When I told a candidate that he was not being accepted and he recommended one of his friends 1 minute later, I told myself that I had done something good. So, I did some digging to understand what he liked and he answered: “I learned a lot of things, you made me realize things about myself, it was super interesting.”

In their book Nine Lies About Work, Mr. Buckingham and A.Goodall list several checkpoints for a fulfilling and motivating job. Among them:

• At work, I clearly understand what is expected of me
• I know that I will be recognized for my great work
• In my work, I am always challenged to grow

These are points that can be conveyed to your candidates during interviews. This is where coaching by the recruiter or hiring manager comes in.

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Why coach a candidate?

To offer him an unparalleled experience

Yes, it is important that the candidate experience is fluid, friendly, consistent with the atmosphere of the company. It is a prerequisite. On the other hand, differentiation comes from the conditions in which each person is put in to pass their interviews and get something out of them. Can this be a technical concept like TDD, a way to manage stress, to be more impactful in your discourse, to better articulate your experiences and your ambition?

To make him want to join you

At work, I clearly understand what is expected of me

Support them in preparing for interviews:

Send exercises to train. Give visibility to the candidate on the progress of future interviews. Inform him of the checkpoints for each interview and how these will be addressed with him.

Give systematic and transparent debriefs:

Telling the truth isn't always easy, but that's where the recruiter brings value. It is by allowing, through its transparency and its involvement in the success of its candidate, to make him progress. Debriefs can be accompanied by advice to make progress on a particular point.

When you have interviews where you have all the cards in hand. So you know that you are being evaluated reliably, there are no surprises. This motivates candidates who go to the end of the process because they project themselves into a role and they know that they will be supported. It also makes it possible to stop candidate processes who are perfectly clear about the reasons for the refusal and leave with a positive impression of their visit to you, transforming them into promoters.

In my work, I am always challenged to grow

When a process brings us value, it is easy to imagine that the job for which we interviewed will bring us a lot of value. So we project ourselves, it creates desire because we know that we will be challenged to grow.

I know that I will be recognized for my great work

When you are coached during a process, you also receive recognition. Coaching shows us that we are making progress through interviews. It is easy then to see that in this job, “I would be recognized for my excellent work”. In this way, we continue to create desire and to differentiate ourselves from the person's other paths.

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Am I at risk of making a mistake?

In other words, no.

Just because a candidate knows: what they will be evaluated on, how they will be evaluated and how to make progress on their weak points does not mean that this will distort the results of your interviews.

A person who succeeds in a job is a person who projects himself, who sees himself growing there. In fact, it is essential to see if a candidate has the ability to make rapid progress. It goes without saying that it is super reassuring to see that a candidate is able to make progress between two interviews! Coaching candidates not only allows you to see what a person is capable of doing at a given moment but also (and above all!) to assess its potential for progress over a short period of time (during the process). It is therefore necessary to put candidates in the conditions to succeed in their interviews and to make progress.