Exploratory interviews: a profitable investment!

Your time is precious I know! But recently a HR Director told me that he had stopped waiting for internal managers to “pass over recruitment instructions” to him and that he was getting ahead by suggesting candidates.

By building a database of candidates before receiving instructions, not only could he react to client’s demands more rapidly, but he could anticipate them! Good job!

Of course, it takes time, discipline and a bit of organization but it’s worth it.

1. You meet candidates by mentioning to them that you don’t have any positions available but you are interested in their career path. You can also see them under a new light as without the stress under selection people reveal themselves more easily, they tell you their expectations and their true goals. You can also give a more authentic tone in the interview and branch into other areas, so that it will be easier to target opportunities to them in the future.
2. By allocating a percentage of your time to this type of interview you will notice in the long run that it will become a routine and that you will build a solid network of useful contacts to call on, even for references. It’s what we call a good return on investment.
3. Target your potential pools of candidates. You don’t have to meet every candidate who presents themselves, only those who are conducive to your organization and your needs. If you mainly need engineers, there is no need to meet salesmen, or if you mainly recruit in finance, no need to meet IT specialists! Be tactical in your choices!
4. Always keep records of your interviews, conserve them and classify CVs as well as interview notes. By categorizing candidates by specialties and style, you will also be able to avoid meeting candidates who do not correspond to company’s values whatever their skills may be. Make a note of when you forwarded the files to your managers to follow-up on candidates that you meet.
5. Familiarize your managers with meeting these candidates. They will acknowledge your proactivity and will be more open to sharing their business plans with you. The aim is to position yourself as their partner rather than their candidate supplier. You will see that they will soon learn the added value of this. Show them that in 2006 we no longer recruit as an emergency reaction to a departure. The person whom you met last week could suddenly become THE perfect candidate.

Finally, beyond short and medium term recruitment interests, you will contribute to making your organization a company who is tuned in to the candidate market. It is a small world and candidates talk. Each interview will offer a unique occasion to make it known that you are a good employer in tune to the market and as a bonus you can collect privileged information on the job market and on your competitors.