I want to hire you
Dear HR job seeker.
Your CV has me interested, and you passed the screening call with my recruiters, so you're over the hurdle of being one of many. You're now one of a select few and you've got an interview meeting scheduled with me.
I like what I have seen and heard about you so far. And I need to make this hire. It's costing me money/time/credibility/sleep/(insert any angst here) for every day that this vacancy isn't filled. Please impress me during this interview, because I'm looking for reasons to hire you. So.....
Please don't give stock standard answers to my questions. It's so ho-hum for instance, when you tell me that your "worst thing" trait is your workaholism or your fanatical attention to detail. Every other person claims this too. Give me something real.
Please do not keep referring to your CV in your answers - I've already read it, and I want to hear directly from you about the remit/challenges/achievements you’ve tackled. And you make me worry when you cannot articulate answers without referring back to your CV (Are you not telling the truth so need to check your own claims? Do you have a confidence issue? How will you communicate at those times when you don't have notes to hand?)
Please dress to impress me. I want to feel like you've made an effort, that you really are interested in the job and in working here; and are not just going through motions to then trade off this meeting for salary or promotion discussions with your existing boss.
Please show you've done some research. I don't want to hear you regurgitate from our company website or my LinkedIn profile. I want proof that you've got enough nous to do some decent fact finding. This also shows me that you're really interested.
Please be on time. In the case of lateness for whatever reason, a call in advance would be great, and an apology immediately upon meeting will be appreciated. My time is valuable, and if you show disrespect to me now in an interview process, what will you be like to work with?
Please don't oversell your experience. I can spot B.S. a mile off, and I will rate you more for your honesty if you haven't done everything we need - instead assure me of your plans to learn and fill the experience gaps.
I want to like you. I want to be enthused by you. I want you to impress me so strongly at interview that I can be happily promoting you to my boss/team/business execs before you even start with us. I want to hire you. Please make it easy for me to do so.
About the Author
Leanne Morris is well known as a both an outspoken advocate and critic of the HR profession. With long standing networks across 94 countries in all specialist areas of the function, and a multi- continent work history, she is a sought after subject matter expert on international HR hiring trends and HR hiring best practice.