The Talent Hunt: Where’s the Will To Win?

There are some painful and common things I’m seeing lately on the hunt for talent, interviewing countless people for various positions.

In the past I’ve posted on this topic:

Where Job Candidates Fail: Articulating GBE

The Market for Talent & The Missing Element

The job market from my vantage point continues to be a “buyers” market in sheer numbers, where you post on the boards and get overwhelmed with tons of qualified credentials quickly for any given pay rate. That’s where the buyers market ends however, as people make fundamental mistakes in great numbers.

Here’s a few common one’s I’ve seen.

• Basic research seems to be a skill that 50% fail to do:

• If you don’t know the company’s website and publicly available information, why show up?

• If you know the names of the people you are meeting with, wouldn’t it make sense to do the SAME research on the people you will meet with that will render an opinion on you coming on board or not?

• If you HAVE spent time doing basic research, why not work it into the conversation? That will put you in the other half of the pile that DID do their homework.

• Don’t ask about benefits on the first interview, unless the company initiates that discussion.

• Vacation policy? Same as #3.

• Follow up is painfully lacking. Not responding to an interview within 24 hours with a simple email thank you puts you in a pile (mentally) you don’t want to be in.

• GENERIC follow up may be worse than no follow up. Cutting and pasting the same thank you note to the 4 people you meet with is crazy. They WILL compare notes, and when they see this the people will assume you are either lazy or not listening to individuals.

How do I sum this up?

Simple. A job interview is a golden opportunity. It is the equivalent of getting a meeting with a dream prospective customer in sales. If you are not preparing a half a day or more for the interview, or sales call, don’t be surprised if you don’t get the result you want. The people that DO get the results do not simply show up with their good looks and clean resumes. They come ready to play, and ready to win. Being ready to go starts long before the big meeting.