Earlier this week, we discussed the preference most individuals have for multiplex relationships.
A multiplex connection is one where there is an overlap of roles or affiliations from more than one social context (e.g., I work in real estate, and I’m an avid snowboarder).
It only makes sense to find and emphasize these types of connections during the recruiting process.
How do you make this happen?
According to David Burkus, you push past normal small talk and ask some questions designed to get a prospect to reveal these connections.
Here are five questions you may want to try:
What’s the best thing that happened to you this year?
Where did you grow up?
What do you do for fun?
Is there a charitable cause you support?
What’s the most important thing I should know about you?
Questions like these help get the prospect to reveal what’s going on in their life outside of work and how they are connected to these activities and causes.
When you find a meaningful connection you share, you suddenly become a lot more interesting.
P.S. If you struggle to build rapport with your recruiting prospects, reach out to one of our coaches. A quick “relational tune-up” can help make your recruiting conversations more memorable and impactful.
