Most candidates think the interview starts when they’re invited in.
Sometimes, it starts long before that.
Sometimes, that first impression means they never receive an invitation at all.
After more than 30 years in recruitment, that’s one of the hardest truths I’ve come to accept.
Candidates trust me to tell them why they didn’t get the job.
Clients trust me to tell them things in confidence.
Most of the time, those two responsibilities sit comfortably together.
Occasionally, they don’t.
One of the hardest phone calls I make isn’t telling someone they’ve been unsuccessful.
It’s when they ask,
“Can you tell me why?”
Sometimes I can.
Sometimes I can’t.
Not because I’m avoiding the conversation.
Because the real answer isn’t always mine to give.
People often assume hiring decisions begin when a CV is shortlisted.
Or when someone walks into an interview room.
In reality, opinions are often forming much earlier.
Employers look at LinkedIn.
They look at social media sites.
They notice profile photos.
They discover mutual connections.
Sometimes they’ll speak to people who’ve worked alongside a candidate before. Not as a formal reference check, but because specialist industries are smaller than most people realise.
People know people.
Reputations travel.
I’ve seen technically excellent candidates never get the opportunity to interview because an opinion had already been formed.
Sometimes that opinion is well founded.
Sometimes it isn’t.
One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that people don’t assess other people as objectively as we’d like to believe.
Sometimes it’s reputation.
Sometimes it’s communication.
Sometimes it’s how someone presents themselves.
Sometimes it’s a first impression formed long before anyone has had a proper conversation.
None of those things automatically make the judgement right.
But pretending they never influence hiring decisions doesn’t help candidates, employers or recruiters.
It’s simply part of the reality of working in a close-knit industry.
The frustrating part is that first impressions aren’t always accurate.
I’ve met candidates whose online presence suggested one thing, only to discover they were thoughtful, humble and technically exceptional.
I’ve met others with polished CVs whose attitude changed the conversation within minutes.
That’s why I still believe conversations matter.
They’re often the only opportunity someone has to challenge an assumption, change a first impression or show something a CV never could.
If there’s one thing I’d encourage people to think about, it’s this.
You build your professional reputation long before you need it.
Every project.
Every colleague.
Every client.
Every time you leave an employer.
People remember more than technical ability.
They remember whether you were reliable.
Whether you owned your mistakes.
Whether you treated people with respect.
Whether they’d happily work with you again.
You can’t control every opinion someone forms about you.
None of us can.
But you can influence the reputation you build over time.
Because in a specialist industry, that reputation often arrives before your CV does.
And sometimes…
That’s the interview you never knew you had.
Get in touch.
