Attracting employers with your other interview activity

Use competition to your advantage. But introduce your other interview activity in a way that it attracts them to you, not scares them away.

Just like in dating, the person who is already taken or being pursued always seems a lot more attractive to you. Well, hiring managers are no different. And by contrast, if you don't introduce the competition at all, you are saying that no one else finds you attractive. This can actually raise a serious "red flag" with the employer.

However, for all its advantages, competition needs to be brought up the right way and at the right time or it could end backfiring on you making the hiring manager feel that you are holding them hostage by this fact or that you are bringing it up solely as a point of leverage.

So how do you tactfully and effectively introduce the competition?

Plant Seeds - You can begin dropping hints that you have an active search as early as the first round interview. One tip would be to slide this into a complimentary piece of feedback for the employer..."wow, I am really impressed with the job opportunity you have here. I have had several interviews so far and this one ranks very high on my list." You absolutely want to drop hints along the way. Don't wait until the final interview to introduce that you have been actively interviewing elsewhere. This can adversely catch the Hiring Manager off guard. And although they have no grounds to feel this way, some managers can/ will be taken aback at the final stages that you have interviewed elsewhere. It's almost as if they have just found out you have been cheating on them. Make sure to be subtle yet clear from the get-go that you have an active search.

Clarify Your Motive - If you don't, Managers will assume you are simply trying to pull a classic sales tactic on them by introducing your other interview activity. Although this is partly true, give them a more universally beneficial motive. Explain that you are informing them of this as a courtesy and a time savings initiative that will keep everyone on the same page. Ex: "I want to let you know that I also have one other opportunity at the offer stage that I am considering right now. Even though I like this position with your company better, I want to be upfront about where things stand. This way, all parties can react accordingly with the full knowledge of what's going on".

No Details - Although we do want to be open, you need to decide whether or not you want to tell the hiring manager the actual name of the company or offer amount. This information could work against you if the manager doesn't think highly of that company, knows someone at that company or if that salary is lower than what they had thought about offering you. Since you don't know if this info can help or hurt, I'd recommend keeping the details to yourself. If asked for these details, handle this be blaming it on the other hiring manager. Ex: "I'd love to, but the employer has asked me to keep things confidential. Not too sure why that is, but I want to keep my word anyway."

Don't lie - Don't say you have other offers when you don't. Don't say you've had lots of interviews when you haven't. Somehow, someway this will come back to bite you in the ass. Believe it or not, it's not the hard to tell if someone is full of it. There is no need to lie. Be honest. If you don't have other offers, competitive interviews to boast, you can still express the competition in other ways. You can talk about how active your search is in the context of the # of resumes you have sent out and waiting to hear back on, the # of recruiters you are working with and the amount of leads they are pursuing for you, the # of phone screens you have had, etc..Even these types of statements will serve the purpose in making the sure teh manager knows you are a hot commodity that will get hired soon.

Express Your Interest - And finally, when introducing other activity, ALWAYS tell them how sincerely interested you are in their position. If this is truly your #1 choice, explain why in detail. If it is more of a jump ball or maybe this company is your #2 choice, don't give them a rank. Simply state what you like most about their position. No one wants to hear that they are the runner up. And if you do make the mistake of stating that they are your #2 choice...rest assured, you will then become their last choice.

Competition is your friend. Managers should know that you are in high demand. Just try to do this without making it feel like a gun to the manager's head. Introduce this information at the right time in the right way and you will avoid any of the associated pitfalls that can occur and will benefit from all the advantages. You will be more attractive to them and the managers will need to / want to move faster to hire you.

Comments

[abhi]

Interesting!
We had somebody walking-in and using the same trick on our interview panel. It kinda worked for a while, but candidate ruined it by calling us back on Friday morning and asking for the update. Hiring manger asked him about his other offer and he was like- yes I do have an offer but you guise are my preference and that’s why I am holding on other offer. On further pushing he accepted that he had no other offer and really needs this job yesterday. Eventfully we end up hiring somebody else…I guess the lesson is – play the game only when you know how and when to play – don’t use it as a gimmick else it might hurt you back.