One of the most important aspects of getting clients to hire your candidate is interview prep. Once you've found the right person, it's important you train them, prep them, and counsel them to avoid offer-killing mistakes. My biggest one is a simple question.
What is the job as the recruiter has explained it to you. Here are some Answers.
1) Well, from what little I know about it... FAIL
2) It's um, well, it's a a (job title), doing (job title as a verb). FAIL
3) He's explained it well. This is a short, concise description of the position). Is that correct? WINNER!
Why is this important? If the candidate doesn't know the job, how can they possibly interview for it? if the know the position, but can't explain it easily, then they aren't taking the interview seriously, and they probably are as sloppy when they are doing the job. If they say, "from what little I know about it," they're making the recruiter look unprofessional, which if you're a candidate presented by a recruiter, do you really want to make the recruiter out as some idiot who doesn't even tell you much about the job?
A second common mistake is talking about where the recruiter found you.
1) I put my name up on Monster, and got a bunch of calls. FAIL
2) I called her because I was just laid off, and she had something she said would fit. FAIL
3) You know, she never really told me? She called me and quizzed me, then had me come in and we talked through the position. WINNER!
Every client who uses a recruiter wants to know they're special. Talking about how they found you is a huge mistake, because 1) you don't actually know what the recruiter went through to find you or how they checked up on you, and 2) Why would you devalue your candidacy by making the recruiter out to be a job board jockey or someone who "lucked" into a placement?
Now certainly there is some self-serving advice in there. As a recruiter, I want you saying nice things about me. But as in all advice, the intent is the same - to get you the job. It's all about you. I'm perfectly willing to throw myself under the bus during the negotiation stage or if you make an error in the interview. That only works if you have already reinforced that the recruiter you're working with is the world's best. So take your time and actually listen when your recruiter gives you advice. We're experts - not at your job, but at interviewing.
