Whether you’re the one hiring new staff, or interviewing for a role yourself, never forget that a recruitment process is a brand management exercise. It’s about the many outcomes that will come from any networking meeting, and understanding that an interview is also another form of networking.
Sure, when we first agree to an interview process, either accepting a candidate for interview, or saying yes to an interview we’ve been offered, everyone is hoping that the outcome will be love at first sight and an amazing new match for you and the company concerned.
But accepting that not all job interviews go on to a job offer, what else is there to be gained from a well handled interview process?
Candidate or client, this is where managing your own brand comes into play. Clients, consider for a minute the impression that is left if you have read the CV, are interested and engaged in the candidate, and spend some time describing the bigger picture take-homes that you want any contact to leave your office understanding.
Whether you go on to offer this person the job or not, their contact with your organisation has been largely positive and you have also provided them with information about your goals and vision that will undoubtedly feed through to the roots of your reputation when they are asked about you in the future.
Candidates, by the same token, arriving in the right dress code, with well prepared case studies and a clear and strong understanding of how you want to present yourself (what are your key messages?) will ensure that long after the interview process is over, you’ve left a good impression on that industry contact for the future.
Some research on the company, scanning the news and recent press releases as well as checking for mutual contacts (with Linked In there’s no excuse not to do this) will make your interview – your pitch – all the more compelling and engaging for the person you are meeting.
What leads on from good impressions, and bad ones, is the power of word of mouth. Have you met with this company before? What did you think? You’re asking me whether I’ve ever worked with Kath Woof? No, but I did interview her once…
As a recruiter the difference couldn’t be clearer between those who carry good reputations in this industry, and that people are eager to meet with, and those who are considered a less appealing option. When we present a CV, or brief a candidate on a job, some of those opportunities are leapt upon; others immediately produce a shaking of the head.
As we see time and time again, brand equity is not solely about the distribution of marketing spend to enhance a corporate campaign or reputation. In fact, in an industry which is marketing savvy and more impervious to traditional marketing methods, an interview process and positive representation and emotional engagement can be far more compelling and far reaching for both parties.
Kathryn Woof, Manager, Media & Communications, Xpand Group