“That mutha$#@%&!!!!” My 2nd response was “relax and inhale…exhale”. After that I just laughed. His exact words were “the way you are coming at me is whack yo”. All this young man wanted 
to do was just apply for a job and that’s it. He did NOT want to listen to a “lecture”. This got me to thinking, in regards to the applicant what is my role as a recruiter? I am a partner, mentor and guide throughout the process in whatever capacity I am needed for a specific applicant. I believe my job is to provide the applicant with an opportunity that is in line with his/her future goals. I am a partner throughout the process, I provide advice when needed and insight about the hiring manager. I can review where other interviewees have succeeded or failed. I help prepare for the interview as far as what to expect, questions to be ready for and what to say and not to say. I can provide feedback on what type of questions to elaborate on and what topics to ask the hiring managers questions about. And I can provide help with the resume or LinkedIn profile. I can’t guarantee an interview but I can guarantee the applicant won’t get stuck in the black hole of the ATS. The following advice (or lecture to some) is more for applicants who don’t have a lot of interviewing experience. Here are a few of the many things hiring manager will try to find out about you. How do you respond to any kind of feedback, constructive criticism or training? Do you get mad or take it personal? Do you apply this feedback to your daily tasks? Do you love learning and getting better? Do you get along with others? How are you going to achieve success? What have you done so far to try to achieve that success? How do you respond when things get tough? What kind of morals do you have? Are you honest? Trustworthy? Just to name a few. Here is the thing, they won’t ask you this as direct questions, interviewers ask questions that will get you to talk about all these things without specifically asking you. Keep this in mind, applicants need to solve a problem for the employer. So talk about skills you bring to the table that help solve that problem. Making general statements such as “I am driven” doesn’t tell me or the hiring manager how you will solve that problem. “I am driven, so in my previous job every day I would get to work 90 minutes earlier than everybody else. I would spend that time researching targeted companies and I was able to find 6 more decision makers than any of my peers.” THAT tells me something about how your drive improves your production. If an applicant can’t show how he/she will help a company make money, save money or make them more efficient, it will be hard to get hired. When I talk to an applicant here are some red flags for me.
- Your previous job was “too hard” and involved “too many other” things.
- You have had 4 jobs in 4 years.
- You have had 2 of those 4 job last a combined 7 months.
- With no experience you land a job making $75/hour ($156k a year) AND you leave after 11 months.
- You are unwilling to invest 15 minutes of your time into the application and submission process.
- You are not forthcoming with information.
- You have a sense of entitlement.
I am here to help our client find the right person to do the job and I am here to help the applicant land a position that will get him/her closer to their future goal. Any information or advice I provide only has one purpose, and that is to help the applicant get the job. If you are unable to apply my feedback today, how are you going to deal with feedback and coaching in your new position? 
If you want to read more of what I and the other #badasses at A Sales Guy Recruiting have written, check out our blog! If you’d like advice and guidance on how to step up your game as a candidate, I invite you to check out the free resources offered at, A Sales Guy U. We’re the “Cool” Recruiting Firm! Our Secret Sauce: It’s all about meeting revenue goals, not finding resumes. Rather than looking at credentials, we see potential. A Sales Guy Recruiting was born from a sales company. In conjunction with our consulting division we know sales; sales process, salespeople, sales strategy and sales structure and we use this knowledge to find and connect you with the candidates that will make sure you make your goals. For a taste of what we do, visit us online or reach out to a badass recruiter.