A year ago, a well-established F&B group in Cambodia engaged us to seek a position of GM. We were looking for a top tier candidate who possesses all the required criteria and is willing to relocate to Cambodia. After a month, we finally managed to source one top-tier candidate who fulfilled all the criteria.
The first phone interview went well and the client was looking forward to having him visit Cambodia for further discussion and also site visitation.
Flight and accommodation booked. The candidate went to Cambodia. He was welcomed by the client’s HR manager when he arrived at the airport and was sent by the HR manager to the company.
During the interview session, it all went well in the beginning. When it came to the salary discussion, the salary range he asked for was higher than the figure that he initially agreed with us. (It’s definitely a big NO NO to ask for a different salary from what you told a recruiter and client). And after the interview session ended, the client was asked if he had any questions.
“May I ask if I can visit the staff hostel, I would like to see the condition, and also if there is any transport allowance as I noticed the traffic in Phnom Penh is kinda congested every day” he said.
“Of course”, the client smiled and asked the HR manager to take him to the hostel.
Ultimately, he did not secure the job.
The feedback from the client was, they were not feeling comfortable about the fact that he suddenly changed his expected salary. And it seems like he was focused more on employee benefits than on career growth.
“Most importantly I feel that he is not being flexible enough, and flexibility is the number one key criterion we are looking for. We don’t think he is a good fit”.
Well, this is not the first time we had a candidate who failed the final interview because they did not know how to ask questions properly or simply because they do not know WHEN THE BEST TIME IS to ask a question.
Focusing more on career growth or your contribution to the company should be the key discussion topics during an interview. Employee benefit details can always be discussed once you get the offer since you have already been informed by the recruiter of the budget range of the client.
Actually, opportunity is far more valuable than the remuneration package.
When would you worry about not being rewarded if you think you’d be an asset to a company, right?
