Keep in mind that this is a serious life choice that is being made by the candidate; this is how a candidate provides for himself, for his family, how he identifies his contribution to the world, and his sense of security. Take the time to not only help the candidate decide if this is the right next step, but to truly understand if this is indeed a good fit between a square peg and a square hole.
That being said, of course we would love for there to be a square peg and square hole, and the purpose of a strong interview debrief conversation will help understand how to best move forward to make that happen. Schedule pre-set and exact times in which to conduct both debriefs, whether it’s immediately after the interview concludes, or that evening, or a specific time the following day. Inform the candidate to call you immediately following the interview, and share with them that you (for example) have a debrief call scheduled for the following morning at 9am with the client. If you don’t hear from the candidate by that time, you’ll have no feedback to give the client and that surely will not send the right message about their ability to follow through or level of interest.
Documents
Script for Candidate Interview Debrief
Candidate Re-Qualification Checklist
Videos
This clip from the Foundation Training Program discusses the seven primary objectives behind conducting a comprehensive interview debrief with the candidate following their initial interview with your client.
Each candidate interview debrief call will help you prepare future candidates for the interview, by gathering specific insights about the hiring manager, agenda, or types of questions covered; this clip covers questions that will help conduct a more thorough interview prep with future candidates.
This clip from the NLE Foundation Program helps line up the candidate’s initial wants and desires (or hot buttons) for a future opportunity with what they just learned of this current opportunity, as well as how to dig further into any areas of concern or disconnect.
Managing both the expectations and the ego of a candidate are necessary throughout the entire interview process; this clip shares specific techniques to remind the candidate that demands at this stage are irrelevant if the candidate does not get offered a position within the organization.
In the recruiting process, timing is everything! This essential piece of the candidate interview debrief will help make sure all parties have an understanding of the timing for next steps following the initial interview.
In this clip from “The Five Steps to Effective Candidate Qualifying and Closing” by industry trainer and big biller Jon Bartos, Jon shares his process for candidate re-qualification following an initial interview.
