As a consultancy it is not just our job to find the right candidate for our clients but also support our candidates when things don’t quite go to plan during interviews.

We recently took on an important project for an automotive electric vehicle client that was looking for a Senior Project Manager. The client had sifted through a lot of CVs from other avenues with little success, but Marcus Webb Associates managed to secure interviews for some very experienced candidates we represented.

Unfortunately, our best candidate didn’t exactly give the perfect first impression and feedback from their meeting was disappointing and the complete opposite to our experiences with this candidate.

Our key consultant on the project was not phased by this little glitch and took it upon herself to obtain four absolutely sterling references. She gathered these from colleagues and friends who respected and had worked with the candidate for many years. Off the back of presenting these references to the client she was able to secure a second chance for our candidate to really show them what he could bring to the business.

To make things a little more complicated we were hit with the Covid-19 pandemic which meant meetings were impossible. However, with some honest discussions and coaching between Marcus Webb Associates and our candidate they were able to completely turn things around and were offered the position!

It got us thinking about how many clients miss out on great candidates just because the CV is not as good as it could be, or the candidate fluffs the first meeting? Nerves, consciously subduing one’s personality or just being a little shy are all reasons as to why clients reject candidates, but should they be given a second chance?

This project demonstrates that you cannot always judge a person having only spent an hour or two hours with them and that we are certainly not all cut from the same mould.

Our consultants at Marcus Webb Associates offer coaching and support to our clients and candidates throughout their recruitment journeys and no matter what presents itself along the way, we never give up at the first hurdle!