Tweet

Weird Hiring Manager Mistake #1: The job up sell

Written by: JR Fent

Article Overview: The first time I had this happen to me I felt that it was a bizarre occurrence. The second time I started to ponder why it happened. The third time - I declared it a 'trend'...

Weird Hiring Manager Mistake #1: The job up sell

Let me start by saying that I am not taking a pot shot at my clients. I feel that this hiring mistake just happens for specific reasons and now I have a habit of using this as a selling point for my clients.


As a recruiter, I try my hardest to find candidates that are ‘off the radar’ and I tend to find candidates that really surprise my clients. A couple months ago I pulled a Director level candidate from a worldwide known Fortune 500 and when I submitted him to my client, I got my favorite response: “How in the world did you get us this guy?” I’m not telling you that to brag, (although it would be appropriate) – it’s just what I try to achieve. In that particular case, the candidate took the position. The client appreciates the candidate, the candidate appreciates his new position, and I appreciate my commission.


The issue comes in when I find a candidate that gains that much attention and then a mistake is made during the interview process that kills the deal. A simple mistake that I could have coached the Hiring Manager on was made. I was locating great candidates for a Product Manager position for a client in California. The candidate was flown across the country, meetings arranged, and all looked like we were on target. During the interview, the HM felt that this was a very strong candidate for the Product Manager position. HM said to the candidate “You would actually be great for a SENIOR Product Manager position – overseeing all the Product Managers in the division”. The Hiring Manager stepped beyond the position that was on the table, the position that the candidate had already agreed to, the position they flew the candidate across the country to fill. This was done to oversell a candidate that was already sold on the position at hand!


Now what does the candidate expect? A Bigger bump in position. Of course, more of a base salary. And certainly not being shoved into that lowly “Product Manager job” that he is over qualified for. What a train wreck!


I spent the next two weeks attempting two things:

1) Getting the candidate back on track for the original position.

2) Getting the client to open up a Sr. Product Manager slot that the HM had created the illusion of in the candidates mind.

Result: DEAD DEAL! All was lost. The candidate went away. The job order remained open for 3 months longer. I lost a huge amount of research time trying to close a deal that should have been a slam dunk for my client.


THE FIX: I now do a short interview with the hiring manager and team that is going to interview my candidates. I tell them the story that is in this article. I emphasize that they are looking at THIS candidate for THIS job. If they see potential for the candidate to do a different job or a bigger job – they need to keep that to themselves and remember “The candidate is here interviewing because he has been sold on the company and the position at hand. Deviating wastes everyone’s time.”

Related Articles
  Lesson #2: “We interview people for culture fit.”
  Free Sales Hiring Mistake Calculator
  The Job Market is Tough – Does Your Cover Letter Stand Out?
  You Have an 82% Chance of Making a Hiring Mistake When...
  Three Interviewing Mistakes - And How To Avoid Them

Article Tags: base salary, bump, country meetings, director level, fortune 500, habit, hiring manager, hm, level candidate, manager job, mistake, new position, pot shot, product manager position, product managers, radar, recruiter, target, train wreck



Related Forum Posts
Re: looking for experienced affiliate feedback - Hi Nancy, Hiring an experienced firm to market and sell your products is certainly a viable option. It all depends on whether you want to spend more of your time or money. Hiring a firm is going to cost a good bit I imagine. On the flip side, to do most of the work yourself and attract affiliates to sell your products for you will require much less money but a lot more time and effort. Do you have a budget to work within? Or perhaps maybe you have a loan to get things moving?
Outlook Business Contact Manager - I've just installed the new Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager and am testing it out to see how good of a CRM system it is. I like the concept because it works right within your Outlook and I already have all my contacts and emails here. Does anybody have any experience with Business Contact Manager for Outlook?
Re: what position to request? - Hi Michael, Great suggestion from David, or you could try something around a design consultancy, How about Website Design Consultant, Design and Development Manager, Website Support and Development Manager or maybe Internet Business Development Consultant. Ultimately whatever you are comfortable with and good luck for the future, Mal.
Re: Need A Review Of My Internet Marketing Blog - Wow! I agree with what everyone else says. A good measure of how successful would also come from checking your bounce rate. I like white space and calming. When I landed on your site for some reason I got anxious. Weird. But A for effort. It's hard doing it all yourself. Good luck.
Re: Search Engine Optimization - Hi Thomas, So what would you recommend? Hiring an SEO expert or simply trying your hand at doing it yourself?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Setting Goals for your Home Based Business

Four Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Should Blog

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.