When it comes to hiring, I've never really seen the secret sauce. Sure, there are lots of hurdles to overcome (and plenty of boxes the hiring manager must check), but there isn't a silver bullet that a candidate can fire off to impress someone enough to employ them on the first (date) interview. Just don't tell that to a really qualified HCIT candidate I interviewed earlier this month!
Okay, yes, he was very sharp - no question about it - with all the right credentials and a great educational background. So everything a hiring manager would see on paper, one might think he could be a real "lay-up". In other words, an easy shot and one you might predict would have a positive outcome in advance.
Or not...
The old adage "it's too good to be true" came into play in this particular scenario.
We started talking about success metrics (you know I'm a big believer) and the conversation went south. Quickly.
He told me he wasn't all that concerned with explaining his previous success (a clear indicator of future behavior) because he wears $1,000 suits.
What?!
You heard me. This Superstar relies heavily on his Hickey Freeman suits to sell his story. I asked what seemed liked a simple question: "How's that working for you?"
His answer? "It's served me well so far". OK. Fair enough.
To me this seems like a bad case of E.Q. - not a well thought-out strategy in my humble opinion.
Never a dull moment in the search business. Never.