The short answer is that people buy people!

I would suggest that being kind and friendly with colleagues and peers is often the simplest thing that gets forgotten in business. In my (albeit short) experience of recruitment, whether it be talking with a candidate on their hunt for that dream job or helping an employer to recruit in what seems like an incredibly competitive market, being a friendly voice at the end of the phone or computer is often what has made such a massive difference – and what gets commented on the most!

The phrase people buy people couldn’t be more true and it’s definitely worth remembering that every candidate is a person, as is every interviewer. I would go as far to suggest that the main purpose of any interview is very much about learning someone’s personality and seeing if they’d a cultural fit within the company. Many interviewers know whether or not a candidate is qualified for a position by reading a CV before the interview even starts, so as a candidate always use an interview to really showcase your personality and passion for their company!

Like my parents always told me… speak to others how you’d like to be spoken to!

As we take a head-hunting approach to recruitment here at Thompson & Terry Recruitment the starting point of our candidate search is focused on experience and/or qualifications of course, but the following is based on interactions and personality!

The process for both ourselves and our candidates starts from the point at which we reach out and popping an emoji in an email or asking about what someone did over the weekend never offended anyone so we really focus on being kind and friendly to every candidate (and of course client) that we talk with from the get go. Afterall, if we set a friendly tone our candidates and clients and much more likely to feel relaxed, comfortable and most importantly confident working with us!

You can’t make a first impression twice!

At Thompson & Terry Recruitment, an essential part of our process is conducting an interview prep call with every candidate before their official interview with the client; the sole reason being to ensure they have prepared in a way that will enable them to show the best version of themselves!

By carrying out our prep calls we can reassure a candidate that they are ready for their interview, allowing them to focus on being themselves and reducing the fear of feeling unprepared and nervous (though nerves are normal of course)!

Some final quick tips…

• Be kind and friendly to everyone you speak with, whether that be a colleague, recruiter, candidate or employer
• Be friendly and engage with your candidate or employer (ask about their weekend or what they’re doing in the evening for example)
• If you are a candidate arrive to an interview well prepared to ensure that you can relax and allow your personality to shine through
• Finally… people buy people so ensure that you communicate with others in a way that you’d like to be communicated with yourself