I've been headhunted

[Fun Bus]

I was approached last week totally out of the blue by a big player in the industry I work in. They fell upon my CV by chance, thought I'd fit in on a project team they've just set up and have asked to meet with me in order to discuss the opportunity further. I'm meeting with them tomorrow evening and am very pleased to be but I've never met with a potential employer in these circumstances before so any helpful advice or tips on how best to handle it would be great. To be clear, I intend to be as prepared as I would be for any job interview but feel as though this is different.

Thanks in advance.

[JABB]

First bit of advice, put a subject to your post.
You may get more replies!

[Doofus]

It's not different. It's a job interview. The only variations are 1) they've asked you to apply, and 2) you (possibly) don't actually know what the job is.

Don't assume it's in the bag, and don't assume they're going to make you an offer.

[Fun Bus]

Wise words Doofus, thanks. Nothing is in the bag other than an interview! I may not even like what they've got to offer me in terms of role/package.

[JensenA]

It's a good position to be in. Your not desperate to get the job. They are interested in you based on your CV, so play to the strengths, and contents of your CV, and be prepared to answer questions, and expand on, the details of everything contained in it.

[Frimley111R]

How did they 'fall upon it by chance'?

[Doofus]

He left it under a brick on their doorstep.

[ZesPak]

Since you've been "headhunted" (get used to it by the way), they are asking YOU to come 'round, so I have to disagree with people that say you might not get an offer.
If you didn't lie too much in your CV and are a half-decent chap, they will make you an offer. It's why they asked you to come.

Just don't be to greedy to jump on it and check your options before you sign anything...

[Doofus]

ZesPak said:

Since you've been "headhunted" (get used to it by the way), they are asking YOU to come 'round, so I have to disagree with people that say you might not get an offer.
If you didn't lie too much in your CV and are a half-decent chap, they will make you an offer. It's why they asked you to come.

Surely you've come across people who are well qualified and highly experienced, but face to face they turn out to be a knob?

All I was saying is the OP is unlikely to be the only perosn they're talking to, and there's no guarantee of a job, so not to go in there playing "I'm the great I Am".

[edc]

ZesPak said:

Since you've been "headhunted" (get used to it by the way), they are asking YOU to come 'round, so I have to disagree with people that say you might not get an offer.
If you didn't lie too much in your CV and are a half-decent chap, they will make you an offer. It's why they asked you to come.

Just don't be to greedy to jump on it and check your options before you sign anything...

And there is nobody else that the other company might be interested in? What if the OP turns out to be unsuitable for whatever reason? (Not that you are at all).

Having been in recruitment in various different guises it is a fallacy to say that an offer is a certainty. I have approached hundreds of people both as an agency recruiter and as a direct employer and you offer a tiny percentage of those approached.

Ask the same sort of questions as you would in any other interview and do as much research as you can.

[Fun Bus]

Frimley111R said:

How did they 'fall upon it by chance'?

The company I am going to see, was passed my CV from a contact on the contract they hold (and I'm going to talk about) who was passed it from a recruitment consultant with whom I have also been working. The consultant knows nothing of this though.

Does that make sense?! I've reread enough so I think it does.

[ZesPak]

Doofus said:

ZesPak said:

Since you've been "headhunted" (get used to it by the way), they are asking YOU to come 'round, so I have to disagree with people that say you might not get an offer.
If you didn't lie too much in your CV and are a half-decent chap, they will make you an offer. It's why they asked you to come.

Surely you've come across people who are well qualified and highly experienced, but face to face they turn out to be a knob?

All I was saying is the OP is unlikely to be the only perosn they're talking to, and there's no guarantee of a job, so not to go in there playing "I'm the great I Am".

See my point...

But what I'm saying is that, I worked for a big multinational (10 000 employees worldwide) and did interviews there.
The strategy often was to attract young lads straight out of uni, they feel "honored" they CAN come on an interview, they get offered a pay under their capabilities and generally a pretty bad contract re working overtime and the like.
You're right he never should play the "I'm the great I Am", but the problem is, with big companies they tend to do that for you.

For example, our strategy was pretty easy and seen in a LOT of big companies:

1) Contact job seekers fresh out of school
2) Get them to come over to have them interviewed by a direct responsible (supervisor/teamleader/project leader -> me) and maybe somebody above that.
3) If they seem capable arrange a second interview, with the same people, maybe other bosses/department to see if they would really be up for the task
4) Arrange a meeting with someone from HR and a higher-placed boss.

I can't count the number of times I spend doing interviews with decent chaps with VERY reasonable monetary demands, only to see them not going through step 4 because the HR chap was trying to "negotiate" pay.

Honestly, if you agree on a pay, and they start hassling you down, turn around and go away. If they want to pay you less when you start, how much chance do you have to getting a raise the next couple of years?