Tag Archives: interview

Sage Interviewing Advice from 5 Recruiters

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Congratulations! You made it to the interview. Through your hard work—researching the position and company; networking with recruiters; writing a resume for human consumption, not purely focused on the ATS; and practicing answering the questions you predict will be asked—you’re ready.

There are some things you still need to consider, such as:

  • Preparing for video interviews
  • Understanding how to answer the questions that will be asked
  • Thinking of intelligent questions to ask the interviewers
  • Knowing how to answer the salary questions
  • Following up with your recruiter

All of this will be covered here. My suggestion to you is don’t skip a word. The recruiters who offer their advice are the real deal. They’ve taken time out of their busy schedule to offer you their advice and, most importantly, they want to help you succeed. One of them writes:

“As a recruiter, my success depends on my candidates succeeding. I provide advice on LinkedIn and other platforms for not just my candidates whom I work with personally, but candidates everywhere.” Tejal Wagadia, Sourcing Recruiter, Amazon

Preparing for video interviews

Ed Han Talent Acquisition Geek | Job-Hunt.org Contributor | JobSeeker Ally | I’m not active on LinkedIn: I’m hyperactive! | Wordsmith | Recruiter at Cenlar FSB | Ask me about IT opportunities in the 19067 and 08618 ZIP codes!

The key to performing well in practically everything is good preparation. Professional athletes practice for hours daily. Professional actors do exercises and rehearse lines for hours daily. So it is with interviews–but particularly with video interviews. And it begins from the moment you attempt to schedule your interview, and all the way through the process.

Some of what follows is just interview preparation best practices, but the items that are unique to video interviews will be called out in italics.

Scheduling

When the person with whom you are scheduling confirms your interview:

  • Do so in writing (email. SMS, etc.)
  • Always ask
  • How long should I budget?
  • With whom will I be speaking?
  • What technology will be used?
  • If they send a calendar invitation, scan the attendees, see if the interviewer(s) are also on the invitation list

Before the interview

These steps are essential in maximizing the likelihood of performing well in your interviews:

  • From the Scheduling step above, research your interviewer(s) online on LinkedIn and other forms of social media
  • Get plenty of rest the night before to the extent possible
  • Have a beverage handy for your interview: you will probably do a fair bit of talking in the interview, and pausing to take a sip can be a good way to stall for a few seconds and gather your thoughts when uncertain how to frame your response to an interviewer’s question
  • Again from the Scheduling step above, do a test call or two using the technology for your interview because unfamiliar technologies might behave unexpectedly, and throw you off during the interview
  • Most videoconferencing technologies have a chat feature: identify that feature and learn it, it is useful for troubleshooting any audio/video issues you may be experiencing
  • GoToMeeting when installed on a computing device periodically needs to update, so allow time for this to take place before your interview
  • Set the stage: identify where you will take the interview, and make sure the lighting is good, that you are not backlit or in shadow, that you have privacy and quiet, and make sure nothing problematic is visible in the background behind you–this is another good reason to do a test call before your video interview
  • Attire: select clothing that is not jarring against the background the interviewer(s) may see
  • Where possible use a Chromebook/laptop with an Ethernet cable: WiFi often offers lower bandwidth than an Ethernet cable connection, and using your phone could lead to your hand getting tired from being in the same position for an extended period of time

During the interview

Bear these things in mind during your interview:

  • In a panel interview, ensure that you are addressing each person, although the bulk of your attention should be on whoever is speaking
  • In the event of a technical issue, use the chat feature to help troubleshoot
  • Look at the camera, it is your interviewer(s): the reason for a video interview is to get a feel for the person behind the resume, and there is a great deal of non-verbal communication in any human interaction. It is easy to make the mistake of looking at the screen instead of the camera, but make a conscious effort to do better in this, it will help differentiate you from your competition

After the interview

It is generally considered good etiquette to send a thank you. Schools of thought differ on “the ideal medium” to do so: I have witnessed suggestions of a formal business letter, email, or text. What makes sense will be driven by the dynamic between you and the person who scheduled the interview. If in doubt, always favor the more formal over the less formal medium, whatever that is.

Summary

Above all, remember that a job interview is a business meeting between parties wanting to determine if they want to do business, and if so, how. The fact that this conversation is taking place over video is irrelevant.

It just means that there are logistical considerations that you should recognize and address to ensure optimal performance.

Understanding how to answer the questions that will be asked

Dan Roth Recruit for Amazon | Work for my Candidates | Professional Speaker

As recruiters a recruiter, I get asked all the time, “What is the hardest interview question you have ever heard?” I always pause, knowing I am not going to give them the answer they are expecting to hear.

Instead of a specific question, my response is always, “It’s not the question that is hard. The hard part is making sure you are answering the question how the interviewer wants you to.” Roughly 90% of the time I get a quizzical look so I explain.

Amazon and many other companies want applicants to use the STAR method.

Situation

Task

Actions

Result/s

This format allows applicants to have a clear structure. First you explain the situation, providing whatever background information is needed that gives context. Next what was the task? The task could conceivably be the problem you are looking to solve.

Actions are the next component. Within the actions, what measures did you take to resolve the situation? How did you arrive at this decision? Did you research prior? Did you seek out varying opinions? Did you have to pick between multiple options? We really want to know in the actions not only what you did, but the why behind it.

Finally, the result/s. Was it a positive outcome? Were there data points showing the improvement you were able to make? Was the client happy? Were your actions ones that you could replicate in the future with similar results?

This may sound standard, even simple.

The trouble for most comes in two parts.

The first is that while the structure is easy to follow, many job seekers do not consider the context of the question. Amazon has 16 leadership principles. The interviewer may be hinting to you that they want to hear an example of customer obsession.

But due to nerves or any number of factors, the answer provided is either based on prepared answers that have been practiced time and time again and is not catered to the question being asked.

Or so much time is spent on one area of STAR that it comes across as overly verbose and potentially gives the wrong impression of how the candidate communicates on the job.

The other big miss can be data points. Many high-tech companies want you to back up your claims with some sort of tangible evidence. If you created an application that raised sales for your company 30% we want to know that.

But, data points are often seen as numeric. If your customer obsession led your client to award your company more business, that is another metric that can be used. It is all relative on the job and what you are doing.

So how do tough interview questions become easy? Well, they don’t…but they can become easier. Make sure you are actively listening to the interviewer, research the company beforehand and look at the job description and job tasks as a guide you can base your answers off of.

The thing is, we can’t suddenly become telepathic and know what every interviewer is looking for. What we can do is do everything in our power to make sure that you are giving yourself the best chance to succeed.

Thinking of intelligent questions to ask the interviewers

Kelli Hrivnak Recruiter partnering with companies to hire Digital Marketing & Technology Talent | Dream Team Builder 🏆 Career Growth Catalyst

“Do you have any questions for me?”

You reached the end of the interview–Don’t blow it now. Your answer should never be “No, I’m good on my end.”

I’ll relate it to a first date. If your date wasn’t reciprocating questions back to you, what would your impression be of his/her interest level? Here’s what I would think: They just aren’t that into you.  

Even if the interviewer did a bang-up job of providing an overview of the job and company, they are testing to see if you did your research and prepared for the interview. 

This process is mutual–employer and candidate should be qualifying each other to vet the fit. The goal of all interview processes is to gather and learn as much information as you can to assess if you will succeed in the company.

If you’re still trying to figure out the culture, you have to go deeper and ask more specific questions than the blanket “Tell me about your company culture?” Here is a sampling of what you can ask instead to reveal the ethos of the organization.

History:

Is this a replacement or growth hire?  

What challenges have prior hires had in this position?

What traits and behaviors made hires in this position successful?

Management style:

What happens when an employee fails?

How do you address under-performance issues with employees?

How do you set and track goals for the team AND individuals? Is goal-setting a collaborative effort?

Leadership:

How are leadership decisions made and communicated?

What is your or company’s approach to performance reviews?

Is there anything you can disclose regarding company growth plans for this year (product roll-outs, acquisitions, 

Communication:

How often do you hold stand-ups or meetings to communicate news/information with the entire team? How often for one-on-ones?  

How often and how do you provide feedback? Or are you generally “hands-off”?

How do employees give and receive feedback?

How do you stay in contact with the team?

How are you keeping employees connected during these times?

How (or when) do the other departments collaborate?

DEI: 

What are you doing to promote a diverse/inclusive workforce?

What has been the most difficult part of implementing a DEI program?

Does the company encourage and support employee resource groups?

What has the company implemented to eliminate bias in the hiring process?

Learning and Development: 

Are there opportunities for upskilling and personal development?

What does the onboarding process look like? Are there mentors or “buddies” on staff available after onboarding? 

Would I have a chance to represent the company at trade conferences?

Where have successful prior hires in this position been promoted to?

Work/Life Balance:

What are leadership’s expectations for work hours?

Should I be expected to be available for emails on nights/weekends?

Before you wrap-up,

  1.  “Given what you have learned so far, do you have any concerns about my skills or experience that would be problematic for success in this position?”

Yes, the candidate does take the risk of having the interviewer call out a real issue. However, the candidate is taking a proactive approach and allowing the opportunity for the interviewer to bring up any reservations about the fit–given the interviewer takes this chance to be honest too. It’s your final chance to prove you are the best candidate.

  1. What are the next steps in the hiring process? When would it be appropriate for me to follow-up?

You are setting the stage for managing expectations of the hiring process.

Knowing how to answer the salary questions

Teegan Bartos, CCMC, CCM Helping Ambitious Professionals Gain Career Clarity, Get Hired Quickly & Have Their Income Match Their Impact ✷ Career Coach & Resume Writer ➟ 𝘋𝘔 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘍𝘐𝘛 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳

The most important thing I can share with you about salary negotiations is it starts before you ever speak to someone. A company is going to have a pay range in mind and have preconceived notions about your worth based on your location, education, previous titles, and market conditions – none of which is within your control.

That’s probably why Glassdoor found that 59% of American employees accepted their offer without ever negotiating. And what’s worse, is only 1 in 10 of U.S. employees reported earning more than their former job.

But the great news is, companies also take into consideration how you articulate your value across your LinkedIn profile, resume, and throughout the interview process – all of which is within your control.

Let’s dive right in starting with my top three mistakes to avoid:

1.      Discuss salary BEFORE a formal offer is given – know your worth and preferences.

2.      Don’t accept an offer ON THE SPOT – ask for 24-48 hours to review.

3.      DON’T accept the first offer without countering.

Where to research your market value:

Salary.com, Payscale.com, ONetOnline.org, job postings in states that require pay range transparency like Colorado and Connecticut, and talking to people with access to that information via informational interviews.

How to begin salary talks during the interview process:

In most states, it is illegal to ask what your current salary is, so more often than not, you will be asked what your compensation expectations are. Here are four different approaches to answer this:

  1. Based on my understanding of the role, I would expect to be near $X.
  2. I want to learn more about this role to give an exact figure, but I need to be within X to Y range.
  3. All in I would want to be near X and Y with my guaranteed cash near Z. How does the company factor equity and bonus?
  4. Before I can answer that I would need to learn more about the position. What is the salary range for this role?

If you are an executive or your role requires you to negotiate, I would avoid option number 4. My go-to answer during early stages is a well-researched option number 2 for mid-level professionals and option number 3 for executives.

5 steps to negotiating your offer via email after reviewing for 24-48 hours:

  1. Gratitude: Thank you.
  2. Optimism: I am excited to join the team!
  3. Evidence & Range: The offer is below what I was expecting. I believe this position should be between X and Y.
  4. Value Proof: I’ve been able to A (lead a global IT transformation resulting in $52.3M in cost avoidance and 237% in increased productivity through automation initiatives) and B (another relevant value add example) and know I would be an asset to the organization. 
  5. Ask: Is there flexibility here?

Negotiating is a complicated process to cover in 500 words, but you’ve now got a starting point that you can customize to fit your needs.

Following up with your recruiter

Tejal Wagadia Demystifying recruiting/hiring one post at a time | Nerd at heart | Samwise Gamgee to your Frodo Baggins in recruiting | Views are my own| Maxed out on my connections, please hit follow!

Recruiters and Talent Acquisition folks shouldn’t be unapproachable either before or after or anytime during the process!

We are neither Ents or Golum from LOTR, but I do understand why that’s the perception. 

Working with a recruiter should be easy and it’s as much on you as a job seeker as it’s on the recruiter!

Questions that I often get as a recruiter from job seekers are about how often and what to say. 

Let’s start with How Often:

Recruiters are just like you and can forget sometimes. It’s okay to reach out to us and come back up in our headspace. 

The cadence should be every 3-5 days depending on your bandwidth. 

Your recruiter should have told you a timeline that you should hear back by! If they don’t, you can absolutely ask during the first call about it. 

Script:

“Thank you for all this information. Could you go over the interview timeline and when I should expect to hear back?” 

If this wasn’t communicated with you during your first call and you’ve already interviewed with an organization and haven’t heard back, you want to start 3 business days post your last interview or communication! 

If you have the phone number, you should definitely call. If you only have an email, that works too. Here are the scripts you can use

Phone voicemail:

“Hi (Recruiter Name), This is (Your Name). I interviewed with (Team or Person) on (date). I am following up to see if you had any updates for me. Please give me a call back when you get a moment, my phone number is (xxx-xxx-xxxx).”

If they pick up, you can use the first part of the voicemail message to begin the conversation.

Email script:

“Hi (Recruiter Name),

I hope you’re doing well. I interviewed with (Team or Person) on (date). I am following up to see if you had any updates for me. I enjoyed my conversation with (Team or Person) and would love to move forward in the process. 

Please let me know if you have heard anything back yet or when I should expect to hear back.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME.”

I promise you as a recruiter, you aren’t bothering us. Sometimes I have someone on my to-do list to get back to but before I know it it’s past 6 and I have to end my work day! It happens! I always push the candidate over to the next day’s to-do list but it’s not a fool proof system. 

Remember this is your job search! You have control, take ownership of this control.

________________________________________________

Want to know how to prepare for interviews, read prequel to this article.

To answer a behavioral-based question, keep the S.T.A.R. acronym in mind

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Interviewers want proof of what you’ve accomplished or failed to accomplishment. You can prove your assertions by delivering a well crafted story. You’ve probably heard of the S.T.A.R. acronym. Keep it in mind to formulate your story when answering a behavioral-based question.

Learnlock

The four-letter acronym stands for.

S: situation faced at work.

T: your task in the situation.

A: actions you took to solve the situation.

R: the final result/s.

However, there is one component of your story that will bring your story round circle. Can you guess what it is?

The letter to remember is“L” which stands for what you learned from the situation. This letter is an important component in your story because, as mentioned above, it wraps up your answer.

The scenario

In an interview you’re asked the common behavioral-based question, “What has been you toughest challenge thus far in your career?” Here is an abbreviated answer you might give.

S: The university needed consistent branding across departments.

T: My task was to oversee the process; a process that took a year to complete.

A: The actions I took were to:

  1. assigned a task force to help make this process happen;
  2. decided on consistent colors and fonts for signage, the university website, and peripheral materials;
  3. ensureed all of this met the board of directors expectations.

R: It was a long process, but the president of the school and the board of directors were extremely impressed. All was completed on time and under budget.

Ending your story with what you learned

As said earlier, your story isn’t complete. The interviewer wants to know what you learned from the experience. This is a time which will require self-reflection, not a trite answer because you’re happy with your success story.

Your learning statement should be relevant to the STAR story and company’s needs. It should also be brief. Here is an example of how you might, bring the story round circle.

“What I learned from this experience are threefold. First, I can lead a large project with a large number of pieces.

“Second, I learned that I can be an effective leader of many departments. I know this is an important part of this role.

“Third, attention to detail is imperative, especially when thousands of banners, business cards, pen and other swag are being produced. I made this a top priority.”

Every area of this answer adds value to the candidate. It shows the ability to lead, attend to details, communicate between departments, organize and set priorities, among other skills. In other words, it gives you the opportunity to add more value to your story.

Using the STAR formula is a great way to show proof of what you assert, but to really hammer your answer home, you should tell interviewers what you learned from the situation faced at work.

Photo: Flickr, Jenna

How to answer, “Tell us about a time when you had to deal with pressure” in 5 easy steps

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You’re in a group interview and it’s been going smoothly. You’ve answered the questions you prepared for. To your credit, you read the job description and identified the most important requirements for the job, Marketing Manager.

Mock Interview

The interview is going so well that you’re wondering when the hammer will fall. When will the killer question be asked? That question would be, “Tell us about a time when you had to deal with pressure.”

In the job description, one sentence read, “You will be working in a fun, fast-paced, pressure packed environments. If you like challenges, this is the job for you.”

Sure enough one of the interviewers asks the question you were dreading. “Jane, tell us about a time when you had to deal with pressure. How did you approach it, and what was the result?”

Great, a behavioral-based question. You never considered what you did at your last job as having to deal with pressure. Pressure wasn’t in your vocabulary. Coming to the interview, you ran a scenario over and over in your mind.

The interviewer is waiting for your answer. How are you going to respond? You decide that you’ll ask for some clarification first. “This is a great question but one I’m having trouble with,” you say. “Would you give me an example?”

“I’m referring to a time when you had to meet a deadline as a Marketing Manager. There will be deadlines to meet here,” one of the interviewer says calmly.

All of the sudden it occurs to you that you had many deadlines to meet, and that you met almost all of them, 95% at least. You will have no problem answering the question honestly. It’s just a matter of recalling the specifics of a story that comes to mind.

“Thank you Ms. Jones. This helps a lot.”

Remembering the S.T.A.R formula a career coach told you to use, you begin your story.

Situation

Three years ago I was hired by my previous organization to manage the marketing department. One major problem the company had was a lack of social media presence. I mentioned this in my interview with them.

Task

Shortly after I was hired, I was given the task of creating a more robust social media presence. The VP of the organization came into my office and gave me the exciting news; and as he was leaving, he told me I had a month to pull it off.

Actions

  • The first thing I did after hearing the news was evaluate the situation. We had a Facebook page that was barely getting hits. Some of our employees had LinkedIn accounts, and that was about it.
  • I approached one of my employees whose LinkedIn profile was strong and asked if she would be willing to create a LinkedIn company page. I was strong with LinkedIn, but knew very little about a company page. She was excited to take this on.
  • As I left her cubicle, she told me she would also take on the Facebook page. I joked with her about taking on Twitter. She told me it would be too much work, in addition to her other responsibilities. I agreed.
  • From looking at our competitors’ social media campaigns, I realized our strongest competitor had the top three I mentioned, as well as Instagram and Pinterest. I didn’t have the staff to implement these two platforms. I would need to hire a person to take these on.
  • My VP agreed to letting me hire a person to take on Instagram and Pinterest, but told me I had a budget of 20K. I was able to negotiate 5K more, plus an additional month on the deadline.
  • The person I hired was looking for part-time work, 25 hours a week, and knew Instagram and Pinterest very well, having taught it at a local community college. He agreed upon 22K for salary.
  • The last step was letting our clients and partners know about our new campaign. Once the campaign was a few weeks off the ground, I had one of the staff send out a mass mailing through ConstantContact, letting them know about our campaign.

Result

At first the reaction I was hoping for from our audience was sluggish, but after a month our visits to Facebook increased by 300%. LinkedIn visits increased by 50%, and Twitter gained 50% more followers. Instagram also did well with 4 visits a day. It was agreed that Pinterest would be dropped after a month since its inception.

Even with the extended due date I negotiated, my staff were able to complete the task by a month and a half. In addition, my VP decided that our new hire would be offered a full-time position monitoring all of the platforms.

There’s one more component of your story to make it complete: what you learned. This will close the loop.

Learn

What I took away from this experience is that when the pressure’s on, I react with decisiveness. I’m more than confident I will do the same for you.

This behavioral-based question is a common one asked in interviews. Be prepared to answer it and make sure you use the S.T.A.R formula. This is the best way to tell your story.

4 ways to learn about workplace values before you’re hired

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Think about the job you disliked the most. Perhaps it was because the work environment was toxic. Maybe you weren’t able to see your children’s events because of the commute home. You weren’t given the autonomy you craved. Or you were working at a dead-end position. The company for which you worked lacked integrity. There are many reasons why employees are dissatisfied with companies for which they work.

Stressed young businessman

The above are examples of how workplace core values are not met. How important are workplace core values? Statistics show that work values are more important than salary, unless earning a high salary is your main core value.

A Harvard Business Review article supports this statement:

“One of the most striking results we’ve found is that, across all income levels, the top predictor of workplace satisfaction is not pay: It is the culture and values of the organization, followed closely by the quality of senior leadership and the career opportunities at the company. Among the six workplace factors we examined, compensation and benefits were consistently rated among the least important factors of workplace happiness.”

This brings to question how you ensure that you take a job which meets your core values. Here are four ways to discover the core values employers support, from worse to best.

4. Ask in the interview

This is the worst way to determine the company’s core values, as it may be too late. (It’s always best going into an interview with your eyes wide open.) You can ask the recruiter during the telephone interview.

However, he might not know much about the company’s values, especially if he’s an agency recruiter (not on site). A corporate recruiter would have a better idea of the company’s values; although, not as accurate as a hiring manager’s.

You may be able to ask the question, “Can you tell me a little bit about the company’s core values?” during the interview. But more likely you’d ask this question at the last phase of the interview when they ask if you have any questions for them.

If this is your only opportunity, ask the questions as such: “What are (Company X’s) top three core values?” This is a question that will challenge the interviewers and indicate that you’re serious about working for the company.

3. Comb through company reviews on a site like glassdoor.com

I’m skeptical of a site like Glassdoor. My thought is that disgruntled current or former employees won’t speak objectively about their present or past companies. And, reportedly, some employers have launched paid campaigns to encourage positive reviews.

However, there could be value in this site’s reviews if the they are consistent; if most of them are positive or negative. I looked at two companies, one a nationally known monolith and the other a largish company local to Boston. They were consistently positive in their reviews.

Dell EMC had a whopping 4.3K reviews and a 76% “Recommend to a friend” rating. In terms of pros and cons, work-life balance was the top value mentioned: 507 applauded the work-life balance, whereas 107 trashed the work/life balance.

The other company, Kronos, also did consistently well. Of the 1.3K employees who posted a review, 81% would recommend this company to a friend. Not surprisingly work-life balance was the number one value: 239 favored it; 45 employees saw it as a con.

2. Find someone on LinkedIn who can speak about the company

LinkedIn can be a great tool for finding people who work for your target companies; or better yet, worked for your target companies. It’s important to know how to locate people at said companies. You’re going to get very familiar with LinkedIn’s All Filters feature.

How to use LinkedIn’s All Filters

  1. First click in the Search bar at the top of most pages.
  2. Choose People.
  3. Click on All Filters.
  4. Type in the company name.
  5. Select second degree connection.
  6. Select Current or Past companies.
  7. Choose location.
  8. Scroll down to enter the title of the person you would like to approach.

Second degree connection who works for your target company

If you are a Premium account member (most likely Career), use one of your five Inmails to message someone who shares a common connection with you. You may mention in the first line:

“Hello Susan, you and I are connected with John Schmidt, who encouraged me to reach out to you….”

What if you don’t have a premium account? Go to the person’s Contact Info box on her profile and send her an email. Or, send an invite for quick action. My suggestion is to proceed like you would if you have a premium account in terms of the message you send. Indicate you share a common connection who will vouch for you.

Read this post to learn more about how to properly communicate with a possible connection.

Second degree connection who USED to work for your target company

Job seekers often don’t think of reaching out to someone on LinkedIn who used to work for their target companies. I tell my workshop attendees that these people can be their best online source of information, as they will most likely provide the truth. They have nothing to lose.

Again, if you don’t have a premium account and have to send an invite, it’s best to mention a common connection. Be sure the common connection you mention is amenable to vouching for you. There are many connections who will vouch for me, but there are some who (I hate to admit) I hardly know.

1. Have a mole in the company who will tell you about the company’s values

This is the best way to discover the values your potential employer supports. The person/people you ask, via LinkedIn or in person, are onsite and experience the company’s core values on a daily basis. They can provide intricate details, whereas glassdoor.com and current and former employees on LinkedIn might not be as willing to go into details.

I recall applying for a job that was posted by an employer I was considering working for. I knew someone within the organization who was very open about the company’s culture. She described an environment where management was so abusive toward their employees that people were quitting. Needless to say, I didn’t apply for the job.

Your workplace core values are not to be ignored when applying for positions. They can make the difference between being happy or unhappy. An exercise I have my workshop attendees do is write down their top five values, not an easy task for many. Then I have them narrow it down to three and finally one. Can you identify your top value? I bet it’s not salary.

This post originally appeared in www.job-hunt.org

Photo: Flickr, Reputation Tempe

How to answer “Tell me about a time you made a mistake” in 4 easy steps

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No one likes to talk about the mistakes they’ve made. However, interviewers want to know about more than just your successes. They want to hear it all — the good, the bad, and the ugly. This includes your mistakes.

Attention

This is why I’m surprised when I conduct mock interviews and my participants aren’t prepared for the common directive, “Tell me about a time when you made a mistake.” I explain to my participants that good interviewers will challenge them with questions like this. The best interviewers want to get a full sense of their applicants.

When a candidate can answer these challenging questions about their negative experiences, they demonstrate their self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

Does that mean you have to share the story of your most egregious failure? Of course not — and I don’t think interviewers want you to. However, telling them about a time when you handed in a report two days late is disingenuous. You have to strike a balance.

Here are four steps to take when answering interview questions about your mistakes and failures:

1. Prepare for Them

Always try to anticipate these questions. For example, let’s say you’re a project manager. You know conflict resolution is a key component to your job success. Moreover, you noticed that the posting for the job for which you are preparing to interview specifically calls for someone with experience in running teams and handling conflict.

In this situation, you would reflect on some times when there were internal conflicts among team members. Choose a story that demonstrates some error in your judgment — but not too much error. Similarly, you don’t want to share a story centered on someone else’s mistake. Remember, you want to show self-awareness by admitting to a time when you made a mistake.

2. Keep Your Example Short

I recommend you keep your answer to 30 seconds. Some people talk much longer than that. In doing so, they provide too much background information, and they often make their mistakes sound worse than they are.

Keep your answer brief by sticking to the problem, action, result (PAR) format. For example:

Problem: I recall a time when one member of our team wasn’t pulling his weight and another member confronted this person.

Action: I didn’t act soon enough. As a result, there was a standoff that lasted for many weeks.

Result: We were able to meet the deadline for the project we were tasked with, and I was praised by management for delivering a quality product on time and under budget.

3. Explain What You Learned From Your Mistake

Even if your example has a happy ending, your story isn’t complete until you’ve demonstrated your understanding of what you could have done differently.

In the above example, you might say something like:

Even though the team I led successfully delivered the project, it didn’t sit well with me that two of my teammates were at odds with each other. I met with them after the project concluded and helped resolve the conflict, but I now know I should have addressed it earlier.

This example accomplishes three objectives. First, it explains the problem and what you did to address the problem. Second, it shows how you achieved success despite the problem. Third, it demonstrates your self-awareness by outlining what you learned from the experience.

4. Be Ready for Follow-Up Questions

Interviewers will often want to know more about the situation, such as: How serious was the conflict? Did it threaten to disrupt the team’s activities? Why didn’t you act sooner? When you finally met with the two members, how did you handle it?

Don’t be surprised if an interviewer tries to dig a little deeper. This is just a sign that they want to know more. Answer any follow-up questions calmly. As always, you want to be honest, but you don’t want to overemphasize the magnitude of your mistake.

While many job seekers take steps to prepare for interviews, few ever think about how they will present their negative workplace experiences. However, it’s likely the interviewer will want to know about your failures. Don’t take it personally. They just want to know more about you. That’s a good thing.

3 ways to show employers what you CAN do in the future

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You’ve probably heard the saying, “Employers don’t care about what you’ve done; they care about what you will do.” If you haven’t heard this, rest assured it’s the truth.

futuredoors

By conducting multiple interviews—including phone, one-on-one, group, Skype, you name it—employers are trying to determine how you can save them money, improve quality, increase revenue, improve productivity, and help the company in other ways.

Employers believe that if you’ve achieved multiple accomplishments relative to the position, you will repeat similar accomplishments. On the other hand, if your accomplishments are not relevant, you’re applying for the wrong position.

But it’s not only about the relevant accomplishments you’ve achieved. There are other factors that come into play when convincing employers that you’ll be valuable in the future. So what will you have to do in order to convince employers of your value?

1. Have the proper mindset

The first step in convincing employers that you’ll perform for them in the future is having the proper mindset. People who lack this mindset are like former jocks who talk about his glory days in high school. They are stuck in the past.

More importantly, people who lack this mindset can’t envision what they can do for companies in the future. They can’t see the big picture.

I recently gave a group of job seekers the challenge to tell me what their legacy will be from now until 2027; in other words, what will they have accomplished after 10 years. I asked them to think big picture.

A member in the group said one thing he will do is increase revenue by developing relationships with value added resellers (VARs).

I naturally asked him how he knows this. He told the group that he did it twice in the recent past and there’s no question that he’ll do it in the future. He spoke with confidence, knowing what he accomplished in the past can be repeated in the future.

Another member said she will improve communications for nonprofit organizations. She’ll coordinate events, manage social media, create content for the website. How, some of the group members asked. She’s done it in the past and is confident she’ll do it in the future.

2. Write about your future greatness on your résumé and LinkedIn profile

The language you use in your Performance Profile of your résumé is written in present tense because this is the section that initially states what you will bring to the employer.

Writing, “Consistently increase productivity more than 70% by implementing Agile methodology,” tells employers you’ll do this at their company. Whereas, “Increased productivity more than 70% by implementing Agile methodology,” doesn’t allude to the future.

You must also prioritize your statements by listing your outstanding accomplishments closest to the top of the résumé. The more relevant accomplishments you have on the first page is an indication of the value you’ll bring to the employer.

Notice the word “relevant?” Accomplishments that are relevant and include quantified results are an indication of future greatness.

Your LinkedIn profile Summary should tell a story of the passion you have for your occupation, as well as your value add. Because the profile is more generic and broader in scope than your résumé, you will include more recent accomplishments in the Summary. This is the first section employers will read, so make it pack a punch.

Here’s a hint: the first line or two of your LinkedIn profile Summary should be a value statement, as the Summary of the new profile is truncated. You need to make the reader of your Summary want to read the rest of it.

3. Talk about your future greatness in interviews

Many interviewers are focused on the past; therefore, they don’t ask questions that ask about future success. It is up to you to provide answers that illustrate what you will do in the future. You must demonstrate that you are capable of future greatness.

You’re given the popular question, “Why should we hire you?” You must set the tone by delivering an opening statement that talks to the future.

Right: “I am a sales manager who consistently exceeds sales projections. I know you’re looking for the same performance, and I will deliver the performance you require.

Wrong: “I’ve been in sales for 20 years. My most recent job was as a manager.” The beginning of your answer doesn’t convey the fact that you are a sales manager and that you will exceed sales projections.

Many interviewers believe the best type of question is the behavioral-based, which gives you the opportunity to explain your past experience and how it will be repeated in the future. This is the premise behind this type of question.

What’s important in answering this type of question is assuring that your past behavior will be repeated in the future. Begin with a statement similar to, “Most recently, I performed (the following skill)…..” Then ending your answer with, “I will achieve the same accomplishments for you.”

Answer questions using behavioral-based ones whenever possible. Proof is what interviewers want to hear. Take the following traditional question.

“How do you define leadership?” Your reply is to say, “This is an excellent question. Can I give you an example or two how I’ve recently demonstrated leadership?” End your answer with, “Leadership comes easy to me, and I look forward to leading your finance team going forward.”

Using the what-I’ll-do-for-you-in-the-future approach in the job search can be particularly helpful for older job seekers who may falsely be judged as being past their prime.

From the conversation our job club had it is obvious that older workers can and will repeat what they’ve accomplished in the past, and perhaps more. Another member who said she’ll create transparency in the sales reporting process using CRM was convincing because she’s done it successfully in the past. As well, she spoke with confidence.

Photo: Flickr, cthoma27

Nailing the interview process, part 7: following up

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Some job seekers believe the interview is over once they’ve shaken the interviewer’s hand and left the room. “That went well,” they think. “Now, it’s time to wait for the decision.”

Thank You

Perhaps it did go well, but perhaps one or two other candidates also had stellar interviews. Perhaps those other candidates followed up on their interviews with thoughtful thank-you notes.

So when is the interview really over? Not until you’ve sent a follow-up note.

If you don’t believe sending a follow-up note is important, you should know that:

– 22 percent of employers are less likely to hire you if you don’t send a follow-up note;
– 86 percent of employers will take your lack of a note to mean you don’t follow through on things;
– and 56 percent of employers will assume you aren’t that serious about the job.

If you’re wondering how to go about following up, start by considering to whom you’ll send your note and how you’ll send it.

Who Gets a Thank-You Note?

If you’re interviewed by five people, how many unique follow-up notes should you send? “Five” is the correct answer here. Take the time to write a unique follow-up to everyone with whom you interview.

How Do You Send Your Note?

You can send your follow-up note via email or hard copy. This depends on your preference and the industry. For example, someone in tech may prefer an email, whereas someone in marketing may prefer a thank-you card.

According to the article linked above, 89 percent of interviewers say it’s acceptable to send a thank-you note via email. My suggestion is to send two notes: an email immediately following the interview and a professional card a week later.

What Goes in Your Note?

1. Show Your Gratitude

Start by thanking the interviewers for the time they took to meet with you. After all, they’re busy folks, and they probably don’t enjoy interviewing people.

2. Reiterate You’re the Right Person for the Job

Explain again how your skills, experience, and accomplishments are relevant to the role and make you a good fit.

3. Cite Some Interesting Points Made During the Interview

Each person with whom you spoke mentioned something of interest or asked a pertinent question. Impress them with your listening skills by revisiting those interesting points.

4. Do Some Damage Control

How many candidates wish they could elaborate more on an answer or fix some mistake they made? Now’s your chance. Sure, your belated corrective action may be of little consequence, but what do you have to lose? Besides, interviewers understand you were under a great deal of pressure at the time.

5. Suggest a Solution to a Problem

During the course of the interview, you likely learned about a problem the company is facing. If you have a possible solution to this problem, mention it in your follow-up note or in a more extensive proposal sent along with the note. One of my clients is convinced she landed a previous job because she sent a four-page proposal on how to solve a problem the company had mentioned during the course of the interview.

6. Assert You Want the Job

You told the interviewer(s) you want the job. Reiterate this sentiment by stating it in you follow-up note. This can be as simple as asking about next steps, which shows your enthusiasm for and sincere interest in the position.

You’ve made it this far in the process. You’ve:

  1. mentally prepared yourself;
  2. come to know yourself;
  3. done your research;
  4. practiced;
  5. made a good first impression;
  6. and answered the difficult questions.

It would be a shame to blow it now by not following up.

Photo: Flickr, Christie Spad

Nailing the interview process; part 5. First impressions matter

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I’m sure you were told, as a child, to look the person with whom you were talking in the eyes. You were also instructed to deliver a firm, yet gentle, handshake; not a limp one. I bet you were told to smile, as well. Your guardians wanted you to come across as likable, because being likable would get you far in this world.

Handshake

Guess what; all of the lessons you were taught as a child apply today. Now that you’re an adult, you still need to maintain consistent eye contact, deliver a great handshake, smile, and more. And if you’re interviewing, your first impressions count more than ever.

It’s believed that 33% of employers will make a decision to not hire you within 90 seconds based on the first impressions you make.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But this is how important first impressions count, so don’t take them lightly. Let’s look at some interviewers’ pet peeves to make sure you don’t commit them in the interview.

1. Poor Eye Contact. Mentioned earlier, making the appropriate amount of eye contact is important. Which means that you don’t have to stare at the person for many minutes; that’s just creepy. You can look away occasionally, as this shows you’re reflecting.

Good eye contact shows engagement and implies trust. Poor eye contact may imply that you’re avoiding a question, you’re disinterested, or you’re lying. People who are shy need to make a concerted effort to make eye contact with the interviewers.

2. Not Knowing Enough About the Company. This is considered a first impression, because it shows you didn’t prepare for the interview. If you are asked what you know about the company, and you answer, “I was hoping to learn about the company in the interview,” you’ve failed at this very first important first impression.

Employers want to know that you have done your research on their company, as well as the position and even the competition. Will you come across as prepared, or do you appear to not care? It should be the latter.

3. A Lousy Handshake. To me the handshake is one of the most important first impressions you can make. It says something about your character. Your handshake should be firm, yet gentle. Don’t crush the hand of the person you’re greeting.

On the flip side, do not deliver a limp handshake, as this indicates indifference. The sweaty palm handshake is an immediate turnoff. Also annoying is the early grab, where you grab the interviewer’s fingers. The crooks of your hands should nicely fit together.

4. Fidgeting, Crossing Your Arms, Playing with Facial Hair. All of these are signs of body language that imply nervousness. You may not know you’re committing any of these faux pas, but interviewers can see you do them and be distracted.

Fidgeting and playing with your facial hair can easily be corrected by holding a pen or interlocking you fingers and placing them on the table. Crossing your arms can imply defensiveness or aloofness. You may simply feel comfortable talking with your arms crossed, but interviewers may see it as a negative stance.

5. Monotone Voice. The worst thing you want to do is talk in a monotone voice, as it implies indifference or boredom or even pretentiousness. You sound robotic when there’s no inflection or pitch in your voice. You lack enthusiasm.

This is particularly important during a telephone interview when the interviewer can’t see the enthusiasm on your face. So, you need to “show” your excitement through your voice. Occasionally you’ll  want to raise your voice or even lower it to make important points.

6. Not Smiling. This is what job candidates often forget to do during an interview, even people who have killer smiles. We are so intent on delivering the best answers that sometimes we forget to smile. Try to remember to smile, at least occasionally.

Smiling shows interviewers that you are friendly, welcoming, and happy to be in their presence. This is important, because interviewers want to know that you are enthusiastic about working for their company.

7. Poorly dressed. There is much debate as to how job candidates should dress for an interview. The general rule is one or two notches above the company’s dress code. What is the company’s dress code, you may wonder? Following are some suggestions for various occupations.

Sales/Finance/Banking. You’ll want to look formal and contemporary, which may include a grey or black suit for men with a color tie. Woman may want to wear a silk blouse beneath a suite jacket, as well as a skirt.

For education, IT, and public sectors; no suit, but a pressed shirt and nice slacks for men. For women, a skirt or trousers and a silk blouse.

Engineers, construction workers, warehouse workers may go with a simple shirt, maybe a tie for men. Women may wear a button-down shirt and slacks.

In all cases, refrain from heavy perfume and cologne. Women should not wear a lot of bling (jewelry). What’s most important is showing respect for the interviewer. There are no situations when you should wear jeans,  unless you’re specifically told to.

The first impressions you make can be your last ones, so make sure your start of on the right track. Enter the room and shake each persons’ hand, make eye contact, and smile. Show the interviewers that you’re happy to be there.

Next week we’ll look at how to answer the difficult questions.

Photo: Flickr, Flazingo Photos

Nailing the interview process, part 3: research, research, research

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You’ve heard it over and over again: you need to do your research before an interview. Why? Because:

  • When you do your research, you’re more prepared.
  • When you’re more prepared, you’ll be more confident.
  • When you’re more confident, you’ll do better.

Research

The last thing you want to do is wing it in an interview. You’ll fail, especially if the interviewer is good at their job.

What, exactly, should you research before your interview? Here are four areas the interview will likely cover:

1. The Position

This should go without saying. Most of the questions an interviewer poses will address the position, so you’d better know your stuff.

The most obvious resource here is the job description. A well-written job description should provide valuable information like the skills and experience required for the position. Descriptions will often list these things in order of priority.

Go to the “Required Experience” section of the job description first. Note the list of skills and experience and the order of priority.

You can take your research on the position further by talking with someone who works in the company to which you’re applying. Ask if there are any additional requirements not listed in the job description. You may uncover key requirements that were not mentioned in the listing.

2. The Company

One of the top pet peeves of interviewers is when candidates do not know much about the company. Interviewers want to know you’ve taken the time to research the company, and they want to know you’re truly interested in working for the organization.

The very least you can do is visit the company website. Most company websites will feature an “About Us” page. Read this first. The site will also likely have a “Products” and/or “Services” page. Read these, too. If the company is global, it may list its locations and the functions each performs.

The problem with company websites, however, is that the content they feature is all marketing content, engineered to paint the organization in the most positive light possible.

You’ll never get the whole truth about a company through its website, unless the company is publicly traded. In this case, the website will have annual reports that will reveal more objective information on financials, shareholder information, etc.

It’s a good idea to reach out to people you know in the company for more information about it, particularly the culture.

3. The Industry and Competition

Top candidates will know about the industry in which the company operates. This is information you can gather from labor market research websites, such as Glassdoor.com, Salary.com, and O*Net OnLine. You can always turn to Google, too.

With sites like these, you can gather information on occupations, salaries, the skills employers are looking for, and available positions in your area. Glassdoor is a particular favorite among job seekers, as it features employees’ reviews of their own employers.

You can also check out SpyFu to learn about how an employer advertises and its intended audience. Social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are also useful as well.

As mentioned earlier, public companies are required to share press releases and annual reports. Read the documents of your potential employer’s competitors. If you can cite your desired company’s competition’s statistics, you will impress the interviewer very much.

Once again, it’s important to reach out to people who work in the company to which you’re applying. They will probably have a good sense of who the relevant competitors are based on the department you’re targeting.

4. The Interviewers

Finally, you’ll want to research the people who will be interviewing you.

If you have the names of said people ahead of time, the best tool is LinkedIn. Even if you don’t know the names of the people who will interview you, you can use the site’s “Companies” feature to find people in various departments.

For example, if you are applying for an accountant position, search the company using the keywords “accountant, manager.” You will see the company’s accountant managers.

Read through their profiles to see what you have in common with them. It could be that you attended the same school, you enjoy the same activities, you volunteered at similar organizations, or something else. During the interview, try to talk about what you learned about the interviewers when given the opportunity.

Not to sound like a broken record, but you really should reach out to someone you might know in the company to ask about the person or people who will be interviewing you. They may be able to give you great information about your interviewer’s likes and dislikes.

Researching the mentioned areas will put you an advantage over the other candidates. to show off your research, mention it explicitly. Begin sentences by saying, “While I was researching the competition, I learned …”.

Remember, when you’re prepared, you’ll do well in the interview.

Check back next week, when I’ll be talking about the importance of practicing for your interview.

This post originally appeared in Recruiter.com
Photo: Flickr, Rahul Panja

Nailing the Interview Process, Know Thyself: Part 2

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Interviewing for a job is tough, whether you’re actively or passively seeking. If it were so easy, people like me wouldn’t have to provide advice on how to interview. One of the challenges of the interview process is knowing yourself, really knowing yourself.

reflection

Before you even start the interview process, I’d like you to do a very simple exercise. Take it seriously, as it will give you a better sense of yourself and how you need to approach the interview process.

Some of you have done SWOT analysis at work, so you’re familiar with the concept. The acronym stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Below is a brief explanation of how a SWOT analysis is used in the work setting.

“SWOT analyses can serve as a precursor to any sort of company action, such as exploring new initiatives, making decisions about new policies, identifying possible areas for change, or refining and redirecting efforts midplan.” BusinessNewsDaily.com

SWOT

From the diagram above, you can see how to handle the four components of a SWOT analysis. Let’s go through all four components.

Strengths

When you analyze your strengths, think about the those that will help you for the position for which you’re applying. Try to address as many of them in the job posting you can. Further, think about how you can achieve at each one.

Here is a list of skills for a specific marketing specialist position:

1. Innovation. You have demonstrated innovative approaches to create marketing campaigns. You introduced one company for which you worked to paperless marketing, social media to another, and virtual tradeshows to your previous company.

2. Business to business marketing. You’ve done this successfully for many years. Included among many of your business partner are seven blue-chip companies.

3. Strategic Thinking. You’ve demonstrated the “ability to think strategically and analytically to ensure successful marketing campaign execution” and can come up with numerous times you’ve done this.

4. Cross-Functional Work. You’ve worked across multiple organizations, including engineering, sales, fiance, webdesign. You’ve demonstrated excellent interpersonal skills.

5. Understanding Customer Behavior. At your previous position, this was a large part of what you did. You worked with business development to determine the best way to target marketing efforts.

6. Strong written and verbal communication skills. You can prove this with the experience you’ve had communicating through written and verbal communications with the press, trade magazines, partners, and customers.

7. The Required Soft Skills. “Solid organizational and project management skills” and “attention to detail and demonstrated ability to multi-task.”

Try to think of at least 10 strengths that you can apply to this position and others.

Weaknesses

Be honest about listing your weaknesses. Determine how you can overcome these weaknesses, as it is important to demonstrate in an interview not only that you have weaknesses but also how you can overcome them.

1. Business to Customer. You have limited experience to this type of marketing, but you’ve shown the ability to interact well with consumers as a retail associate and, therefore understand their needs.

2. Working with Certain Departments. You have limited experience working closely with internal marketing analytics teams to define requirements for product test plans and campaign analysis.

Be honest with yourself and try to think of three or more weaknesses. 

Opportunities 

Opportunities can be anything that makes a job appealing, such as work-life balance, commute, increased income, opportunity for advancement, landing a job quickly.

Great Working Environment. From talking with people you know at the company, you know the company offers team unity, opportunity for advancement.

Work with Previous Colleague. Your previous boss and you got on very well when you were at Company X. You look forward to working with her again.

Your network is strong. This will provide you with many opportunities for a position like this one. You know people in management, as well as others who work there. Companies prefer to hire those they known, e.g., referrals.

The more examples of opportunities you can think of, the more positive you’ll feel about any jobs for which you apply.

Threats

Threats are factors that are difficult, if not possible, to overcome. These can be sticking points during an interview.

Education Requirement. You lack a Bachelor’s degree in what the company desires (Business, Economics, Marketing, Mathematics) and have no resources to acquire one. There is a loophole that says “or a related one.” Your degree in English has served you well in the past.

Experience. “Previous marketing internship experience” is a red flag. It appears that the company is looking for younger, less expensive candidates. Perhaps the company will consider a more experienced employee for the position, or they might develop a position more senior for you.

Some threats can be overcome with a little imagination. 

In the next post we look at the importance of research, research, research before the interview.

This post originally appeared in Recruiter.com.

Photo: Flickr, Torkel Pettersson