Column Fodder in the Interview Process

“Refuse to attach a negative meaning to the word ‘no.’ View it as feedback. ‘No’ tells you to change your approach, create more value or try again later.”

– Anthony Iannarino

Column fodder is a term that I was introduced to in my sales career.  In a sales context, "column fodder" refers to a vendor or product that is included in a customer's evaluation process solely to provide competitive comparison or to satisfy internal requirements, without being seriously considered as a contender for selection. The term derives from the idea that the vendor's name merely fills a column in a comparison spreadsheet.

Key Characteristics of Column Fodder in the Interview Process:

1. Minimal Chance of Winning: You are unlikely to win the deal because the decision maker already has a preferred solution in mind.

2. Used for Leverage: Customers include additional vendors to negotiate better terms with their preferred vendor by creating the appearance of competition.

3. Compliance with Policy: Some organizations require multiple bids or evaluations; additional vendors might be included to fulfill procedural requirements.

4. Perceived as Non-Differentiated: The vendor is often viewed as offering similar capabilities to others without a compelling advantage or unique selling proposition.

Many of you are saying…I’m not in sales so why are you rambling on about this?  The reality is this sales situation plays out in the job hiring and candidate selection process very frequently. 

Why would people spend the time to interview someone that they don’t really think they will hire?  On one level it seems counterintuitive, but on another it makes a lot of sense.  Everyone wants to feel great about their final selection and having options to compare is one way to gain confidence in your final choice.

Here are a few reasons.

1. Sometimes people will surprise you.  The most positive sense of why they will include a weaker candidate is the mindset that …you never know. 

2. Many companies will use a team to interview for the final hire.  Having the ability to compare and contrast a couple candidates is very helpful in this context.  People can write-up the Pro’s and Cons of the various candidates and use the comparison between them in the discussion.

3. Fundamentally we all like to have options.  This plays out on the automobile sales lot every day…the various makes, models and trim packages of the vehicles are there to allow you a comparison between different units on the lot versus across the street at a competitor.

4. Leverage is real.  Having more than one candidate in the mix will keep the negotiations honest. 

5. Fall back positions are prudent.  The top candidate might not take the position because they don’t like the deal, their current employer fights for them or a personality conflict.

The reality is that having 3 good candidates to look at, all at the same, time rarely works out.  If the economy is particularly bad or your company/position is super desirable, you might get lucky. Generally, the stars don’t align all at the same time.  So then the HR team will scramble a bit to put together an interview slate of candidates to get the comparison that everyone wants to experience.

This is where some candidates will get invited to the interview process and not realize that they are extremely low probability candidates.  How would you know if you are in this camp?  It is hard to know because usually you don’t know anything about the other candidates to get a comparison.  Here are a couple ways to get some clues:

• Do you know anyone at the company that you can ask their honest opinion about you as a candidate or the other candidates?  You are looking for a ‘coach’ on the inside.

• Were you surprised to be invited to interview for this role?  There is a clue, that we may not want to be self-aware about, but if you were stacking up their required qualifications and having trouble matching those up you your experiences and skill sets…know that the hiring company is doing the same exercise.  Either they are really struggling for candidates, or they squinted hard when they looked at your resume’ and decided to include you in the process.

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  Did everything happen fast?  This can be an indication that they are scrambling a bit to put enough candidates together. 

Does any of this affect whether you should go to the interview?  Generally, my suggestion is to take the interview even if you feel like you might be ‘column fodder.’  Unless you are strapped for days off, or the interview is in another city which would require a fair bit of time that you don’t want to potentially waste.  The benefits of participating mean that you get to practice your interviewing skills, you learn about a new company and, with the glass half full mindset, maybe you dazzle the interviewers and get an offer!  Someone is going to get the position and sometimes the ‘dark horse’ wins the race.

Column fodder or leading candidate, in either case you want to perform at your best. Do your homework and be prepared to have a great interview.  Then you can know that you did everything you could and let the chips fall where they may.  The awareness of the column fodder scenario should help you manage your expectations and emotions following the interview.