How To Handle The First Meeting With The Recruiter In Your Executive Search In Germany

The first step in your executive search in Germany, is meeting the search agency to get all the help you need to reach that hot seat where you will be face to face with the client and convincing him you are perfect for the job. Being one of the best executive search agencies in Germany, we can say one thing for sure that we are like your casting directors and there is only one question to answer, “Do I see this candidate in a face to face interview with the client?” The answer to this question is usually affected by a lot of factors, company’s leadership sensibilities and priorities being at the top of it.

The executive search agency, the company and you, the candidate are working towards exploring a possible long term relationship with each other, where the recruiter would get you placed in one or the other position depending upon what materializes for you. Therefore, this first meeting is like the foundation on which all your future interview calls would depend. Important right? So how do you prepare to put your best foot forward and make this meeting count? Well! We have few tips for you:

 

Preparation Before The Meeting

1. Take this meeting as an interview and prepare answers to all the possible questions. Prepare a note of all your accomplishments as this is the basis on which recruiters would decide whether you would be a good fit for a particular role or not. Experienced recruiters always focus on what you have done and achieved rather than hypothetical questions.

2. You need to impress your recruiter in order to gain access to his client. You seethis as a necessary step before you gain entrance into that room with the CEO of an organization so, do your homework. Going without preparation can create the impression in the recruiter’s mind that you might show up unprepared on the day of the interview as well and no search agency would want to send a non-serious candidate to their clients so, be prepared and do your research using Google, Glassdoor, LinkedIn etc. Try to add one or two references of your research into the interview so that the recruiter gets the impression that you did your homework.

 

During The Meeting

1. Dress professionally as if you are going to have a meeting with the CEO of the company and your job depends upon this last round.

2. Be on time or rather 5-10 minutes early. In case of an unavoidable delay, inform in advance through email/call/text/ or as soon as you can.

3. Do not over prepare. There could be any reason behind any question, the only rule you need to follow is be confident, look the recruiter in the eye and answer with the best of your knowledge.

Follow Up

1. A thoughtful “Thank you” never hurts anybody right? Now that you have thanked the recruiter for meeting with you, a follow up email within 24 hours would not show desperation but your seriousness towards the matter. Now you do not want to be too pushy as executive job openings may take a while. Still if you have not heard anything in the next 10 days, you can send a polite check-in email for an update. This would help you put back in the map and again establish you as a serious candidate.

2. Do not bypass your search agency and contact the hiring manager directly. This is a strict no-no and extremely unprofessional and would also the break the trust with the recruiter. Also there is a risk involved that you could fail to materialize the opportunity you have created for yourself and end up losing a chance of having any opportunity in future.