Stop the Ghosting

I’m guilty of forgetting this. Even sales people, whose literal job is to close customers every day, find themselves forgetting this one thing in interviews.

One minute you’re having a great conversation with the interviewer, truly hitting it off. They tell you that they or their recruiting team will reach out soon, you say ‘thanks’, and hang up.

The next minute…crickets.

Days go by…crickets.

Weeks go by…crickets.

What happened? You hit it off, you thought you had it in the bag.

A few months ago this happened to me.

I got a call from a company that was outside of my typical industry. It was exciting and new, and I was even willing to take a pay cut because of the industry and mission of the company.

After a few interviews the hiring manager called me to ask about salary and numbers, essentially to close me. I was agreeable, didn’t counter. Everything seemed like things were coming together.

“I need to run some numbers to make sure your salary is within our budget. I know the rewards will be much greater than the risk. Give me some time”.

I let this guy off the phone after he said “give me some time”, and that was my big mistake.

I texted, sent a follow up deck (which was never viewed), and texted one last time.

It was within my power to hold him accountable on that phone call. Instead of saying “great, talk to you soon”, I could have said “That sounds great. When can I expect to receive the offer?”. Or, “Wonderful, I’m looking forward to hearing from you again. I have a few other late-stage opportunities - what day works best for you to follow up?”.

Eventually he texted back apologizing for going dark, and shared that their budget wasn’t aligned with my salary needs.

But I wasted weeks wondering. And I was a referral, so frankly, I wasted weeks being annoyed (also within my control to shift my mindset 🙄).

Close everyone. Every single person, every time you talk to them.

The close is psychological.

Someone that you’ve gotten a verbal commitment from on next steps and support of hiring you feels accountable to you. They’re less likely to ghost you.

They’re more likely to stay true to their commitment.

Also, the close gives you the one opportunity that you wouldn’t have otherwise to knock out someone’s concerns. It gives you the ability to walk out of the interview with zero red flags left on the table.

That’s power.

Let’s get your power back.

Here’s ↓ your cheat sheet for closing every interviewer, and I hope that the next time you’re in an interview you hear my nagging voice saying, “Close them!!!!!”.

Because it will change your entire interview game.

That’s all for this week.
Happy Hunting!

PS - just closing the hiring manager isn’t enough. Every. Single. Interviewer…Every. Single. Time.

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❤️ Ashley

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