JoshSweeney

Don’t Forget, You are the Candidate and the Interviewer

One thing that has always fascinated me is how many people seem to treat companies and customers as the interviewer and automatically put themselves in the candidate role. A role which means that one party inherently does the most work to please the other when it should actually go both ways. I believe that this stems from the “customer is always right” mantra and that many people believe that they need the company more than the company needs them.

Both of these ideals have their place, especially when someone is hurting for customers or hurting for income. Current economic conditions aside, most people interview for jobs while holding a position at another employer. They are interviewing for reasons based on wants and not necessarily needs. Such as they want more money, flexibility or both. The same goes for companies courting new opportunities. They may have enough work coming in but have to find new business to keep business moving forward and growing. Where businesses get into trouble is when they go after every opportunity without first playing the interviewer.

The fact of the matter is that this process needs to entail a mutual understanding that both parties are providing services or goods that each are in need of. For me this means that I need to do as much due diligence on a lead as they are doing on my product or service.

For example: It is common for a potential client to ask for referrals as which they should. But if I am doing my due diligence then I need to also ask for referrals from other contractors that they have worked with. The potential client asked because they want to know that you have done prior work and that the referred customer was satisfied with the work. As a potential service provider I want referrals to make sure that your company is fair, easy to work with, and pays your bills. When both parties don’t request equal information in certain areas it leads to one party taking on more risk.

The same goes with searching out permanent positions. You sit across the table from someone interviewing that needs a candidate. Many times they will enhance data just like a candidate to make the position more appealing. The real test is when you ask to speak to a random employee that isn’t internally pre-screened to tell you all the right things. These people are more open and can give the most accurate picture of what they deal with daily. If you can’t access these random people you still have the opportunity to ask many questions in order to interview the company just like they are interviewing you.

By becoming the interviewer and not just the candidate you will save time and money. The time you will save will be by not taking potentially unsatisfactory positions or hard to work with customers. Keep this in mind the next time you interview a company for a position or speak with a new lead.

Tags: candidates, interviewing, jobs, leads, referrals