How can a series of good questions create a bond of trust and friendship? How can a skilled executive search consultant establish themselves with a candidate by asking questions? And what questions work best to encourage a potential candidate to assess their own employment, and evaluate whether they should consider another opportunity?
There are a series of recruiter-questions that lay the groundwork of trust needed for some personal evaluation by the candidate. When the potential candidate chooses to evaluate themselves, they may discover that they are at a fork in the road. Is this worth the risk? Trust-builder questions can lead them to eventually choose to move forward with an interviewing process that can lead them to an important new step in their work life. One caveat: the questions must be asked with boldness, patience and skill.
Here is an opening gambit: ‘On a scale of 1-10, 10 is ‘I love this place’ and 1 is ‘get me out of here now!’ – where are you now?
To be able to influence a person requires the courage and the verbal dexterity to ask the right questions. Sometimes the person will not answer such a question directly. ‘Can we talk later? Not in a good spot at the moment.’ All the answer you need, right?
‘You’re a seven; what would you need to make it a nine or ten?’ Now you’re asking them for their pain points, for what might drive them to look elsewhere. And you choose which of these questions fits the conversation. Maybe, its “why would you want to make a change now?”
Or possibly, “what are you looking for in your next opportunity?
Or, “what do you want to stay away from in your next opportunity?”
We connect with potential candidates by getting to know them and understanding their current situation. If they are willing to tell us, we can help them. Then you can start to get some specifics on motivation and timing:
To understand motivation, “what is the one thing, besides money, your company could offer you to make you stay?”
To clarify timing: “what would keep you from making a change in the next few weeks?”
Or, “if you were to leave today, what would you leave on the table?”
And has this idea of changing jobs been something they’ve considered for awhile:
“Have you talked with your spouse or children about the possibility of a career move? Their thoughts?”
And, “What else do you have going on? Have you interviewed some other places? What happened?
Or, “where have you sent your resume? What other recruiters have your resume? Do you know where they have sent it?”
Or, “do you have any offers pending, or recently received, or turned down?”
Good recruiters use questions that build trust quickly and help them understand if this is a candidate with the proper motivation to make a change. Now, with interest level established, we can begin to assess whether the role fits them, and whether they have the right qualifications. Good recruiters start with the trust-builder questions.
