Preparation is a key ingredient to any successful interview. Your candidate’s ability to successfully interview depends on focus, confidence and the empowerment. Nailing the job offer begins at step one: the interview preparation and rehearsal. 
It's your job to either have a system for interview coaching set up or to manage each and every candidates 'dress rehearsal' yourself. After all you have worked this hard to find whom you think is the best candidate for the job. Now it's time to set them up to win.
When you built the search specifications and the client needs analysis you uncovered the key ingredients to the right fit. You took the time to identify what the company’s problems or needs are in the role, beyond the job specifications and requirements. You invested the time in defining what your candidate needs to do in order to achieve great performance. You asked what your client wants in return when hiring? You dug deep and helped them define the ROI for the hire?
You are aware that now more than ever companies are looking at every expense and if they are choosing to hire, they want something besides a butt in a seat in return. You know this and you operate with this in mind during your entire recruitment process.
When you match you assess and gauge whether your candidate is a fit for the position based on his or her skills and abilities as well as their ability to produce results in the role.
You know that one of many facets of good recruiting is uncovering what makes your candidate tick. You delve deep to find out what influences excellence in your candidates’ performance, you ask what values are important to them.
You work with your candidate and create a vision of a long-term career path for them, you encourage them to define their ideal role and share the difference they want to make and how they will impact their next company.
When your interview is complete the candidate fully gets your commitment to them as a person and to their achieving their career goals through landing the right job, in the right company, doing the right things.
Before you present or submit a candidate to the client you find out if they have what it takes to impact your customers’ bottom line. You are responsible for the submittal, now more than ever your credibility matters and you are proud of the manner in which you differentiate yourself.
As you already know too well, the spiffy resume is only the cover of the book. Day in and day out you are on a mission to prove to your customer that no one else besides you does as thorough of a job getting to the meat of the candidates behaviors, motivations and goals and this ingratiates both your candidates and your clients to you.
Before you send a candidate on an interview you advise them to do their homework on the client. You coach the candidate to research their potential employers products and services as well as what differentiates them in the marketplace. This knowledge not only elevates your candidates confidence in the interview it clearly distinguishes them as a player.
In preparation for the interview you ensure the candidate truly understands the role, the Key Performance Indicators, Core Functions, and Selection Criteria the company has set for the role. You always give them insight into the company culture the key players and what it’s going to take to get the job and to keep the job.
Even when you do all this, there is no guarantee that the person who leaves your side and shows up on the interview will ‘Ace’ the Interview. Some recruiters say things like, “I can’t control what they say”. My stand is building the candidates interviewing sales skills are absolutely something you can control. Why send a great candidate out who cannot function effectively in an interview, it makes us look bad and we cannot afford that.
A step you might want to add is a new homework assignment. An assignment where the candidate prepares a persuasive essay on the 5 reasons they are the best candidate for the job. The power this preparation provides is second to nothing. Another crazy yet compelling step is the candidate reading the persuasive essay to the person in the mirror. Candidates who do this are 100% crystal clear why they are interviewing and that they are by far the best match, and guess what…. so are the people who interview them.
I know you know what to do. The key is doing it, and working with clients and candidates who allow you to be the thorough professional you are naturally.
Sticking with your processes is what differentiates you and your candidates from the sea of competition. Now…Lets go Make some Placements!
