The Fastest Way to Lose a Top Sales Candidate

I was on the phone with one of my candidates yesterday, a true talent with an amazing track record of winning new business. There’s probably not another person like him in the entire region. He’s that good.

He went in for an interview expecting to discuss an offer, since he’d already spent over five hours on phone calls and video conferences with this employer. Instead, he was put in a tiny room with no windows, hotter than the rest of the office. He sat there for three hours straight and was never offered a glass of water. They asked him the same questions he’d already answered in prior conversations, as if they’d forgotten the calls or never took notes in the first place.

The behavior came off as disorganized and absentminded at best, disrespectful at worst. The candidate withdrew from the process. He said if that’s the company’s culture, it probably isn’t a great fit.

That day, a candidate who could have brought them millions of dollars in new business walked out of the lobby and never came back.

1. Come Prepared

Read the resume before the candidate shows up, whether that’s walking into your office or logging into a video call. Show up on time, for the day and time you scheduled. Come with written questions instead of winging the conversation.

Skipping any of this signals that the hire isn’t a priority.

2. Respect Their Time

Keeping a candidate waiting, showing up late, or rescheduling more than once tells them your time matters more than theirs. Top candidates notice, and they have other options.

The candidate in the story above had already given this company five hours of his time before that final interview. They repaid it with three hours in a hot, windowless room and a set of questions he’d already answered twice.

3. Get Curious, Not Chatty

Some hiring managers spend most of the interview talking about themselves. It’s an easy trap, but it defeats the entire purpose of the conversation, which is finding out whether this person can do the job.

Be curious about the candidate instead. Ask real questions, then do most of the listening. You’ll learn far more about whether they’re the right fit than you will by describing your own career.

Interview Somewhere Else

If you want a fast reminder of what not to do, go interview somewhere else. You’ll remember exactly how it feels to be kept waiting, talked at, or asked the same question twice. You might walk away with a few good ideas of your own.

Building a great company means recruiting and hiring talented people, and that starts with how you treat them during the process. If you want help getting your interview process right, that’s exactly where an experienced software sales recruiter can help.