One of the managers that was present during my first interview for a position at a company asked me to text him, so I did, thanking him for sharing his contact number and to let me know if he needed anything. He replied asking if I would be interested in the same position at another company. Is this a trick question?? Why would someone want to purposefully jeopardize my chances at their company instead of just flat-out telling me I’m not suitable for the position? I’m still waiting for the results of the interview, which would take around a few weeks. How should I respond? I was headhunted for this position and I wasn’t actively job seeking initially.
I'm Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter I'm a coach who helps people professionally in
a number of ways and I love this scenario! "An interviewer asked privately
if I'd be interested in the same position at a different firm and what
happened was one of the managers that was present during the first interview
for position at a firm asked this individual to text them which they did.
They thank this person for sharing their contact number and to let me know if he
needed anything. He replied, asking if I would be
interested in the same position at another company. Is this a trick question? Why
would someone want to purposefully jeopardize my chances at their company
instead just flat-out telling me I'm not suitable for the position. I'm still
waiting for the results of the interview which would take another few weeks.. How
should I respond. I was headhunted for this position and wasn't actively
looking. Would it be rude to decline any the offer?" So, great situation and I'll
just simply say, this could be innocuous.. It could be as Innocuous as you are
still in the running and he thinks You are terrific and he wants to
know if you're still exploring other things. Where are you in the search?
Because as a person who was headhunted, I don't know if you were headhunted by the
employer or by a third party recruiting firm. but let's start with the premise
that it was the employer who headhunted you. They may have another person
that they think is stronger. They may already know that there's an internal
person who's more advanced for this role than you and they're trying to be
helpful and thus, would provide an introduction to a former colleague, a
friend ,another headhunter, whatever. They introduce you to another firm because
they think you're capable. It could be that they're doing something nefarious
and nefarious is trying to steal you and the fee that's involved, refer
you to another search firm to place you with a job and
thus cut out the firm if it was a third-party recruiter that headhunted
you and diverts you somewhere else.It could be that but the way to find out
very simply is by asking. "I'm curious.. What's going on that prompted you to
ask that question of me that would I be interested in something else."
and then be quiet and listen. Listen for what's said and unsaid. I don't want to
make assumptions about this person's behavior because they could just be
trying to be helpful and not know that you came from a recruiter. Or they know
you came from a recruiter and they're trying to get a placement fee, some sort
of a commission for the referral.. So, ask more questions to understand what
to do. Hope you found this helpful.. I'm Jeff Altman, my website is
TheBigGameHunter.us. Go there and go exploring. There's just a lot there to
help you in the blog. if you're interested in my coaching you throughout
your search, helping you with interviewing, a whole host of different
things that I as a former executive recruiter know how to do well. You can
schedule time for a free discovery call or schedule time for coaching. I would
love to help. Lastly, subscribe to my channel on
YouTube. click the small icon in the lower right or the picture of me in the upper
left. I hope you have a great day. Be great! Take care!
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, all as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1800 episodes, and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.
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