Should a candidate be coached to “win the interview”?

As a recruiter, I’m caught between balancing what’s best for my client in the long run and what’s best for me and my firm in the short run.  We’ve all been on interviews and everyone knows the importance of preparing for the interview and treating each step of the interview process with extreme care.  It is one thing if you are interviewing directly with the company.  You’re not going to get much preparation help from the company.  

But what if there were a 3rd party inserted in the equation , namely a 3rd party recruiter like me?  Further what if this recruiter’s compensation, livelihood, and wellbeing was directly tied to you getting the job?  Then it would be in that recruiter’s best interest to coach the candidate to “win the interview right?”  This is a situation that faces many recruiters each day.  They place a candidate that very well may earn 100K salary which would mean a 25K fee for the recruiter.  Why would a recruiter not do everything they could do to ensure that candidate gets the job?  Even if it meant slipping key inside details about the people the person is interviewing with, questions that they might be asked, hot buttons, knockouts..Even simple things like whether/how to follow up with a thank you note, etc. 

When I interviewed for a sales position 4 years ago, the 3rd party recruiter who was working with me actually e-mailed me a 20 page packet on how to prepare for my interview.  Then she held preparation session where we would role play and I would answer her mock interview questions and she’d critique my answers and tell me what I was doing wrong and how to do it right.

This brings up the inevitable question.  How much preparation is too much?  What crosses the line?  As a recruiter, if your client knew how you were preparing your candidates, would they thank you, or would they be taken aback by the fact that you were essentially coaching them to win the job? 

In my personal practice, I lean towards underpreparing my candidates vs overpreparing my candidates.  There are a couple reasons for this. 

1. Underpreparing my candidates means that my customers are getting the rawest presentation of my candidate.  Not some doctored, “lipstick on a pig” version.  What you see is what you get.  They are not a robot.  They are themselves.  If it is a salesperson, the way they treat you during the interview is the way they’ll treat a prospect.  I did not tell the candidate to wear a suit and tie.  I did not tell them to bring 3 copies of their resume.  I didn’t tell them to get to the interview 10 minutes early.  I didn’t tell them to close hard at the end of the interview.  I didn’t tell them how to address the inevitable situational questions that will pop up.  What you see and experience is raw. 
2. I have long term relationships with my clients.  Many of my clients are on retainers which means that I’m going to be seeing them again….and again…..and again.  If I coach my candidate to win and interview, and they end up getting laid off 3 months down the line, I’ve got to deal with the aftermath, and I probably will have to replace that candidate for free!  I’ve got to face my customers and continue my committment to them.  Most recruiters are paid a fat fee when they place someone and are not to be heard from after they get their 20K check in the mail. 
3. Bottom line is my job is to ensure that the most qualified candidate gets the job and that that candidates stays with my client for a long long time.  The only real way to do that is to present raw candidates to them.  Not doctored, overprepped candidates that know exactly what to say..   

The best advice I can give when confronted with the dreaded question: What are your salary expectations?

Say you are called in for an interview where you know that the salary budgeted is likely below what you made in your last job, but you still would like to be considered (for whatever reason.  ie: the job is a dream job, the market is tight and you can’t be choosy, etc)

The best piece of advice I can give is how you phrase your salary expectations to the employer.  Ideally though, you wouldn’t waste your time with an interview unless the salary was within range.  This is done via an initial phone screen.  If no info is given on salary, I would always ask someone prior to interviewing, what the salary range is.  Whether it’s a recruiter, or the hiring manager, it is a fair question to ask.  Always be tactful when you ask this, as it’s easy to ask about salary with an arrogant attitude which is a turnoff for me. 

 

Once you’re established what the salary range is, you must personally make a decision on whether that range is within what you’d consider.  If it’s not, you must decide whether you want to interview and learn more about the company to see if the value of the opportunity (people, advancement, culture, etc) balances the scales out.  If the salary range is within 20% of what you’re looking for, I’d suggest going on the interview. 

 

NEXT, if/when salary comes up in the interview, and you KNOW (or have a feeling) that your compensation expectations are above what they’d be able to offer, always preface any specific numbers with a very specific statement.  This is your time to close the interviewer and you make your closing statement.  Here’s a general script, but I’d say something like this…

 

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Interviewer: What are your Salary Expectations. 

 

You:– Candidate:

 

Well, before diving into specific numbers, I want to reiterate my interest in the company. 

Reason A – ie: culture – Having been on site and toured the office, it’s apparent that your company has an exciting culture that I’d fit right into.

Reason B – ie: people – I’ve really enjoyed meeting everyone in the interview process and feel that I’d work really well with everyone. 

Reason C – ie: technology – You guys have some really great technology and it’s exciting to see a company that is committed to being on the cutting edge of technology. 

 

Next, I’d like to reiterate my qualification for the role. 

Reason A – I have experience helping small companies scale their database needs as their reporting and application needs have grown.

Reason B – I have direct experience in the collections industry

Reason C – I have extensive performance tuning experience. 

 

My current/most recent salary was 90K however salary is just one criteria that I weigh in my job search.  I’ve highlighted some of the other things that are important to me above.    Ie: culture, people, technology.  I want to emphasize that I am flexible on compensation for the right opportunity and confident that I could produce tremendous value for your organization.

 

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(If you were confident that the salary range budgeted is above or within the range of what you are looking for, you could leave the part out on being flexible, etc)  BUT if you know that the salary range is probably lower or less, then it is IMPERATIVE that you let them know that you are flexible and willing to discuss.  Don’t seem desperate – present this professionally and let them know that you are really truly interested in the opportunity, and not just the money. 

 

This approach guarantees that you will get an offer if you are qualified for the job.  It may not get you a salary above what you were expecting, but in those situations that you are on the border compensation wise, you know that you at least haven’t disqualified yourself from consideration.