May 2019
How to Decide If You Should Take a Job Interview
Here’s your dilemma: a recruiter or hiring manager has come across your resume. The person found you on LinkedIn and approached you with an interview opportunity that you hadn’t sought out. The problem? The role doesn’t seem, well, perfect. It’s not exactly what you want, and you didn’t even apply for it.
So what should you do? Should you go for the interview or not?
"Even if a job doesn’t seem perfect ‘off the rack’, hiring managers can tailor roles for the right candidate," says Matthew Wood, Director of DSJ Global UK. “They can shape a position around your skills to take full advantage of the value you bring - especially if you’ve got a niche skill or are leading the way in new technology."
Why it may be a good idea to take the interview
There are many reasons why interviewing for a job you don’t think you want can actually turn out to be a good idea. Here are a few to consider:
Going for an interview can be a great way to gather market intel, like information and insights into a specific company or industry, understand what opportunities are out there and what skills are needed in the market, learn what you could be worth at another company, and much more. Recruiters are one of your best sources of intel. They often have access to inside information that is not publicly available.
“At DSJ Global, we are often supporting clients as they embark on large transformations of their procurement or supply chain departments, but these projects are rarely widely publicized. The only way potential candidates would find out about them is through speaking with specialist recruiters like us,” says Wood.
By taking the interview, you may learn that there is more to the role than was evident from the job description, or that perhaps the company sounds like a great fit culturally and you want to be a part of it. You wouldn’t learn any of this without meeting and talking with them directly, so if you’re open to learning more and maybe even being pleasantly surprised, you should give it a go. You may wind up with an offer that’s too good to pass up!
An interview presents an opportunity to get on the radar of a company you’re interested in. Recruiters have valuable contacts – but you’ll only have access to them if you interview well and make a really strong impression. In the event a role you interview for doesn’t work out how you’d hoped, however, recruiters can keep you in mind for other roles that may be a better fit at either that same company or others. If you let them know you’re open to other roles, they may remember you when future opportunities arise. You can stay on their radar by touching base with them periodically and monitoring various job postings.
It’s always better to look for a job when you already have a job. It shows you’re coming from a position of strength and not one of desperation or urgency. Time or financial pressure can lead to poor decision-making, which is not something you want when considering a career change. When you are searching for a new job while you already have one, there’s a better chance that you will make the right choice for you. Don’t wait for a company restructure or redundancy to start getting out there.
Interviewing well is something you can only get better at with practice. The more comfortable you get with interviewing, the less nervous you’ll be and the more likely you will be to impress your interviewer. You’ll naturally become more accustomed to the kinds of questions typically asked and have the ability to answer them with confidence. Interviewing for a job you didn't seek out has much lower stakes, but it's still important that you take every interview seriously and prepare as if it is for your dream job.
You also need to be aware, however, that if it's obvious that you're there under false pretenses or with a different agenda, your strategy will backfire, and they’ll remember you for all the wrong reasons. If your mind is totally closed off to the idea of this particular role, that will come through whether you mean for it to or not, and that isn't fair to waste the interviewer’s time and take the place of a genuine candidate who actually wants the job.
Why it may be a good idea to pass
If you are absolutely certain that you don’t want the role and wouldn’t take it under any circumstances, then it is best not to waste the company’s time or yours. You may also want to skip if you already have other, better options that you’re currently weighing.
If you decide to give the interview a pass, always do so politely and keep the door open for future contact. Thank the recruiter or hiring manager for reaching out and let him/her know you would be open to other opportunities that may match your skills and experience. You never know when that contact will come in handy! Check in with them regularly and connect with them on LinkedIn.
Ask your recruiter the right questions
Before you make your decision, it's important that you've thoroughly researched the company that wants to interview you and you've asked trusted friends and colleagues if they have any useful information that could help steer you in the right direction. It also means asking the recruiter or hiring manager some key questions – just one conversation could turn your thinking entirely upside down. Consider asking your recruiter some of the following questions:
- Why is this position vacant? High turnover in a role could be a red flag for you to consider.
- Ask about the company culture and management style - would this be a good fit for you?
- What's the career path/progression at this company? Could this role lead to something more, and could you have a longer-term future there?
Christine Corson, Head of DSJ Global USA, reassures that in most cases, attending the interview is well worth the effort. “It’s always better to take the meeting, grow your network, and make an informed decision instead of wondering what might have been,” she says.