Tag Archives: job candidate

Written by Rusty Rueff.  Rusty is Glassdoor.com’s career and workplace expert and serves as a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

It’s that time of the year when the owners of three-year-old thoroughbreds are making their claims to run in the Kentucky Derby with the hopes of having a chance to compete for the Triple Crown, a title won by a horse that can win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

As the horses prepare, the trainers and owners are deciding what jockey they want in the Kentucky Derby.  While at the same time, jockeys are evaluating what horse will be best for them to ride.  A jockey has to believe the horse cannot only win the grueling Kentucky Derby, but also has the speed to win the Preakness and the endurance to complete Belmont.  The jockey needs to gauge the performance of the horse and assess its potential for the future.

As trainers and owners choose a jockey, and a jockey decides on a horse, it’s a concept similar to the job search process. Employers look to choose the right candidate, and a candidate decides on a job that’s best for their career.  If you are a job seeker, you want to ensure your chances that the job you take is one that can satisfy your short and long-term needs.  With the most recent Glassdoor.com Employment Confidence Survey, 38% of employees reported that they plan on changing jobs within the next three years; it is timely to think through, not gamble on, the kind of career horse you are going to join before you commit.

Here are three questions to consider so you can win your own Triple Crown career:

• Can you fall in love with the product or the service that the company provides? Let’s face it, if you are going to work long hours and put in the extra effort, then you need to be more than just “in like” with the company.  If you don’t feel the urge to brag about the company to your friends and family, then it’s probably not a good idea to join.  But, if you can fall in love with the company and what they do aligns with your passions, then you will at least want to run hard once you are on board.
• Will you want to run hard for those who you work with? While no one likes everyone, can you see yourself liking a lot of the people around you?  Your next move should be to a company where you feel like the employees are your kind of people. If you are going to spend many hours on the job, then being aligned and liking the people is a big deal.   More often than not, this is what makes us run a little faster than we normally would.
• Will you be developed and grow for the long run? It’s hard to know this going in, but this is always key.  You want to at least feel the job you are choosing is one that you will be able to ride for your long-term growth and development.  The best way to find this out is to see how others have grown, or not grown.  Use Glassdoor to see what employees say about the company, and don’t be afraid to go to someone on LinkedIn who previously worked there and had a similar job to find out about their experience.

There are jobs that are Triple Crowns for each of us out there.  We just have to get better and better at choosing them.  I know someone who has worked for the same organization for almost 40 years.  When asked why he stayed in one place that long he says, “Why leave when you have everything you ever dreamed of in one job.”  He won the career Triple Crown on the same horse! If we could all be that lucky.

By Dr. Chris Croner

Listening skills are critical for all salespeople, whether they are focused on finding new customers, or searching for opportunities in existing accounts. A good salesperson knows how to give the floor to the prospect/customer and allow them to do most of the talking. On the other hand, we have all dealt with salespeople who focus on their own agenda, irrespective of the customer’s unique needs.

Although listening skills can be taught, it is important for many hiring managers to assess them effectively in the interview, to obtain a clear picture of the candidate’s development needs. The most effective way to determine a sales candidate’s ability to listen carefully is simply through observation. Remember, during the interview, the candidate is on his best behavior. So, the tendencies you notice here would likely play out in front of a prospect as well. Here are a few things to look for:

Does the candidate interrupt you? Some candidates may be over eager, but a consistent habit of interruption suggests that the candidate puts his needs and agenda first.

Is the candidate a motormouth? If you have a long-winded candidate, see if you can get them to be more succinct. Gently ask them if they have ever received the feedback that they can be long-winded at times. Remind them of the time constraints of the interview process, and politely ask them to shorten their responses.  Note whether they can do this. If so, you know that they will be amenable to feedback on their listening skills. If not, then be aware of this developmental need if you bring them on board.

Ask the candidate, “Tell me about a time when you were with a customer and had to read between the lines to find out what was important to that customer.” Look for the candidate’s degree of cleverness in both identifying the customer’s real needs, and asking sharp follow-up questions to go deeper.

If you determine that the candidate needs to develop his listening skills, make sure that you consider this carefully in your hiring decision, and provide the necessary developmental resources to those whom you hire.

By Dr. Chris Croner

Many of our clients have told us that they want their salespeople to be “self-starters,” operating with a lot of independence and initiative, sometimes even from a home office. When hiring such an individual, there are three elements to examine closely:

1. Does the candidate possess enough experience in both sales and your industry to operate independently? In this case, consider the amount of basic sales training and product training you will be able to provide, and then determine whether you need a candidate who is “plug and play” from day one, or whether you can afford to bring on an individual with less know-how.
2. Does the candidate show an adequate level of Drive? Of course, we have discussed how to assess the three elements of Drive with testing and a behavioral interview in previous columns.
3. Does the candidate’s personality, as revealed in the interview, show a proactive style and comfort operating without direct supervision? We can determine this with a few key behavioral interview questions . . .

Here are two of our favorite interview questions to assess independence:

• Tell me about a time when it was necessary for you to act without explicit permission. Did the candidate handle the situation proactively on his own? Was the candidate able to act decisively and effectively.
• Tell me about a situation at work when you felt you needed help. How difficult was this situation for the candidate? What did the candidate learn? Is the candidate capable of handling similar situations alone going forward?

Don’t be afraid to ask for more than one example for each question, and be sure to probe the candidate’s answers carefully to fully flesh out his operational style. Make sure you are comfortable with the candidate’s ability to operate independently to avoid potentially frustrating surprises down the road.

Dr. Christopher Croner is a Principal with SalesDrive, LLC, a firm that specializes in the selection and deployment of high performing salespeople.  Dr. Croner is co-author of the book, Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again, detailing his research and practice in identifying the non-teachable personality traits common to top producers.  Dr. Croner developed the proprietary DriveTest™ diagnostics system, including the Drive Interview™ for salesperson selection.  Using this system, he has helped numerous companies to hire and develop top-performing salespeople.