Ask The Expert

Eager or Desperate?

Q: A few months ago I sent an unsolicited resume to a company whose benchmarking products I enthusiastically – and I know successfully – could sell globally. I have been following this company since its founding a few years ago and finally decided to approach them. It was a long shot but - to my surprise - they called me 4 weeks ago.

I made it through the first screening call and then the same HR individual called again with a number of specific questions which I’m confident I successfully answered. During that second conversation I also asked a few questions specific to the position which she told me would be best answered by the hiring managers. She also said that the “next step” would be to fly me to their H.Q. for a face-to-face interview but “first” she would relay my questions to the hiring managers who would be contacting me shortly. Two weeks went by so I decided to e-mail her asking the status and she responded:

“Regarding your interview status, I had forwarded your specific questions regarding the Sales position directly to the hiring managers for a reply and have asked them to please call you. Please understand their delay in response as I’m sure you as a sales professional already are aware that when it comes to sales it is 24/7 so please be patient as I’m sure they will get back to you ASAP. I appreciate you staying in contact.”

For me, selling this company’s product would be like loving to play tennis and successfully playing the ATP tour for living; being passionate about airplanes and selling for Boeing – so here is my question:

Should I offer to fly to their H.Q. at my expense for a face-to-face interview? I have loads of frequent flier miles and hotel points so for me the trip would be nearly free. As you can see I’m eager to move this process forward. I like what I do but how many times am I going to get the chance to market a product that I really feel passionate about? Moreover, the dynamics of a face-to-face interview are decidedly better and any questions or concerns are better answered and discerned in person. I’m also confident that once they meet me and give me a chance to express what I can do for them, they will be eager to extend me an offer.

I look forward to your comments / suggestions

Coach Louise Kursmark: First of all, congrats on landing the initial interview and progressing to the next step. Now, you want to be careful not to appear pushy or over-eager - it will definitely harm the image you've established thus far.

I think offering to fly out on your own expense appears over-eager (even desperate).

However, there are some things you can do:

Respond to the HR person, thanking her for her note and assuring her that you understand. Ask if there's anything else she needs from you right now.
Start thinking about how you'd sell this company's products. Put together a preliminary sales plan, or brief outline for tapping into a new market, or some other document that says "I'm working for you already." Keep it brief - a page or two. You can share this at your next interview or send to the hiring managers in advance - but not until the meeting is established. Again, over-eager or pushy is a real turn-off.
Consider making a trip to their HQ area (for business or pleasure) and a week or so beforehand, contact the HR person, tell her you'll be in the area, and would it be helpful for you to meet in person? (with her or the hiring managers). This is a gamble, because they may not be interested or able to meet with you at that point, but you can always cancel the trip if you have no other reason to be there.
Stay in touch with the HR person (assuming she is the only one you have a connection with at this point) from time to time - every 10 days or 2 weeks. Brief, cheery, non-pushy contact. You can share a career update with her or some general industry information. Restate your interest and enthusiasm, but don't go too far and don't get difficult or demanding about seeing the hiring manager.
It is definitely a waiting game. Keep in mind what it's like when you're working full steam ahead ... making time to interview people is probably not high on your list! You need to be patient and stay busy with your job. In fact, you should try to ramp up your performance so you'll have some great success stories to share during your interviews and maintain your interest in your current employment.

Best of luck to you.