Exploring the Candidate Bill of Rights (Part 7)

It’s time for this week’s commentary on the Candidate Bill of Rights series of ItzBIG Blog. This week’s installment, the seventh amendment in the Candidate Bill of Rights – “Preparation”

“Preparation
“Each individual should expect that they will be provided with all relevant information about the organization and hiring manager in order to best prepare them for success during the interview process.”

Actually, my take on preparation is slightly different than that of the writer at ItzBIG. I like what he has to say about the hiring officials need to be prepared so that they can give a candidate the proper amount of respect and professional courtesy that is due them… especially in the hiring process. Too often HR and hiring authorities are not in sync about schedules and the process of interviewing and evaluating talent. When that happens, the candidate is always the one that is short-changed. Sometimes it happens because of shifting priorities or emergencies in operations or production that can not be anticipated. But too often, it is just through a simple lack of communication. People responsible for the hiring process need to do better.

But this week, I am looking at this ‘amendment’ from a little different vantage point. I am looking at it through the eyes of a recruiter involved in moving a candidate through the hiring process. It is my responsibility to prepare that candidate for the interview. I must give him an overview of the steps in the hiring process. Let him or her know what length of time the entire process will take, what investment of time is expected of them, the hurdles that will be laid out for them to jump over in order to be the successful candidate. I should be able to provide either the information or point to available sources of it, so that the candidate can familiarize themselves with the company’s history, the current performance, news articles or headlines, company goals, company organizational structure, and company culture.

The candidate should know when and how far apart interviews will be scheduled, with whom, how many, and what type of interviews they will be. Providing a set of sample questions, feedback from other interviewees, and the objectives of each type of interview at each stage of the engagement can really help a candidate know how to prepare him or her self. Don’t get me wrong, I expect participation by the candidate. In fact, I hold them responsible for the review of all the materials that I provide them. They fully understand that the effort that they put into preparing themselves for each interview in the hiring process, will be reflected in almost direct proportion as to how well they do.

Heck I have a job. I know the information already. My part is done, I’ve spent years learning about my clients and worked dozens if not hundreds of candidates through their process. I’m not the one that needs to put in the work. If they are serious about being successful in getting the job, they are the one that needs to step up to the plate and swing the bat. I view myself as the coach, who has been scouting the opposing team for months. I turn over all the information, I prepare the scouting report, heck I put together the game plan so that the candidate can be successful in the campaign. But ultimately, the candidate is the one that has to execute on the game plan.