How to Interview Like a Top Candidate (Omer Ashkenazi)

Full transcript

Welcome back to the podcast guys. Today we are joined by Omar who's driving the force behind his work with internal hiring teams. Omar, welcome to the podcast. >> Hi Mickey, nice to meet you. Why don't we start by you telling us a little bit about yourself and what do you do? So hi everyone. Uh my name is Omar. I've spent the last seven years as a talent acquisition partner in the tech space working with everything from small startups to large corporations. I've recruited for roles ranging from go to market and engineering and also really helping companies building and maintaining their actual hiring processes so they can scale effectively. And when you think about great hiring, what's your north star, if you could describe it in one sentence, like the thing you optimize for? Yeah, I I love this question. Um, I would say the north star is really hiring people that solve business problems.

So, the way that I'm looking at hiring is I'm not just looking to fill a seat, but making sure that this person will come and really make the business grow stronger. You mentioned that you've worked around, you know, technological teams like SAS and also cyber security. What's different about hiring there versus kind of the normal B2B space? And is there any place where most companies underestimate? Yeah, I think that when it comes to SAS and cyber security, the technical bar and the fast space is much higher. So when you're looking for uh when you're looking at a candidate, you're not looking just at their past experience, but also really looking for people that will be able to navigate those complex environment and making sure that we build high level of trust with the client and with the team quickly. I think when you're asking about what people are underestimate, I would say that most companies really underestimate how much candidate value transparency and technical competencies during the interview process. So in SAS and cyber security, they will really ask questions about those things to make sure that they're building this uh trust and and transpar. What kind of questions are you talking about?

like are there any special ones? >> Yeah, I think that I think that they're really trying to understand what the company is all about. So today tech is moving really fast. Definitely when we're talking about cyber security and I think they're asking those questions to make sure that they will stay not just for the long run but they will also be able to see the growth and will be able to play a part in this growth. >> So really looking into hiring for the long term. >> Yeah. I think I think that candidates really value stability and they're looking for they're looking for a place that they will be able to potentially call home for for the long run. >> In terms of the hiring market, like I hear all the time that the hiring market has changed. Of course, some of that is noise, right? But from what you're seeing, are there any big shifts that you've seen in the past? >> Yeah. Um definitely and kind of tying to the answer for the last question, I think everything that is related to the candidate decision- making.

So they're trying to make sure that the role that they're interviewing for is coming with a sense of stability and the the health of the business side for the long run. So that's the first thing and I think the second thing is about the interview strategy. So we're living in a world where AI is helping us do almost everything including making sure that we're the perfect fit for the perfect role. So so interview I feel like the interview process has kind of shifted and today recruiters and hiring managers will not only look at the job description but will look at the conversation that they're having with the candidate. So the the interview is almost becoming more like a collectible like a collective problem solving process or session rather than just asking questions to really understand what the candidate can bring to the table and how the candidates actually think. >> So really testing their ability to solve these problems instead of just the knowledge.

>> Exactly. So it's not just about not just about what I'm bringing in terms of my in terms of my knowledge level because today a lot of companies and a lot of employees are encouraged to use AI tools but it's also how I think about the things that I'm the the questions that I've been asked and how I think about the way to solve them to make sure that I will be able to actually do that in real time. Omar, if we say that you join a company tomorrow and you kind of, you know, evaluate their hiring process and whatnot, are there any signals that tell you that this team has their act together versus just this will be a whole mess? Well, that's the million-dollar question, I will say. Um, I think that I think that it's really all about from a recruiter standpoint, I will say. I think it's really all about the partnership with the hiring manager and really making sure that myself and the hiring manager are on the same page in terms of what it is that we're actually recruiting.

If the hiring manager knows what this person is going to do on day one, if they have a clear understanding of the interview process and the feedback loop and making sure that we have all the information that we need on day one, that means that they kind of have as you said have their act together. where it come where it becomes a little chaotic is if we don't have that and then the interview process is changing the job description is changing the the candidate requirement are changing on a daily or on a weekly basis that's where things are becoming a little bit chaotic and usually that will also when I will stop and be like okay let's make sure that we're having all of our decks in a row before we're continuing this process I know you mentioned AI as like it makes the shift shift in recruiting.

Do you see any place where it actually makes the outcomes worse? Well, I wouldn't say that it makes the outcome worse. I think that it's really about what we can can do as recruiters and how can we kind of differentiate and what we're getting because we know that it was powered by AI in a way and what we're we can do and what we can kind of um bring. So making sure that we're using AI where we can use AI and where it will be where it will be an added value versus where we shouldn't use AI because in our role we still want to make sure that we're maintaining this this relationship building and this uh personal connection that we have with the candidates for the long run. >> Where specifically do you guys use AI when it comes to hiring people? So I think a good recruiter will use AI where it can help take the load off a little bit.

So using AI at the beginning st at the beginning stage of the search. So making sure that we're using AI for deep searching for building boolean strength that are that are strong strong enough to find a candidate in those complex searches that we have that will be a great use of AI. But taking AI and moving it to the more relationship side, the more personal side. For example, using AI's uh using AI to write a mass outreach uh um email that might be taking it a little bit too far because again we want to make sure that when we're reaching out to candidates, definitely when we're reaching out to those top candidates, we want to make sure that they feel that we see them. And that's where this relationship and this personalization works the best for listeners that might be looking for a job. For example, I would like to uh you to actually give us some golden nuggets when it comes to these small things you know that you see that the best candidates do.

Is there anything that separates them in the process? Yeah. Um love this question, you I think it's really really important to kind of understand that interview is a two-way street and and that's what us recruiter is kind of always looking at. Yes, I'm asking in an interview I'm asking a lot of questions but I'm also expecting the candidate to ask me questions to sort of like interrogate me in a ways. I think that the best candidates are the one that are looking at an interview process almost as a business meeting between two colleagues. So they will come prepared with knowledge about the organization. Ask those difficult question that we kind of mentioned at the beginning of the conversation to understand and making sure that this organization is the right fit for them. And when we finish the interview process, when we finish the the first interview or the second interview, they will always follow up. they will always make sure that we are keeping them in our minds.

Usually the best candidates will be the ones that will send me this thank you note but not just a random thank you note that they use AI to write but will have uh will have a lot of references to the conversation that we have will make me understand that they're really interested in the role and they're really interested in the organization because they paid attention to what I said. How did you actually get into this kind of role or hiring space? So, it was really honestly it was really by a chance. I just got an opportunity. I been I've been a people person since I was a kid. Always love being around people and I got this opportunity to join my first company when they were looking for someone to do the coordination side. So not a lot of pure talent acquisition mainly a lot of administrative uh work like scheduling back then we flew people all around all around the US for interviews. So a lot of scheduling around interviews but I really fell in love with recruitment and I really fell in in love with the this ability to build a bridge between a candidate and the um and the company. Quickly enough, I kind of got promoted to be an Atlantic acquisition partner and uh that's what I've been doing since.

>> Okay, lovely. Well, thank you Omar for joining. I will for you >> and thank you guys for watching. We see you in the next