Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from the most recent session with Kim Batson, The CIO’s Coach, and Deb Dib, head of Executive Power Brand.
One of the questions that arose in this week’s coach call is the number of hoops that job candidates are being put through to qualify for a job. One caller noted that candidates are now required to take tests, complete surveys, prepare projects, and much more. When is enough enough?
Deb and Kim noted that asking for too much information can be a red flag. You want to provide enough information to demonstrate your approach and expertise, but you don’t want to solve their problems for free. You should be able to determine what the hiring company needs to make a decision without actually solving their problem.
You need to ask yourself, if you were the hiring company, would these additional requests be appropriate? If you think so, go ahead and provide the information. But at some point you need to take control. Let the hiring manager know that it’s time to start talking about the next step. This needs to be a peer-to-peer conversation. What is the potential fit with the management team? Is this how the company usually operates? Determine if this is indicative of the corporate culture or not and if it is, move on.
Deb and Kim agree that they have seen companies aggressively use surveys, pilot projects, and other tests as a means of getting work without paying for it. And when economic times are tough, these kinds of requests tend to increase. Also consider that if they get the work for free, the company may say, “Hey, we are doing find without filling this position,” and abandon their hiring strategy.
However, if you can portray yourself as a ”go-to” person, it increases your chances. Make yourself a subject matter expert. Remember that 80 percent of recruiters Google candidates first, so leave something for them to find. Be sure you are on LinkedIn, since companies use this service to vet candidates. Extend your online brand to give you more clout when it comes time to haggle.
