The feedback we receive after interviews from our clients and candidates provide us with inside information that can help us excel at the recruiting profession. It’s important to say to both the client and candidate that you “take your direction from them.” This empowers them. As a result of this, you will receive more accurate information.
BENEFITS OF A PROPER DEBRIEF:
- A thorough debrief leads to a proper prep.
- This process helps you to identify the top priorities of your client and candidate.
- This information helps you to fine-tune your search process.
- You will eliminate surprises.
The information you receive from your debrief of candidates and clients should help you complete the information on your prep form. Even the newest person just going through initial recruiting training should be able to prep their candidates for one of your clients by reading the information on your prep forms.
WHO DO YOU DEBRIEF FIRST?
For years, we were taught to debrief the candidate first. It’s most effective to debrief the person who is “most interested” first, whether it’s the client or candidate. You want information from the most interested party so you have pertinent information to share with the other party.
BENEFITS OF A PROPER PREP:
The prep you conduct for your candidates and clients can separate you from your competition and will result in you making more placements.
Who do your candidates compete against?
- Candidates obtained off the Internet
- Ad candidates
- Walk-in candidates
- Internal referrals
THREE VITAL ELEMENTS NEEDED FOR AN EFFECTIVE PREP:
- Thorough knowledge of the candidate and their strengths, weaknesses, and “hot buttons,” which will enable them to go through the trauma of change
- Total understanding of the specs on your search assignment, including company culture
- Knowledge of the interviewing format, style of the interviewer, forms to be filled out, and questions asked (from prior debriefs)
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PREPS:
- General—New client; first interview
- Specific—Utilizing information gained from debriefs on prior candidates. The more you work with a client, the more precise the prep.
THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO A PREP:
- Job specifics
- How to interview to get an offer (each part of the prep takes 15 minutes)
NEVER take shortcuts during the prep process! This step in the recruitment process is where you differentiate your candidate from their competition.
In the second part of this blog post, I’ll discuss in detail the two parts of a prep, the benefits of a proper candidate prep, and why you should prep clients.
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(Barb Bruno, CPC/CTS, a guest writer for the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Blog, is one of the most trusted speakers, trainers, and experts in the staffing and recruiting professions. If you’d like to contact Barb to schedule a free demo of her “Top Producer Tutor” web-based recruiter training course, call 219-663-9609 or send an email to support@staffingandrecruiting.com.)