There must be chemistry between the recruiter and the candidate for a job – says François Nail, coach at RSQ Leadership Management, co-author of the book “Quest your way to success”
Joanna Ćwiek: When is the interview successful?
François Nail: We communicate not only verbally but also subconsciously. And because we think faster than we speak, the signal that our subconscious sends is much more important. If the two people overlap, then the conversation is successful. There must be chemistry between the interlocutors.
How do I get on the same wavelength?
You have to make contact from the very beginning. If we fail to do so, we must try to make up for it during the conversation. But it will be difficult.
What should we first of all pay attention to?
You have to try to feel as comfortable as possible during the first minutes of the meeting. We create such freedom when we follow certain rituals, e.g. exchanging business cards. We start the meeting with handing over the business card. However, for this to work, the business card must be given well and received well. Give well, that is, first of all, you have to have it prepared. It very often happens that a candidate, usually a woman, nervously searches for a business card all over the bag. It looks very bad and it certainly doesn’t help build good relationships. We put the business card in front of the interlocutor’s eyes. Not to the side
And how to adopt?
Take it in your hand for a moment, look at it, read it, and put it back in its place. Under no circumstances should it be crushed in your hand, because the person to whom this card belongs will feel abused. It’s also not nice when we take a business card and hide it without a word. The caller will feel disrespected.
Business cards will definitely work well at business meetings. But very often job applicants don’t have business cards. Then what?
We need to find other rituals that will give us a moment to calm our emotions and create chemistry between people. For example, you can turn off the phone. Or ask the recruiter if he has my CV because I have it with me and I can give it to him again. The key is usually the proposal to serve coffee or tea. I think that half of the candidates when asked if you would like to drink something will answer: No. The word “no” at the beginning of the conversation immediately spoils the atmosphere. You have to ask for coffee. But don’t be fussy and ask about the type of coffee or tea. If we don’t drink coffee, ask for water.
What else to look for in a job interview?
You must remember that a candidate for a job is assessed from the very entrance to the building. It happens that candidates are very polite to recruiters and not very polite to assistants. And when I was a headhunter, I often asked my assistant what impression he made on her and how he behaved at the entrance.
What if there is no chemistry?
You have to try to catch the rhythm of the other person during the interview, i.e. if the recruiter speaks quickly – answer him questions at the same pace. Let’s also try to imitate his gestures. If one person steps back and rests his back against the chair, the other person should sit down the same way. However, you have to be very careful to do it sensitively. If we exaggerate, the interlocutor may be irritated by this. An interview is like dancing. One side is leading, but the other side is more fluid.
Usually, at an interview, we put ourselves in the role of applicants who came to ask for a job, and probably both parties should be partners for each other. After all, the employer gives us employment and money, but we give him our time, competencies, and work …
A candidate for a job is always the applicant first. But he should strive to make this stage of being a petitioner as short as possible so that we become partners as soon as possible. How to do it? For example by asking a recruiter: How does he see his role in the company or what features of your organizational culture could be particularly important to him? In this way, we show that this conversation, and the subsequent work, is a mutual transaction.
What else needs to be done for the interview to be successful?
We are playing but not cheating. And if we expect too much, we are just starting to cheat on our partner and ourselves. You have to go with the right attitude. We cannot expect that they will offer us a job immediately because we are so good. Rather, let’s prepare for the fact that it will be a nice conversation. If we set our mind to that, the conversation will surely be nice.
