The Career Encouragement Blog

Job Search Rule #34 - Remember Who's in Charge of the Interview

A few months back I was helping a client with a search for a new Director of Sales.  We narrowed it down to the top two candidates and set up meetings for each of them with the President of the company ("William").  He decided he wanted to meet them at a coffee shop - partly because the location was more convenient for him that afternoon, and partly because he enjoys assessing how candidates present themselves outside of a typical interview setting - i.e., Are they relaxed?  Can they maintain eye contact despite the distractions all around them?  Can they handle a cup of coffee without spilling it? etc.  For the sake of convenience, William asked me to join him at the interviews so that we could debrief afterward.

On the day we were scheduled to meet with "Sue" at 2 PM I was coming from another appointment.  Rather than go to the office in between meetings I decided to head to the coffee shop early and check my e-mail there.  I arrived at about 1:15.  I got a drink and was logging onto a computer when I saw Sue come in.  Sue had impressed me early in the interview process with her insightful questions and her compelling examples of prior achievements.  I watched as she briskly ordered a drink and then marched directly to a small room in the back of the coffee shop. 

On her way, she passed the computer station and spotted me.  We made eye contact and she visibly blanched.  She fumbled to look at her watch and blurted out, "You're not supposed to be here until 2!"  I was a bit surprised to see her so rattled and calmly told her that I had some time in between appointments and had simply come in to check e-mail. I assured her that she had plenty of time to prepare and that William and I would see her at 2 as planned.

She hurried on to the back room.  From my vantage point I was able to see her, and I watched with interest as she began to rearrange the furniture.  First she pulled two small tables together.  Then she pushed them up against a wall and arranged the chairs so that there were two with their backs to the wall, and one in front facing them.  Finally, she pushed the other tables nearby back a few feet in order to create an "island" for her interview.

Given what I know about William, I knew immediately that her plan was not going to work.  I went over to re-greet her at 2 PM on the dot. Sue was the calm, gracious professional we had seen in earlier interviews.  William cruised in a minute later.  Just as I suspected, he took one look at the mock boardroom Sue had arranged, then grabbed a chair from a nearby table, pulled it in the general direction of Sue and I, and plopped down.  Sue conducted most of the meeting staring straight at me with occasional nervous glances to William at her side.

After about 35 minutes of small talk and a few Q&A's about the position, William stood up, apologized for being short on time that afternoon, thanked Sue for her time, and told her I'd get back to her within a few days.  I'm sure you know the outcome...

I feel badly for Sue because I think she was trying to demonstrate that she is a take charge individual who can run an agenda at a meeting, and who can interact as a business partner at the C-level.  I've written before that the interview is a conversation and that you shouldn't go in planning to just sit back while the hiring team asks all the questions.  It's important to be prepared with smart questions, to have your own agenda for an interview, and to interact on a peer-level with the people who are interviewing you.  I think that's what Sue was trying to do.  So what went wrong?  Lots of things. 

Overall, what went wrong was that Sue tried too hard to control the meeting.  Sue didn't take the time to assess what might be the purpose of meeting in a coffee shop, and what might be the intentions of the interviewer.  If she had taken even 30 seconds to look at William she would have seen that he is a big, energetic guy.  Sitting in squashed in a corner was not going to be a comfortable situation for him. 

She also didn't demonstrate that she was there for a mutual discussion - the physical arrangement she established made it clear she intended to control the direction of the meeting.  As a result, she was not able to react well when her plans went awry.  Her blunt comment that I was too early was ungracious and out of line - my schedule is not her concern.  And when William declined the chance to sit squashed against a wall, she was not able to adjust her positioning to include him in the conversation, and continued with an arrangement that she decided she wanted.

The lesson from Sue is to relax your need for control and remember who is in charge of the interview.  Yes you want to be prepared, yes you want to interact as a peer, but be smart about it.  Assess the signals the interviewers are sending you and adjust your plans accordingly. 

 

 

 

Job Search Rule #33 - Figure Out How to Answer the "Weakness" Question

At some point in every interview process you (as a candidate) will be asked about your weaknesses. This question can take many forms such as:

• What is your biggest weakness?
• When you think back to recent performance reviews you have received, what are some of the things you have been asked to work on?
• What parts of this job would be hardest for you?

Why do recruiters and HR folks ask this question?  There are a variety of related reasons - we do it to start a dialogue, to see how you view yourself, to see if you are the type of person that can take feedback and not take yourself too seriously, and sometimes just to get a feel for your personality.

Recently I've had 2 candidates give me rather lame answers to this question - notice how neither one of them embraced the chance to dialogue and build rapport with the interview team:

Candidate #1 for an IT Manager position delivered his answer to the weakness question with a mix of incredulousness and arrogance designed to impress: "Weaknesses?  If you're looking for a candidate with weaknesses then I am NOT your guy.  I know this job inside and out and I just don't make mistakes."

Candidate #2 for an Office Manager position gave an answer that had nothing to do with her: "My biggest weakness is people who won't respect diversity.  I cannot stand that."  When I clarified that I was wondering what her weaknesses might be with respect to the position, not what her co-workers weaknesses might be, she reiterated, "I can't work with people who aren't respectful." 

Since you know you are going to be asked the question, it's a good idea to have an answer prepared.  While your answer should be uniquely you, and tailored to the position you are going for, a good basic answer to the "weakness" question is:

Timely. It's an interview. You knew you would be asked about your weaknesses. While you may pause briefly before answering, you shouldn't come across as dumbfounded by the question and have to think for an extensive period of time before offering something.

Honest. Be real about what you are working on, don't make something up.

Direct. Speak to the weakness. Don't be cheesy and try to pitch a strength as a weakness (e.g., "I'm so task focused that I take on more work than my peers do and that makes them think I am competitive.")

Relevant to the Job.An interview is a business conversation. Use the chance to answer the question as an opportunity to demonstrate that you know how the job contributes to the success of the business. (E.g, "In this PR position, you're looking for someone who can pitch stories and get press for your clients. While I had an extensive network of media contacts in [my old city] I am new to this metro area, and I am still building my contact list.

Progressive. Demonstrate that you already have a plan in place to manage your weakness as it relates to the job. For example, the PR candidate above might conclude her answer with: "My colleagues in my old city have been gracious enough to help me make contacts here. I've already joined [local PR professional association] and I have been attending their networking events. I also know from articles i have seen about you in the press that you are the type of manager who will be able to give me great coaching on getting connected in this city." etc.

Have you ever heard or given a great answer to the "weakness" question?  Please leave a comment and let us know about it!

Job Search Rule #32 - Plan Your Answers

It's a drum I beat often - when it comes to the job search, most people stand or fall on the basics.  One such basic job search technique that I often counsel job seekers to use is to think of every possible question you may be asked in an interview, and then write out your answers (preferably in long hand) in advance.  You don't need to take these answers with you - in fact I don't recommend it.  But the simple act of writing out your answers in advance will force you to clarify your own thinking on a variety of important issues related to the job at hand, and will help you be more articulate and succinct in the interview. 

Julia Penny at The best-job-interview.com has some great resources to help you do this - she provides a list of typical interview questions and another list of tough questions.  She also gives you helpful background on why recruiters and hiring managers ask certain questions and what they are listening for in your answers.

If I had a chance to place a bet on it, I would say that fewer than 25% of candidates will go through the time and effort to research potential interview questions and think through their answers.  By going through this exercise you will do two important things:

1. First, you will clarify for yourself how interested you really are in this job. If the questions you research and the answers you write bore you, you may want to reconsider this option.
2. Second, if you find you really are interested in this job, you will reduce your nervousness about the interview and be more calm and focused during your meeting.

Ultimately, you will stand out from the pool of candidates and have a better chance of winning the job!

Job Search Rule #31 - Embrace the Competition

I recently spent some time coaching a new college graduate for a job interview.  Through a friend of the family this young man (let’s call him Jason) had learned of an interesting job opportunity and had a chance to meet the owner of the business. The informational meeting went well and the owner invited Jason to apply for the job. Jason felt good about his prospects, submitted his application materials, and waited to hear when he would have a chance to meet with the hiring manager.

He was a bit surprised when the owner let him know they would be interviewing candidateS early this week. Jason said, “Since it was through a friend of the family I guess I didn’t think there would be other candidates.  Now it feels like a competition.”

I assured him that indeed a job search is a competition and encouraged him to gladly embrace it for the following reasons:

1. Any job worth having is likely going to be appealing to other people besides you.  If there is an open position and no one else is remotely interested in it, maybe it’s not such a good deal after all.
2. The competitive nature of the job search can help you clarify your own career goals and make sure you are on a good path for yourself.  How badly do you want this particular opportunity?  If you aren’t willing to put a little effort into securing the position, it's likely you won’t be motivated to put effort into performing well if you get the job.  And working in a situation where you are not motivated can make for some very long weeks!
3. The competitive nature of the job search means that the employer is going to be more committed to the success of the individual who gets the job.  When a company expends time and energy to speak to and assess several candidates over the course of multiple meetings, they get a good sense of the talent that is available in the marketplace.  By the time they decide you are the one for the job, they have started to invest themselves in your success. If they hire you without comparing you to others it can backfire on you later if they start to feel they made a hasty decision.
4. If the job really is a match, the competition will allow you to shine – and it feels great to win a job under those circumstances.  To use a sports analogy, let’s say you play on a soccer team and you go to a tournament. When you get there you find you’ve received a bye into the championship round and no other teams have shown up. The officials escort you to the podium and hand you the trophy.  You are not out of breath, you’re not sweating, and you’re not dirty.  A few onlookers applaud and you think, “But you don’t even know what I am capable of on the field.  I was hoping for a chance to do a corner kick this game!”  How much will that trophy mean to you?

So embrace the competition of the job search. Do your prep work, go in there prepared to show what you can do, and win that job!

Job Search Rule #30 - Accept that Fact that Sometimes Your Skills are Irrelevant

Last summer my family took a road trip across the country.  We drove through thousands of miles of prairie land.  At times we would go for hours on two-lane rural roads.  We would go entire days without seeing shopping malls or suburban developments.  At night we stayed in small motels frequented by truckers, bikers, and a few other sight-seeing families.  During the day, our only contact with civilization might be a road-side gas station with a small selection of cold beverages and the obligatory rack of key chains by the cash register.

During this time I had no access to e-mail or voice mail.  And as the week droned on, I had a remarkable thought as we whizzed by an endless hayfield.  "I am irrelevant here."  Okay, maybe not me personally, because all humans have worth and value in the eyes of God.  But the work that I spend my days doing is SO very irrelevant here.  These folks do not care one bit about my blog, about career assessments, about organizational design, or about cross-functional training.  They are singularly focused on getting the crop in and preparing for winter.  The skills I have are of no use to them in these pursuits. Therefore, while they are likely perfectly friendly people who would be kind and helpful if I needed it, they are not going to go out of their way to seek me out to befriend me or to "network."  We're not a match, so to speak.

This same phenomenon happens occasionally in the job search.  It may be possible that a candidate comes to me with an incredible skill set, a strong work history, and a great personality. But if his skills are irrelevant to my needs, I simply can't spend a lot of time on him. I will always take the time to encourage him whenever possible, but I need to keep working toward the match. 

Not being a match is not necessarily a bad thing.  Once I got over how strange it felt to be irrelevant, I found myself able to relax much more and enjoy myself.  I found that I liked being in a situation where my skills and work history didn't matter, and what others around me were doing was much more important.  It was interesting to watch people engaged in their work and appreciate that I didn't know how to do (or need to do) what they were doing.  It made me unexplainably happy to think of so many people in the world working productively to keep it all going - I truly felt gratitude for my fellow man.

So here's my point if you are in the middle of a job search: don't be afraid to acknowledge that you may be irrelevant for some jobs that you are tempted to go for.  You may have all the skills in the world, but if you are not a match for a particular job, learn to let go of wanting that job, and step back and admire the people who can do it.  I suspect that you will find that you appreciate your fellow man more, and you will free yourself up to find the place where you are a match.

Job Search Rule #29 - Don't Praise Your Own Virtues

A job interview is a sales call.  You want to convince the interviewer that you have what it takes to get the job done, and get it done well.  Toward this end, it's important that you get comfortable being succinct and confident in articulating your skills, experiences, and strengths.  However, it's important that you don't go too far and start touting your own virtues. 

What's the difference?  Skills are about what you can do. It's possible for you or others to objectively assess and quantify your skills and accomplishments.  Virtues, on the other hand, are about what you are - specifically your moral goodness and righteousness.  It's very difficult to assess a person's goodness, and it's almost impossible (if not completely impossible) to assess our own goodness. 

It's been my unfortunate experience, that the people who talk the loudest about their own virtues are often the ones who ultimately prove to be the least trustworthy.  I once worked with an executive (let's call him "Hank") who repeatedly said, "I cannot stand liars.  I never lie, and I cannot stand to have liars on my team."  I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that in HR I had occasion after occasion to deal with Hank in situations where his employees said he had lied to them. I often felt Hank was lying to me.  Many people left that company because they couldn't stand working with him.  Last I heard his career was in shambles.

On another occasion I worked with a job seeker I'll call Greg.  Greg's resume listed position after position where he had left a company because "my boss was unethical, and you know me - I'm an ethical person and I can only work with ethical people."  As we dug into his work history and Greg explained each of his job changes, it became very apparent that his version of being "ethical" was suspect.  It seems that every time Greg had a boss who held him accountable for the results he had promised, he decided the boss was unethical.  Greg did land a new position eventually but I recently learned from a mutual friend that once again he is struggling with an "unethical boss."

After years of hiring and firing people, I've come to the conclusion that when a candidate or employee repeatedly espouses his own virtues, he is likely protesting too much.  I hate to say it, but when a candidate tells me how honest he is, or how ethical he is, warning bells go off for me.  On the other hand, if I am doing reconnaissance work on a candidate and objective third parties tell me how trustworthy or fair a candidate is, I sit up and take notice.

Therefore, a good rule of thumb in the workplace is to speak freely about your skills and accomplishments, but let others praise your virtues.  Being honest, or being ethical are wonderful things to aspire to, but they are not things to say about ourselves.  It is far more effective to focus our conversation on the work we are doing and how we are doing it and to let others praise our virtues.

Job Search Rule #28 - Don't Let Others Apply for You

I received a resume from a gentleman (let's call him "Bill") for an Accountant opening last week.  It caught my attention  because the cover letter was written by Bill's wife Janet.  She said:

"Dear Human Resources:

I would like to relocate my family to [your city] for family related reasons as soon as possible.  You can reach me at this number XXX-XXX-XXXX and you can reach Bill on his cell phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

I hope to hear from you soon.

I'm baffled.  First, I wonder if Bill wants to move as much as Janet does?  Second, if this indeed is a joint goal for Bill and Janet, do they really think this approach is going to land a new job for him? 

Either way, you already know how this one is going to end as far as I am concerned - in the "no go" pile.

Job Search Rule #27 - Treat a Phone Interview like a "REAL" Interview

There's no doubt that in order to do well in business, you need to have good telephone skills.  These skills are especially important when you have a phone interview with a potential employer.  I do a lot of phone interviews and I'm surprised at how many candidates treat our time together like a casual social chat.  In reality, phone interviews are screening tools HR folks and Hiring Managers use to save time. 

If I have 10 resumes that look promising, I need to weed out at least 6 or 7 of them.  There is no way I can ask hiring managers to do 10 face to face interviews.  This is where a 20-30 minute phone conversation comes into play.  20 minutes isn't a lot of time to make a favorable impression, so here are some things to think about:

#1 - When possible, prepare for the phone interview!  Some HR reps like to catch people by surprise for a phone interview and see how candidates respond on the fly.  That's a valid approach, and certainly gives us some information about a candidate.  Personally, I like to call or e-mail candidates and schedule the phone interview for 2 days out.  This way I know a candidate has had opportunity to prepare, and I can assess her interest level by how prepared she is. For example, the first question I will usually ask is, "Have you seen our website."  A candidate who has had two days to prepare and hasn't looked at the website, suddenly seems a lot less promising to me.

#2 - Give concise answers.  Most interviews have a set of standard questions they will be asking all candidates for the position. This way they can compare across candidates to pick the strongest ones. I take detailed noted to help me remember candidates, but if an answers takes too long to come to a conclusion I usually scribble "wandered" and wait for the candidate to pause so I can ask the next question. If your answer wanders, it is difficult to make comparisons, and you may end up in the "no go" pile as a result.  Listen closely to the question and give as concise an answer as possible.

#3 - Be direct on basic issues.  A phone interview benefits both you and the employer because it gives you a chance to see if you are a match on some very basic issues before investing the time and energy in a face to face meeting.  Some issues recruiters may want to clarify with you are your career goals, salary expectations and reporting structure.  For example, depending on how a company is structured, HR may report directly to the CEO, or it could report to Finance.  I know that many HR pros prefer not to report through Finance.  So if I was filling an HR job that reported to a CFO, I would clarify up front what a candidate's feelings are on that so we could save time for both of us if it just wouldn't work. 

#4 - To quote Preacher Don in the movie Rebound, "Put a little pep in it!"  The interviewer cannot see your gestures or facial expressions on the phone, so she is reliant on your words and tone of voice to convey meaning.  You'd be surprised at how many people have flat monotone voices on the phone.  It makes a world of difference to how you come across as a professional if you put a smile and some energy in your voice. If you aren't sure how you sound on the phone, call your own voice mail and leave yourself some practice answers, then go back and listen to them to see how you sound. 

Brazen Careerist had a great posting on 5 Ways to Do Better in a Phone Interview.  I love her advice!  She suggests that you:

1. Attend to your surroundings.
2. Dress for the part.
3. Stand up.
4. Prepare for the most obvious questions.
5. Don't forget to close.

Read the entire posting here. 

Bottom line:  Interviewers want to like you.  If you do well on the phone interview, they will be doing PR for you before you ever come in for the face-to-face interview - i.e, "I'm really excited for you to meet John.  He was great on the phone - articulate, really got our key business issues, pleasant to talk with.  I really think you're going to like him."  Who wouldn't want to have a set up like that before meeting the potential boss? 

Job Search Rule #26 - Don't Tell Me Why You Got Laid-off

Last week I interviewed John.  During our conversation I found out that he was only on the market because he had been laid off from his last position. That's okay.  These things happen.

I also found out (despite my best intentions to steer him differently) that John had really loved his last position, that he would never have left on his own, that he missed his last position, and that it had been ideal for him with his unique set of skills.  These factoids were all wrapped up in a long rambling story about the industry and company events that had led management to make the decisions to do layoffs.

Whew! 

What I couldn't seem to get at was why he was interested in the job that he had applied for and how his skills were going to benefit my company.  He was very qualified for the job, but he landed in the "no go" pile anyway. 

I have some colleagues who prefer not to hire candidates who have been laid off from their prior position on the theory that the low performers are put on the layoff list first.  I've managed enough workforce reductions in the past decade to know that perfectly good employees land on the layoff lists for reasons beyond their control.  So I'm not adverse to interviewing them - if anything, I am empathetic to their plight and secretly hoping they'll do well in the interview.

However, I do look for evidence that the candidate is the kind of person who can handle adversity, bounce back, and move on.  Therefore, I am very sensitive to how people handle questions like "What has you looking for a new career opportunity at this time?"  And I definitely tend to pass on cover letters that start with the phrase that "Only an unexpected layoff has me looking for a new position at this time..." 

As a recruiter or hiring manager, I am interested in four primary things:

1. Can you DO the job at hand (i.e., do you have the skills and experiences)?
2. Do you WANT to do this job?
3. Can you BUILD PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS with my employees and clients?
4. Are we a MATCH in terms of culture and work style?

Notice that none of these areas require a job seeker to go into a lengthy discussion of how much he loved his past job and how and why management made layoff decisions.  The only way to get back into the workforce is to focus on the work you can and will do in the future. 

Bottom line:  If you are only on the market due to a layoff, let go of the past and focus on what your potential employer is looking for and how you can meet those needs.

Job Search Rule #25 - When Writing Your Resume, Less is More

I'm looking at a resume for a director-level position.  The candidate - Jim - has a great background.  He has had an outstanding education that includes continued professional development, great work experience, and leadership roles in professional associations.  The problem is, so do 20 other candidates.  So how do I weed it down to the 10 that I have time to call this week?

I turn to page three of Jim's resume. (Note to self: First red flag?  There is a page 3.) 

The heading on page 3 is "Lifetime Accomplishments."  I admit, I gave Jim more than the usual 45 seconds as I perused his accomplishments with mild interest - home restoration, writing, community service, etc.   

The list concluded with "raising two children who are the smartest, most creative kids in the world."  (Note to self: Second red flag?  Jim doesn't understand the purpose of a resume.)

I actually like it that Jim is an enthusiastic parent.  And had this come up in casual conversation during the interview, it may have worked in his favor.  But on the resume, as a first contact with a company, this statement landed Jim in the "no go" pile.  Why? 

1. First, he's wrong.  I am already raising the two most creative, intelligent kids in the world, so I take issue with his claim.  ;-)
2. Second, Jim has no idea who is going to screen his resume.  What if his resume was screened by someone who was child-free by choice and resented all the hype about family-friendly workplaces?   "That's okay," you may be thinking,"he wouldn't want to work at a company that resented parents."  True.  But what if his resume was screened by someone at a very family-friendly company who desperately desired children but was having infertility issues?  I've known of instances where good people have been screened out for this very reason.
3. Third - and most importantly - whether you view the enthusiastic parenting statement as positive or negative, it takes up space without contributing any more information about whether he can do the job.

The purpose of a resume is to convince a company that you have the potential to be a great employee for them and to get you in to an interview situation.  Once you are in the interview situation, then you can share more about yourself and observe whether you think there's a fit with the culture. You can always decide not to accept a position if you think the company won't appreciate you as a complete person with a full life, but you will never get the offer if you don't get in to the interview in the first place.

Lea over at People @ Work has a great posting on why Less is More when writing your resume.  She advises:

"Think of the resume as a tool that provides enough information for a recruiter or hiring manager to want to schedule an interview to learn more about you. Keeping the resume brief gives you the opportunity to talk about the details of your experience during the interview, when you can connect your experience with the duties and description of the job you're applying for. That makes for a more effective interview -- which makes you a stronger candidate for the job."

Check out the full posting here.  Next, if you've been struggling in your job search, go back and look at your resume.  See if there is any extraneous detail that distracts from your great qualifications for the job at hand.  Try trimming down your resume to focus on the position and the company's needs and see if you don't get better results!