanie Maas:

They are currently at a base of 162 with an annual bonus of 15 percent that pays out in cash in March, and then be quiet.

Stephanie Maas:

Listen to their reaction.

Stephanie Maas:

By the way, you already know if they're affordable or not, but if the hiring manager goes, 162, huh?

Stephanie Maas:

Hmm.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, I hear a little hesitation.

Stephanie Maas:

Help me understand that.

Stephanie Maas:

The last time we spoke, you shared with me the range on this was 155 to 175.

Stephanie Maas:

But now I hear at 162, there's some hesitation.

Stephanie Maas:

Great.

Stephanie Maas:

More information.

Stephanie Maas:

And then when you do share the comp, it's a great way to say, Hey, hiring manager, when you get into the interview situation, let me strongly encourage you not to talk about money.

Stephanie Maas:

You already know what they're making.

Stephanie Maas:

They will be direct with you if they're interested, but I always liken this to being on a first date and things going really well.

Stephanie Maas:

And then you go, Hey, I'm just curious if things were to work out, what kind of ring do you think you'd want?

Stephanie Maas:

Do you want a big wedding or a little wedding?

Stephanie Maas:

Most of the time, it's going to freak them out.

Stephanie Maas:

It's way too soon.

Stephanie Maas:

And besides you and I both know if you start talking about money, your HR department's going to have your head.

Stephanie Maas:

So again, the candidates fit in the range.

Stephanie Maas:

We know that they do.

Stephanie Maas:

And if this person ends up being the right person.

Stephanie Maas:

I promise you, we'll do our best together with HR to deliver a fair and reasonable offer.

Stephanie Maas:

Sound good?

Stephanie Maas:

Then you say, Hey, I know I just shared a ton of information with you.

Stephanie Maas:

Any thoughts, questions, feedback, and then listen, listen, listen.

Stephanie Maas:

And then, okay.

Stephanie Maas:

I really appreciate your time.

Stephanie Maas:

This is why I enjoy working on your behalf, dot, dot, dot, Hey, real quick, before I let you go, let me get back on your schedule for 10 or 15 minutes after you've had a chance to interview all three candidates.

Stephanie Maas:

So you last speak with Eric.

Stephanie Maas:

On Friday at 10, can I grab you Monday at 11?

Stephanie Maas:

In that call, I will already have all the candidates feedback from you.

Stephanie Maas:

And be prepared to share with you their thoughts.

Stephanie Maas:

And then you make that appointment so that you're not chasing your client trying to get feedback.

Stephanie Maas:

Well, some people blow you off.

Stephanie Maas:

Absolutely.

Stephanie Maas:

It's the nature of the beast, but you're more likely to get on their calendar if you're actually on their calendar.

Stephanie Maas:

So make sure you set that up before you finish the call.

Stephanie Maas:

None of us are perfect.

Stephanie Maas:

If you forget, follow up right away with an email.

Stephanie Maas:

Oh, Hey, hiring manager.

Stephanie Maas:

Thanks again for your time.

Stephanie Maas:

Brag out of a little bit.

Stephanie Maas:

I mean, this is why it's such a quality organization, quality people like yourself winning to spend time trying to attract the right talent.

Stephanie Maas:

Hey, one thing I forgot to do is make sure I got on your calendar on Monday for a debrief.

Stephanie Maas:

Dot, dot, dot.

Stephanie Maas:

How's 11 o'clock sound?

Stephanie Maas:

Not a huge deal.

Stephanie Maas:

The most important thing with a client prep.

Stephanie Maas:

Is, I hate the term fake it till you make it because I think that's insincere, but we do want to be confident.

Stephanie Maas:

This is where we add value.

Stephanie Maas:

This is our difference maker.

Stephanie Maas:

This is why they pay us what they pay us.

Stephanie Maas:

This is what makes us not a resume broker.

Stephanie Maas:

This is coaching.

Stephanie Maas:

This is training.

Stephanie Maas:

This is part of our process.

Stephanie Maas:

That allows them to attract and actually hire the best talent in the market.

Stephanie Maas:

They do their job like pros, they interview like pros and they execute like pros.

Stephanie Maas:

Hope that helps.

Stephanie Maas:

Thanks for listening to this episode of the talent trade.

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