Interviewing Archives - Page 3 of 10 - Palladian Career Resources

Interview Question – Why You Left Each Job

In almost every interview, you will be asked why you left your previous employers. This is a question designed to uncover reasons for the hiring manager to reject you. It will not help you get the job and is a question you need to survive.

The reasons you left a company can provide a lot of insight into your performance, potential and motivation. With this question, a hiring manager is trying to see if there is something in the candidate’s background that will lead them to eventually fire the candidate. If another company fired someone for poor performance, a hiring manager will typically assume the candidate will perform similarly. You can change this perception if you prepare and speak honestly about the experience.

It would be nice if every candidate was always successful and never had a bad career experience. This would render a question about leaving a former employer unimportant. The truth is most people have failed at some point in their careers. The failure might be minor, involving an unsuccessful project, or it could be major, involving a significant performance problem resulting in termination.

To be successful answering this question, you need to do three things. First, you need to be honest. Never make up something that isn’t true. Second, take responsibility for your performance. I have interviewed candidates who blame everyone but themselves. This makes a terrible impression and will sink your chances. Third, show what you have learned from the experience and would do differently.

Confidence is important when talking about your failures. The more you avoid a question about a time when you failed, the more the hiring manager will ask about it. With a goal of trying to uncover reasons to not hire you, the hiring manager will look for signs of a problem. Once something is identified, the hiring manager will ask follow up questions until it is clear whether the situation warrants rejecting the candidate.

If you were fired, you need to be able to explain what you would do differently. This doesn’t necessary mean you would be able to change a failure into a success. A lot of people have tried one career and found they weren’t suited to it. That’s fine. You just need to be able to explain what it was about that career that was not a match for your skills and abilities. If you aren’t changing fields, then you need to show what you learned from the experience. Failure is a great teach – if you are open to learning. Showing how you learned from failures can be as impressive as a success.

Record a Mock Interview

One of the most effective ways to prepare for a job interview is complete a few mock interviews. A mock interview simulates a real interview. To maximize your improvement, record the mock interview and review it.

One of the most effective ways to prepare for a job interview is to complete a few mock interviews. A mock interview simulates a real interview. To maximize your improvement, record the mock interview and review it.

Improving your ability to react to a completely unexpected question is the most difficult aspect of interview preparation. If you get blindsided it can disrupt your performance throughout the rest of the interview. When you are preparing to interview, you can’t surprise yourself. The questions that will be the most disruptive are the ones that you have not considered.

To prepare for the unexpected, you need an interviewer to interview you. Completing two of three mock interviews can make a dramatic difference in your performance. You can also gain the insight of the interviewer after the interview. It is very rare for a hiring manager to give a candidate specific feedback to help them improve their interviewing. A mock interview is different. Feedback and constructive advice are integral elements in a mock interview.

When I work with a job seeker to improve their interview skills, I offer the option of recording the mock interviews. Surprisingly, many job seekers turn down this option. They don’t want to hear themselves in an interview. Many job seekers have a fear of interviewing. The anxiety can be overwhelming, and the idea of reliving the experience through a recording is terrifying. Unfortunately, avoiding mock interviews will not improve the situation.

If you want to gain an edge over your competition, commit to improving your interview skills and practice interviewing.

A Babysitter Interview on Olivia

I was watching Olivia with my three year old daughter last night. Olivia is a cartoon about family of pigs, with Olivia the oldest child. In the episode we watched, Olivia’s mother interviewed babysitters. As my daughter and I watched, I was surprised when the interview turned out have some similarities to real interviews.

This question kicks off a large percentage of interviews. It gives the job seeker a chance to highlight their most marketable skills, experiences and accomplishments. It also provides a risk of starting the interview very poorly.

The actual question asked to start the cartoon interview was, “Tell me about yourself, Lilly. Do you have experience babysitting children?” The qualification of the “Tell me about yourself” question makes it clear what the interviewer wants the candidate to focus on in their answer. In real interviews, it is uncommon for the interviewer to provide this guidance.

When a hiring manager asks you to tell them about yourself, they are looking for a professional summary of your background. It is very rare that a hiring manager wants you to describe personal details unrelated to your career. The question gives you the chance to make your best sales pitch.

By following the Tell Me About Yourself question with a question about babysitting experience, the cartoon character directs the teenage pig to answer the question by focusing on her experience related to the job. Most hiring managers won’t help you like this. They will ask the Tell Me About Yourself question without qualifying it. It’s up to you to use your answer to promote yourself.

In the cartoon, the teenage pig’s answer started with some info of her experience caring for children, but quickly degenerated into a bunch of unrelated details of her personal life culminating with a cheer from her cheerleading team. I’ve never had a job seeker do a cheer during an interview, but I have heard a wide range of details, from the number of pets to unusual hobbies. I’ve had job seekers answer with details of their church activities, their kids or even specifics of their health. Probably the worst answers are a non-answer – with the job seeker responding with something like “What do you want to know?” This doesn’t make a good impression.

I thought it was a little crazy that a cartoon about a family of pigs that my 3 year old loves could provide insights for a professional job seeker. And yet, the answers given by some actual job seekers are not much better than the teenage cartoon pig’s answer.

Prepare for the Tell Me About Yourself answer. Rehearse it and practice it. Try different scripts and include different information until to arrive at a version that makes a powerful impression. If you need help, find someone to work with you on your answer.

This question and answer can set the tone for an entire interview and may be the most important question you will have to answer. It is worth spending a lot of time to get right.

If you have a preschool, kindergarten or elementary age child you want to get a book for, my six year old highly recommends the Olivia books. Check them out on Amazon.

Interview Tip #13

Interview Tip: Your attitude affects your interview performance. Smile and make eye contact during an interview.

Interview Tip: Your attitude affects your interview performance. Smile and make eye contact during an interview.

Having a positive attitude, showing enthusiasm and energy, and displaying confidence will help the impression you make. A good way to do this is to make eye contact and smile throughout the interview. Some job seekers get nervous and allow this to affect their attitude and image. Be aware of your expressions and eye contact during an interview and you will be more success creating the impression you want.

For many job seekers, a lack of confidence interviewing is a significant factor in their job search. Completing several mock interviews can boost your confidence and improve performance.

Body Language in an Interview

How you present yourself in an interview can influence the overall impressive you make on an interviewer. Some studies have said the words we use only account for 10% of the information communicated.

How you present yourself in an interview can influence the overall impressive you make on the interviewer. Some studies have said the words we use only account for 10% of the information communicated. The other 90% is made up of you body language, eye contact, tone, pitch, pace and volume.

Can you improve the non-verbal aspects of your interview performance?

Absolutely. Your non-verbal behavior can be adapted to suit any situation. Individuals in the public eye, actors, politicians and salespeople, work on their non-verbal behavior. Some employ coaches to work on these skills routinely throughout their careers. Hiring a full time coach is not practical for most people, though.

There are a few basic tactics that you can employ. The first and most important is to be enthusiastic. In an interview, you should show your interest in the position. Speaking in a monotone with low energy will make a bad impression.

The second tactic you should employ is mirroring. Pay attention to the interviewer and their non-verbal queues. If they sit very straight and lean forward, adopt a similar posture. If they sit back and slouch, you can relax and lean back a little, although you should maintain a professional appearance regardless of what the interviewer does. Mirroring can be extended to speaking style. If the interviewer speaks very quickly, you should try to match their pace.

Mirroring is a talent and a skill. Some people do it very naturally, while others struggle. To be most effective, you should mirror the interviewer almost unconsciously. I’m sure you have had the experience where you met someone and immediately liked them and bonded with them. Usually, this happens when two people have significant similarities in their non-verbal communication.

Because our non-verbal communication is done naturally without thinking, it is extremely difficult to for most people to change. You can learn mirroring techniques, but they take work and practice. Many job seekers find interviews very intimidating and struggle to know what to say. Focusing on mirroring can make this a greater challenge.

Should you adapt your non-verbal communication?

Yes and No. There are significant advantages to a positive attitude, good eye contact and paying attention to the body language of the interviewer. At the same time, you should only pay attention to these elements if they do not distract you from listening effectively. Failing to listen will hurt your chances much more than having your body language a little out of sync with the interviewer. You should focus on listening closely, providing good answers and adapting subtly to the interviewer. If you do these three things, you will give yourself the best chance of getting hired.

New Book Review

Read a review of our book, Power Up Your Job Search: A Modern Approach to Interview Preparation, from Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures.

Below is a copy of a review from Norm Goldman, publisher of Bookpleasures. To to Amazon to get our Interview Prep Book.

Review: Power Up Your Job Search: A Modern Approach to Interview Preparation

By Norm Goldman Published April 23, 2009

With the job market in the dumps now may be the time to brush up on your interviewing skills in order to stand out from your competition. A step in the right direction would be to secure a copy of copy Power Up Your Job Search: A Modern Approach to Interview Preparation authored by Executive recruiters Gary W. Capone and Mark Henderson.

Capone and Henderson are founders and executives of Palladian International-an executive search firm that caters to a select group of companies who wish to identify and attract the highest performing individuals in order to separate them from those of mediocre skills. They specialize in working with manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing and defense organizations for management and executive level positions.

They have put together an excellent and wide-ranging guide which, as they state in their introduction, was to create a tool that would “put all of their candidates in a position to communicate their skills, experiences and abilities honestly and effectively, enabling our clients to make the best assessment, and in turn, the best hiring decision.”

In order to accomplish this feat they have divided their guide into twenty-six lessons including invaluable exercises at the end of each. Covered are such topics as interview process, interview structure, what employers consider important, developing a positioning statement, different kinds of interview types and styles, samplings of interview questions, questions pertaining to experience, skills, behavior, communication skills, career goals, company and industry knowledge, education, aptitude, career progression, compensation and even off limits questions.

One noteworthy chapter and which in my estimate is probably the most important one is Lesson 8, Star (L). According to the authors, this is one of the most powerful techniques in the course and relies on preparing powerful stories from your experiences. You are probably asking what is Star (L)? Essentially, it represents Situation, Thoughts, Actions and Results. The L stands for Lessons Learned. We are informed that if you use this format in an interview, it will facilitate the interviewer’s task in following you.

In addition, it will also help you to remain focused and arrive at a clearly defined conclusion to your reply. How often have we experienced interviews where we are taken aback by a particular question and end up long-winded and incoherent? By using the STAR (L) method we can steer clear of this trap. Fundamentally, what it all boils down to is describing the situation you are going to discuss, discussing your thoughts concerning the situation, what actions you should take, what were the results and finally, if applicable, what did you gain from the experience that will help you in future situations.

To put it more succinctly, the authors sum it up as defining the problem, planning a solution, implementing the solution and measuring the result. As they state: “It is inevitable that you will be require to think on your feet during the interview. However, framing your response using the STAR (L) Method will result in more effective answers.”

There are other chapters in the book that are likewise invaluable assets including the Appendix that contains a list of some of the most frequent interview questions. This book is indeed a weighty tome written in a breezy style that will help you to appreciate the interviewing process. Moreover, it will prepare you in presenting yourself in a way that will make you stand out from your competitors. Without any doubt, the authors have achieved their goal in presenting a well-organized guide that is “short, concise and packed with value.” Those willing to take the time to follow their recommendations and participate in the exercises will find the book a most helpful and priceless tool.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures

Interview Tip #12

Interview Tip: Show your ability to make the hiring manager’s job easier along with the contribution you could make to the company.

Interview Tip: Show your ability to make the hiring manager’s job easier along with the contribution you could make to the company.

Showing the end results of your work is important on your resume, but you need to present more in an interview. How you work, including how you get along with peers, interact with your boss, manage deadlines and deal with changing or ambiguous priorities, is essential to your presentation in an interview. To do this, you need to show the specific actions that led to the results you achieved.

Behavioral Interview Questions for Training and Mentoring

A Behavioral Question asks the candidate do describe how they acted in a specific situation. This technique uses this past performance of the candidate to predict how they will perform in the future. Included are a selection of behavioral questions targeting training and mentoring responsibilities.

Developing employees is critical to the success of an organization. Almost every position in a company will train or mentor someone else in the company at some point. Some positions have only minor training responsibilities, while other positions are full time training roles. In either case, you may encounter questions about your experience training or mentoring.

Behavioral interview questions provide a good way to ask about training and mentoring skills. A Behavioral Question asks the candidate to describe how they acted in a specific situation. This technique uses the past performance of the candidate to predict how they will perform in the future. Below is a selection of behavioral questions targeting training and mentoring responsibilities:

Tell me about a time when you trained a new hire.
Tell me about a time when you retrained someone who was struggling in their job.
Tell me about a time when you mentored a coworker successfully.
Tell me when you trained a superior.
Tell me about a time when you mentored coworker but failed to help them improve.
Tell me about a time when you delegated a task for developmental reasons.
Tell me about a time when you brought in an outside expert to train your team.
Tell me about a time when you taught a group in a seminar.
Tell me about a time when you utilized interactive training techniques.
Tell me about a time when you overcame disruptive behavior from a seminar participant.
Tell me about the greatest training challenge you have faced.
Tell me about a time you had to train a group on a topic you were not an expert in.
Tell me about a time when you implemented new technology to facilitate training.
Tell me about a time when you identified a training need in an organization that had been unmet.
Tell me about a time when the training you delivered resulted in significant bottom line results in the organization.
Tell me how you would train me to do… (insert a common task or topic in your industry).

Get our book on behavioral interviewing.

Other Great Books to help you prepare for Behavioral Interviews:

Interview Tip #11

Interview Tip: Prepare for an interview by taking sample assessment tests.

Interview Tip: Prepare for an interview by taking sample assessment tests.

Many companies utilize assessment testing in their screening process. Test taking is a skill and can be improved. If taking a test intimidates you or you feel your test taking skills are rusty, practice. Find sample assessment tests online and take them. The practice will help prepare you and will improve your test taking skills. Even if you run into a different kind of test from an employer than you practiced, the practice will help by improving your test taking skills.

Career Lessons Learned

An important part of preparing for an interview is recognizing the lessons you have learned in your career. These lessons are the most valuable part of your experience. They allow you to do more in the future than you have done in the past.

Few job seekers talk about the lessons they have learned in their careers during interviews. There are two primary reasons for this. First, the job seeker doesn’t want to detract from the experience they are describing. Any lesson learned is an indication of a less than perfect performance. If you completed a task perfectly, what could you have learned along the way? Often we learn by making mistakes, and few job seekers want to discuss their mistakes. The second reason job seekers avoid lessons learned is they are not in the habit of assessing and discussing their performance on a regular basis. This causes them to skip over the things they learned.

These two reasons actually demonstrate weaknesses in the job seekers. If you are afraid of admitting you didn’t know everything in a situation, it is unlikely you will ask for help when you need it. Hiring managers can pick up on this. They are looking for people that can deliver results, and they understand that no one is perfect. What is important is how you deal with mistakes and failures, and what you took away from the experience.

You can also make a good impression by showing you can self-assess your performance and professional development. A job seeker that knows what they are good at and where they struggle is much more likely to avoid problems. This also demonstrates a commitment to get better. If you don’t care about your performance, it’s unlikely you will deliberate on it.

When preparing for an interview, consider the major challenges, projects and accomplishments from your career. Think about each, focusing on what you did and the results you achieved. Then, second guess your actions. What would you do differently with what you know now, and how would the results be different. If you are prepared to discuss the lessons you learned throughout your career, you will be much more successful in interviews.