The hiring world has changed drastically for both employers and candidates, but many companies are still trying to hire the same old way and interview with the same old questions. Recruiting industry extraordinaire, Erica Seidel, founder of The Connective Good, joins host Casey Cheshire to discuss the best questions to ask candidates and the answers that tell you they’re the right fit. Throughout this great conversation, Erica illuminates how to talk to recruiters, how to interview better, and why the company should be pitching the candidate and not vice-versa.
 
Busted Myths:
It is a misperception that a recruiter’s job is to help a candidate find a job. The recruiter’s job is to help their client, a company, make the right decision and find the right person.
For recruiters, the market has changed dramatically from a market of abundance to a market of scarcity, and the approach recruiters take should reflect that.
What candidates want is different from what companies are pitching them. Candidates are looking for a company with good work, a good culture, and a good team. They also want a company that values diversity, that values marketing, and won’t make them travel as much as some CEOs think they do.

 
Takeaways:
For candidates, remember that there is no casual meeting with a recruiter. Make sure you have a clear idea of who you are and what you want to do before meeting with a recruiter.
Candidates should work on developing a “From>To” story. This provides an example of how you impacted a company and helped them get from point A to point B. 
Every candidate wants to work somewhere with a good culture, don’t waste the recruiter’s time by telling them this. Ask instead if it is a “get it right” environment or a “get it done” environment.
For interviewers, it is better to have the mindset going into an interview of both parties being on the same side of the table, rather than on opposite sides which is the way it has been.
Marketers specifically get stuck in the Peacemaker/Changemaker Paradox. This is when a marketer is hired to be a changemaker but they are told to do it in a diplomatic way, making it feel like they are punching jello. They’re stuck between a culture focused on “taking care of survivors” and a culture focused on “advancing”.
Employers are often afraid of airing out their dirty laundry during interviews, but when you make your problems known in an interview, that attracts problems solvers who want to solve those problems.
Stop asking “why do you want to work here?”. A much better question to ask candidates is “What are the problems that you want to solve?” This gets you closer to understanding how that person ticks and what they can really bring to the table.

 
Quote of the Show:
“There’s no casual meeting with a recruiter” - Erica Seidel

 
Shout Outs:
The Rare Find: How Great Talent Stands Out Book by George Anders
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success Book by Adam Grant

 
Links
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ericaseidel
Twitter: @erica_seidel
Company website: https://theconnectivegood.com/blog/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b2b-saas-marketing-talent-podcast-get-to-know-the-get/id1495008122?i=1000462552890

 
Ways to Tune In
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-show/id1338838763
Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/37228621-2f9c-4905-a223-1844effb49dd
Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/1vVLpNI1LssMTiL6Kdsamn
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-show
Google Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/m/Im7mytmu2wa2mekhoeixlja5hpe?t=The_Hard_Corps_Marketing_Show
YouTube: https://youtu.be/ECQDXNe-bkQ