A Question For Every Candidate
We never, ever phone screen a sales candidate without asking some form of this question:
Why are you looking for a new opportunity?
This question is revealing especially if you drill down a bit on their initial response. You will learn much about the candidate. We also ask it of previous positions – why did they decide to leave those positions. Listen closely to their response.
Just in time comes this line from an email cover (emphasis mine):
The company is closing their doors in Minnesota and abolishing all positions. Therefore that is why I am seeking new employment.
Dramatic. This respondent certainly gets right to the point on the above question. Yet, I think this may be a case of overusing a thesaurus to sound like the Queen’s English in the letter.
Posted By Derrick Moe | Hiring,Screening | | 
Comments(2)
Excellent question to obtain some insight into a sales candidate! On your second point, I’m not sure the Queen would say “Therefore that …” but then again she isn’t advocating abolishing her monarchy either!
Clayton -thanks for the funny comment. I was going to describe the candidate’s writing style as “cheeky,” but I wasn’t sure that would work.