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5 reasons to hire a corporate actor for your role play interview.





"I really don't get the feeling that you understand why it can't be done" I insist, "you are not listening to what I am saying!" 

 The candidate who is sitting in front of me becomes irritated. "I will listen to what you're saying," she sighs, "but the reason does not matter at all. It just needs to happen!"

 Today I am working as a corporate actor for a recruitment organisation. I am invited to test several candidates for a new job role within a bank. The perfect candidate needs to be able to cope well with resistance, and can convince others with strong and emphatic leadership. 

 While many recruiters like to test skills in a competency based interview in their quest for the perfect candidate, nowadays candidates have to demonstrate them as well. That is why recruiters turn to the role play interview to help choose between candidates. It helps them to see whether someone can react appropriately in a ‘real life’ situation and not just on paper or with words. 

 In the last years I've learned that many recruiters and HR professionals can't wait to play that angry client or dominant colleague in a simulation. But at InterACT WA, our clients decided to turn to professional corporate actors instead to 'act the part'. All to get the best results out of their role play session.

 Maybe you wish to consider doing the same.

 Here are our clients five main reasons to work with a corporate actor: 

 1. A corporate actor plays realistically

 An actor is able to portray different kinds of behavior simply because it's their job and they studied for it. For recruiters of HR professionals this is much more difficult. They are not used to acting and often seem to 'overact'. This will make the role play interview less realistic and therefor less effective. 

 2. A corporate actor plays interactive

 This means that the actor's behavior can be influenced. A professional corporate actor always responds to the behavior of the candidate. If the candidate demonstrates different competencies, it will also effect and change the actor's behavior. This allows the candidate to experience directly the effect of its own behavior and for the assessor to easily score performance. Recruiters are often not trained in this and will usually stick to a more rigidly role play. 

 3. A corporate actor is not a colleague

 Candidates often say that they felt a role play session with a recruiter or HR professional would not been as educationally valuable. Hiring a professional actor for the most important part of your recruitment process will allow you to test competencies without risking relationships or reputation. 

 4. A corporate actor is able to give feedback after the role-play

 An actor is trained to observe also during the role play acting. He looks while playing the role, from a helicopter perspective. As a result, the actor is able to provide valuable feedback afterwards. He can state clearly why he reacted in certain situations in a certain way. In contrast, recruiters of HR Professionals often get absorbed in their act they lose the helicopter view.

 5. A corporate actor is familiar with the objectives

 This means that the actor knows exactly what the objective of the assessment is. This allows him to reward preferred behaviors deliberately during the role play. He can also connect the feedback to the objectives of the assessment creating valuable insights for both organization and candidates. 

 And finally, a good actor is not necessarily a good CORPORATE actor. At InterACT WA, our actors are trained to do role play interviews and they can truly help you improve your recruitment process results. 

 Would you like to know how? Contact me here for a chat. 

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