3 tips to 'instantly impress' recruiters, from CEO who conducted over 30,000 interviews

To capture a hiring manager’s attention, you need to project a friendly, confident, and professional demeanor from the onset, the expert said. (Representational image: Pixabay)

William Vanderbloemen has interviewed over 30,000 job candidates throughout his career. The CEO of executive search firm Vanderbloemen Search Group found that there are ways that job recruiters may not find you suitable for a role even though you are qualified for it.

To capture a hiring manager’s attention, you need to project a friendly, confident, and professional demeanor from the onset, he told CNBC Make It. Here are his three tips to instantly impress a hiring manager during the job interview:

1.) Dress for the occasion
Dressing down for online meetings has become the norm since the pandemic, but a casual outfit may not impress a prospective employer during a job interview -- even if it’s on Zoom, Vanderbloemen told the publication.

Things may get worse if the recruiters catch a glimpse of the casual clothes you wear at home even if you are dressed professionally up to your torso while facing the camera. "Some interviewers might even ask you to stand up during a video call, to check that you’re wearing professional attire," Vanderbloemen said.

“I know that sounds like old curmudgeon stuff but if you want to impress a recruiter, you really need to dress for the job,” he added. “It’s an important sign that shows you’re taking this opportunity seriously.”

2.) Do comprehensive research about the companyMost candidates people will do basic research on the job they’re interviewing for,  Vanderbloemen said, but only a few will go the extra mile and look into the company’s latest developments or gather information about the interviewer.

The CEO told CNBC Make It that he’s “always impressed” when job seekers have done their homework about the recruiter and interviewer and are updated on the company’s latest news.

“If you can show the interviewer in the first 5-10 minutes of the conversation that you invested some time studying this company, you’re going to go a long way,” Vanderbloemen said. “There’s always so much change happening in the labour market that the people who are curious and constantly learning are the ones that are going to be successful.”

3.) Know when to ask about the salary
Asking about the salary within the first few minutes of a job interview is one of the “quickest ways to start an interview off on the wrong foot,” Vanderbloemen said, adding that “a lot of candidates will make this mistake.” Doing so “sounds grabby and entitled,” he said.

You should wait for the hiring manager to bring it up, but if you get to a second or third-round interview and the salary and compensation still haven’t been mentioned, then you can broach the subject toward the end of the conversation. |

While pay is important, talking less about it during an interview might work in your favour, Vanderbloemen noted. “If a candidate expresses more interest in the mission of a company, its goals, and the workplace culture than in compensation, that would just make me do backflips and pay them the highest salary we can offer," he said.

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