The Power of Preparation: Consultant Stories Part 2

Preparation for an interview is the number one thing you can do to increase your chances of success. As a SaaS and FinTech recruitment firm, we’ve got many examples of how preparation increases your chances of success.

Here are some stories from the Oakstone team about how preparation is key.

“I would say most of the time, going above and beyond when preparing for an interview comes across well. Specific instances include candidates bringing case studies, examples of work and doing extensive research on the company.

Preparation shows a certain level of conviction and ‘buy-in’ from the hiring managers’ perspective, provided they are looking into the correct subject matter. This ultimately falls on the recruiter to prepare them.

I’ve had candidates arrive at second or third interviews thinking they had already got the role because of previous interview performance. Assumptions should never be made, and every interview should be treated as the most important interview in the process. You can never be over-prepared.”

Dan Hammond Smith, Divisional Director

“I think preparation for an interview is a significant factor in measuring candidates’ attitudes and visibility of what you can expect from that person in the role.

In my view, every interview should be seen as a sales call and treated the same as a client engagement. The best candidates manage to balance thorough prep. I don’t mean just looking at the website; reading case studies, looking into the calibre of the leadership team, looking at the calibre of people in the business, their tenure, and having a good idea of what you are stepping into. In addition, the questions that a candidate does and doesn’t answer will also provide great insight. I am working on a Global VP Sales role currently, where the lead candidate comes up in the middle of the pack based on qualification metrics. However, his attitude to the process and his willingness to communicate and positive attitude has resulted in him coming out as the 1st choice candidate (attitude means so much). He doesn’t “need a job”, and he will be in high demand. However, he has been really focussed on securing this role because he knows from the qualification that it’s an ideal environment for him.”

Tristan Heywood, Divisional Director.

“I recently had a candidate who was invited to panel and proactively contacted a presales consultant within the company.  They spent 45 minutes on the phone, which allowed the candidate to gain technical insight into the company and the product.

The candidate wasn’t expected or asked to do that, and his presentation didn’t require him to have a deep understanding of the product. However, he wanted a more profound knowledge of the product to create a relevant and impressive presentation.

It’s that level of proactiveness within a hiring process you would expect from any excellent salesperson.

My advice for anyone, especially salespeople, is that you treat the hiring process the same way, with the same due diligence and preparation you would if you were going to sell to a prospect.”

Andy Strong, Divisional Director

“My candidate wasn’t actively looking however was open to strong opportunities and was excited about the company and proposition I had presented, agreeing to a 1st stage call with them. On paper, he was spot on in terms of domain and had a very strong track record of overachieving targets for the last five years, closing many 7 figure ARR deals, which was something my client was looking for. A first stage call was scheduled for the following week. However, my candidate missed the prep call with me however had accepted the invite for the meeting and had messaged me the night before to confirm his attendance. He was 10 minutes late to the Zoom and, upon joining, was wearing casual attire and sat on his sofa. When asked about his knowledge of the company he was interviewing with, he seemed flustered and could not give a clear answer – it seemed as though he had no idea who he was interviewing with, let alone who the company was.

The hiring manager was incredibly disappointed with this and felt it was a waste of his time, and this also reflected poorly on myself, who was representing the candidate. I learned an important lesson here - to insist on a prep call, especially if there is any inkling the candidate is distracted or too busy to prepare accordingly. If the prep call cannot happen and this is a concern, postpone or cancel the call together.

The candidate wasn’t surprised by the feedback; however, disappointed in himself for not preparing accordingly. It seems he had forgotten about the call altogether and tried to wing it last minute, which resulted in a bridge being burnt that could have leveraged his career either at the time or in the future.”

Alice Garry, Managing Consultant.

“I had a candidate that went through the process with a leading fintech client of mine for a full stack developer position. I supplied the candidate with up-to-date market insight which I knew he could potentially be challenged on in the interview. Instead of revising the details I sent across he decided to refresh his memory on interest rate swaps and equity derivatives – which never came up in the interview. This, consequently, was one of the reasons he failed and wasn’t offered the position.

The hiring managers feedback was that they asked him basic questions which he answered well, however when they dug deeper into his background there were areas which he said he had ‘never heard of’ which was a concern. The candidate was disappointed with his own performance throughout the interview, so I advised him in the future to make sure he follows the preparation details recruiters send across to him.  The lesson here is to listen to your recruiter. They know the process, hiring manager and interview format and they also want you to have a successful interview!”

Jake Pitney, Recruitment Consultant

“I recently had a candidate who went above and beyond for her interview with one of our leading SaaS clients. She ensured she was well prepared and even reached out to the pre-sales team to learn as much as possible about the product. She also spoke to one of the company’s previous salespeople she was connected to on LinkedIn to learn more about them and the challenges they faced. She smashed her interviews; the feedback was ‘she is a must-hire’.

If you’re interested in an opportunity, do your research and due diligence; it’s an easy and valuable way to stand out and show your interest.”

Ollie Hill, Senior Consultant

“I had a candidate that I put forward to a leading FinTech a few years ago. They went above and beyond with their research about the company, as well as completing their own technical exercises in the development language being used with the company. He went into the initial interview with some doubts however ended up excelling at the technical test and presented himself as ‘passionate and keen to learn’. He we subsequently offered the role and stayed for 2 and a half years.

I think a lot of people can learn that even if you don’t have the full technical expertise, preparing well and showing a willingness to learn is sometimes just as impressive.”

Luke Garman, Senior Consultant

“I had a candidate that had got to the 4th meeting with the hiring manager at a well know media company. Unfortunately, they had gone into the interview not knowing key information they could have found out through a little research.. I think after a few meetings he had stopped researching the company. It was an immediate disaster, and they did not proceed with the process. My advice is to never take your foot off the pedal and prepare for every interview like it is the most important.”

Tom Richardson, Managing Consultant

“I recently had a candidate go above and beyond to prepare for an interview. I first spoke with the candidate when he was living in Australia and was planning to relocate to the UK. We discussed the role with one of my well know fintech clients and it was interesting to him, so an introduction was made, and an interview was requested.

Despite living in Australia at the time and planning to move to London the same week as the interview (just one week on from when we first spoke), he still managed to find the time to do extensive research into the company, including where the co-founders and senior team members went to school, what their professional backgrounds were, and what recent news articles there were surrounding the company. Additionally, not only did he make the time to research all of this, but he also thought of multiple in-depth probing questions to ask the team. This stood out to the senior team at the company as it showed them the kind of dedication and care that the candidate puts into his work. Subsequently the candidate successfully got the role.

This candidate got the job with the company, and I think a lot of people can learn from this because whether it is to learn a new skill or do some interview preparation, taking the time to make a 5-minute gap in your busy schedule could be life-changing.”

Luke Voss, Recruitment Consultant

“I had a candidate this year who I put forward for an Enterprise Account Manager position.  He did the most amount of preparation for an interview I have ever seen. He created spreadsheets and PowerPoints, connected with all levels of leadership and salespeople, and when it came to the interview, he wowed the hiring manager with his preparation and knowledge of the company and product.

The feedback from the VP of Sales (hiring manager) was that he was the most prepared candidate he had ever met.  The candidate was taken to the final stages of the process, even though he was not the most experienced. It showed passion, organisation and effort, and the hiring manager liked that a lot.”

Arran Campbell, Managing Consultant