Interview tips and tricks with Eric Spell and Kacey Toews

In this episode of The Charles Aris Podcast, Practice Leader Eric Spell and Associate Recruiter Kacey Toews explain how candidates can obtain a competitive edge in interviews by leveraging personalized one-on-one preparation sessions with recruiters.

Read the full transcript:

Kacey: Welcome to the podcast! My name is Kacey Toews. I’m an associate recruiter here at Charles Aris Executive Search and I work within our Agriculture Practice. I grew up in rural Kansas in agriculture and have been working in talent acquisition and talent solutions within the industry since I graduated college.

Eric: I’m Eric Spell, and I’m originally from eastern North Carolina. I grew up on a farm. After school, I entered into the talent industry, spent 10 years there and then the next two decades in my career co-founded and led ag careers.com. And then following an exit from there, I joined Charles Aris Executive Search and lead our agribusiness practice.

Kacey: Eric and I get the pleasure of speaking with candidates every day, and part of our process at Charles Aris is prepping the candidates for an interview. So, Eric, what are a few blind spots you see when a candidate is prepping for an interview?

Eric: Two mistakes, or miscues if you like, that I see are assuming they are the only candidates in the process and lack of preparation. Candidates can get caught up in the euphoria and lose sight of the fact that they may be one of four or five candidates in the mix. This can easily result in dropping their guard, which will likely cause disappointment at some point in the process.

Regarding preparation, you can never be over-prepared. We always encourage candidates to take full advantage of the recruiter to fully prepare for each step of the journey. Always know something about the team members you’ll be meeting with, know intimate details about the company, its products or services and never try to answer a question you did not know the answer to.

Kacey: That’s really good advice. Do you have any other tips on how to fully utilize your recruiter to help you prep for an interview?

Eric: A good recruiter will always have a vested interest in a successful process and be willing to help the candidate prepare; we never want to introduce a candidate who is unprepared. Preparing the candidate for a virtual meeting or an on-site visit is a critical step in the process. Reviewing a list of questions, reviewing details regarding the agenda and even tips on how to end discussions are all vital components to leaving the desired impression. Organization charts, PowerPoints, videos and biographies can be very helpful. Your recruiter should have all this type of information available.

Kacey: Now one shortfall that we see sometimes is a lack of enthusiasm. So how do you recommend a candidate sell their enthusiasm without completely overdoing it?

Eric: Number one, they should be genuine, simply stating at the end of the interview process ‘thank you for allowing me to be considered for this opportunity. I enjoyed getting to know more about the company and the opportunity. This exchange has only increased my interest, and I look forward to continuing the discussions.’

Soon after each step, always send an email to those who meet and reiterate your appreciation for their time. Try to avoid coming across as over-eager or desperate. However, if at any point, you learn in the process the opportunity is not a good fit, don’t hesitate to seek advice from your recruiter on how to gracefully remove yourself from the candidacy.

Kacey: Now this has been really great advice. What other kinds of resources does Charles Aris have to help a candidate prep for an interview?

Eric: In addition to our blog, our team has executive interview guides we share with candidates and hiring authorities. Our proven process includes steps in which we follow up with hiring authorities and placed candidates where we seek feedback for process improvement and best practices.

Kacey: That’s great, Eric. Thanks! And thanks to you for listening. If you’re interested in learning more about opportunities in the agriculture space, or if you’re looking to grow your team, reach us at eric.spell@charlesaris.com.