Hey Wozza
Q. Why is it I seem to get on better with some candidates better than others - is there something I can do?
A. Interviewing can be a delight or a strain, but the strange thing about interviewing is that for even the best recruiters we all have bad days at the office, don’t we? When try as you might you never get past first base in terms of trying to open up the candidate and gaining so much needed rapport. It is at times like these when you are struggling it is worth reminding yourself of two very simple basics of interviewing and it would be true to say of any communication. First, use the same language as the person you are speaking to. Secondly, it is not what you say but how you say it.
Let us discuss the first point: using the same language. There are two things you can consider there. People buy from people who are like themselves. That means in the sense of language the unconscious process of accepting people who talk the same language and by that in its simplest form, using the same words that your candidate uses. So if he or she uses words such as blue-chip, corporate, CEO, MD, sales strategy or whatever, when you ask them questions or clarify statements you use the words blue-chip, corporate, CEO, MD, sales strategy.
Next consider whether this person is an auditory, visual or tactile person. Listen for a language pattern that homes in on a preference for one of these. As examples auditory people use words such as: listen, hear, speak and tell more often than a visual person who will use: look, view, see and a tactile who will prefer: touch, feel, comfortable.
The easiest way to start to gain rapport if you feel that by the sound of things the situation is looking grim is just to start saying some of the points the interviewee is saying back to them using their language and words. So if he or she says ‘I raised overall sales by 10% last quarter’ you say ‘so you raised overall sales by 10% last quarter that is interesting, tell me more’.
Let us now talk about point two: it is not what you say, but how you say it. I am sure you all be aware that effective communication is made up of 55% body language, 38% of how you say it and just 7% of what you say. Believe me if you are not interested in the conversation, your interviewee will pick up on that very quickly. By the same token if you do not put feeling and enthusiasm behind describing your client opportunity, then do not be surprised when they say no.
Do not get caught out by your candidates, remember it is not what you say to your candidates but how you say it.
Take a look at http://www.recruitmentmatters.com they have plenty recruitment tips.
