interview Archives - Palladian Career Resources

Hiring Managers Want to Succeed

One of the most significant priorities of hiring managers is selecting a person that will make them successful. Every position within a company has goals and expectations. If it didn’t, the position would be eliminated. Managers need to deliver results, and this requires each member of their their delivering results that contribute to the team’s goals. To standout in the interview process, you need to show how you will contribute to the company’s and team’s success.

This is just the starting point though. There are other factors beyond individual contribution that a hiring manager will consider. A big issue is how easy a person will be to manage. Managers may overseas a few people or dozens. The larger the team, the less time the manager can devote to each individual.

I’m sure you have worked with someone that was very needy. The type of person that requires constant direction and management. This could be caused by insecurity, a lack of initiative or a low skill level. Regardless of the cause, an employee requiring significant time and effort to manage can make the manager less effective. It is rare that a manager today is only responsible for managing their team. Most are tasked with a variety of other responsibilities.

Some people won’t care about the problems and tasks of a potential boss. They are focused on showing they can do the job they are seeking. The downfall of this is hiring managers will hire the person who will make their team successful. This may not be the person with the most experience or talent.

Professional sports routinely show talented athletes that hurt their team’s performance. Terrell Owens has been regarded by many as the most talented receiver in the NFL for a number of years. His ability is exceptional and he can dominate a game. Despite this, he was cut from the Philadelphia Eagles mid-season a few years ago and has now been released from the Dallas Cowboys. There are a number of teams that need a good receiver that have passed over T.O. several times. Recently, the Bills signed him and it will be interesting to see if he helps or hurts the team.

In your job search, it is important to show how you will help the company, your team and your boss. If you only focus on your personal achievement or contributions to the company, without any concern for the success of your team, you can hurt your chances.

In preparing to interview, look at what you did to make the jobs of your past bosses easier. How did you communicate with them? When and how would you ask for help? Are you able to work autonomously or do you need a lot of attention? How did you get along with your team?

Consider these questions before your next interview. Even if you are not asked any of them, you can be certain you will be assessed on how you will contribute to the success of your prospective boss.

Interview Questions About Deadlines

One of the interview questions that is very common relates to working under tight deadlines. It is important to be able to meet deadlines in many careers. There are very few companies where the speed and urgency are not important.
Over the years, I’ve asked about deadlines in interviews very frequently. This is one of the questions where job seekers usually react exactly the same way.

Over the years, I’ve asked about deadlines in interviews very frequently. This is one of the questions where job seekers usually react exactly the same way. It doesn’t matter what type of personality the job seeker has, their job type or the industry. The answer that almost everyone gives is a variation of this:

Question: Tell me about a time when you worked under a tight deadline.

Answer: All the time. Everything we do has a tight deadline. Meeting customer needs requires responding quickly. We never have much warning when we get a special project and have to get the project done quickly.

This answer is very general. Job seekers usually include specific industry terms in their answer, but the overall message is the same. Everything the job seeker does has a deadline.

I’m sure you can see that this answer tells the interviewer nothing. The goal of a question about deadlines is to understand the sense of urgency of the job seeker and to get an idea of how the individual will perform. Generalizing the answer provides nothing noteworthy.

To effectively answer a question about deadlines, you need to give an example. Starting out with a statement that deadlines are common in your field is ok. The interviewer probably hears this every time they ask the question, so you’re not going to make a bad impression with it.

The key to making a good impression is what you do next. Give an example of a specific deadline and how you were able to meet it. This will demonstrate the value you provided in the past and help create an impression of success.

This is an example of a better answer to this question:

We work under tight deadlines all the time. For example, we recently had a customer place an order for one of our products with several custom modifications. The customer needed the product in a week, and our typical lead time with the modifications was 10 days. I was able to cut a couple of days off the production schedule by coordinating with the manufacturing department to run the product on a different line than normal and then cut another day by working with quality so that they would inspect the product as it was produced. We shipped the product on time. These type of deadlines are commonplace and I work very well with other department to ensure that we meet every schedule no matter how tight.

This is very basic example of expediting production of a product. Despite this, it shows the type of deadlines the job seeker encounters, how they approach the deadline and gives an example of a success. Even though this is a basic example, it is a much better answer than the original general answer.

One reason this example is effective is the emphasis on working with other departments. The anser address the sense of urgency of the job seeker but also uses the example to demonstrate how effective they are at influencing others in their company.

Look for ways to give examples of what you have done. Examples create a picture in the mind of the interviewer and make a much stronger impression.

What Job Seekers Can Learn From Barack Obama

The election is over and Barack Obama will be our next President. His campaign demonstrated a few techniques that any job seeker can employ to improve their job search.

Positioning Statement

What was the cornerstone of the Obama campaign – the one word that summarizes the reason to vote for Barack Obama? I doubt anyone has confusion here. We've heard "Change" so many times that this one word has come to represent everything about the Obama campaign.

When you are considered for a position by an employer, what word or phrase will represent everything you offer? You should develop a theme that a hiring manager can clearly understand and articulate.

Contrast this with John McCain. The one word that saturated his campaign was "Maverick." Although the use of this word had many similarities to Obama's use of "Change," it didn't resonate with voters. The reason for this is the complexity of the image. Obama means change, people are unhappy and change will make them happy. McCain is a maverick, a maverick will make changes, the people are unhappy and the changes will make them happy.

It's essentially the same argument, but for Obama, it's clearer. This clarity translated into greater trust, and more votes.

Benefits

Which candidate offered the hiring managers (all of us) more value and greater benefits?

Both candidates made a lot of campaign promises. Obama's were more specific in many cases. For example, his tax policy consistently focused on: "Cut taxes for 95 percent of workers and their families with a tax cut of $500 for workers or $1,000 for working couples."

Hiring managers make decisions based on which job seeker will provide more value to them and to their company. A $500 tax cut is not significant for most people, but it is a tangible, specific benefit.

In your interviews, you need to demonstrate what value you can provide. The best way to do this is to show how you have provided value to past employers. For example, "at ABC company, I implemented a new material handling system that improved our processes and saved the company $250,000 per year." For a hiring manager that wants to improve their material handling processes, this candidate would make a very strong impression.

Storytelling

Political conventions, speeches and debates have developed a consistent strategy used by both parties – Storytelling. How many times have we watched a candidate parade a series of people, telling the story of each person and how they will help that person if elected.

The point of this strategy is to create a very clear image of what the candidate will deliver and make a strong personal connection. Political candidates have learned that people don't vote for logical, factual arguments by themselves. The logic and facts are important, but the emotion and personal connection are at least as important.

Storytelling can be very effective in an interview. You can show a hiring manager, very clearly, what you have done in the past. This gives the hiring manager a feeling of what it would be like to work with you. It's this feeling that can tip the scales in your favor and get you hired.

Exercise

Pick the candidate you supported in the election, or do this exercise with both candidates.

On a piece of paper, draw a vertical line down the center of the page. Write the candidate's name at the top of the left column.

Under the candidate's name, list the top three reasons why the candidate should be our next President.

Write a short paragraph, 3-5 sentences, for what you would say to someone that is undecided to persuade them to support the candidate.

At the top of the right column, write your name.

List the top three reasons why you should be hired.

Write a short paragraph, 3-5 sentences, for what you would say to someone that is undecided about hiring you.

Compare the two columns.

Which is more specific?
Which demonstrates more value to the hiring manager?
Which is more personal, giving storytelling examples?
What will you change in your resume and next interview?

Interview with Confidence

One of the most important factors affecting a person’s interview performance is their confidence level. I have known a number of candidates that lose all of their confidence the second they step into an interview. This can be devastating.

For example, a long time ago, I was working with a person that was worried about interviewing. When I say worried, I’m not sure I’m really capturing the situation – terrified and paralyzed with fear are probably closer to the truth.

To deal with his concerns, he spent a weekend preparing – from Friday night, non-stop until Sunday night. You may have an idea of what came next.

Monday’s phone interview started on time. The candidate had rehearsed this over and over and over again. The interviewer planned to do a quick skills assessment and then schedule an interview with the primary hiring manager. The questions were pretty basic.

With all the preparation and rehearsing, and a set of easy questions, the candidate should have hit a homerun. That, of course, didn’t happen. The candidate had rehearsed so much that he expected specific questions, a certain style of interview. In his preparation, he had scripted what the interviewer should say.

When the interviewer asked a question he didn’t expect – he froze. He could not answer the question. After a long, awkward pause, he said he was very nervous and didn’t expect that question. He then asked if the interviewer would mind if they started the interview over, including hanging up and calling back. The second he said this, he was done.

The problem was a lack of confidence. The job seeker wasn’t comfortable interviewing. He prepared alone but never practiced the one thing that could have helped him – responding to unpredictable questions asked by a live person.

I do a lot of interview coaching. The primary way I teach interviewing is through practice interviews. I strive to develop a list of questions that are unexpected and challenging for the job seeker to answer. By simulating a real interview, the people I coach are much more relaxed in interviews and are able to take their time and think about their answers.

When you are preparing for an interview, make sure you get some live practice. Find someone that can simulate a real interview – ideally someone you don’t know very well. Even better, select someone that intimidates you a little. The more uncomfortable you can make the situation, the easier the real interviews will be. If you can’t find someone to do this, find an interview coach to interview you.

Military Officer Interview: Professional Development Question

I have one final interview answer from a transitioning military officer. Each week for the last four weeks, I’ve shared one question from this interview. Next week, I’ll have a recording from a different interview.

The answer in the recording below is to this questions:

What are you better at now than a year ago?

Most interviews will have a question regarding your ongoing professional development. Asking how you have improved is one style of these questions.

Listen to the Answer (Time 1:18)

Tomorrow, I’ll post my assessment and recommendations for this answer. I welcome any comments you may have regarding this answer.

Note: I only record and post interviews when I have the permission of the job seeker prior to conducting the the interview.

Military Officer Interview Assessment

Yesterday, I posted the recording of a transitioning military officer I interviewed. The question asked was:

Tell me about a time when your planning led to positive results.

This is a typical behavior based question and gives a job seeker the opportunity to discuss an accomplishment demonstrating their planning and organization.

The answer the transitioning military officer gave reviewed a good accomplishment from his background. The delivery did not make as good an impression as possible.

The primary problem with the answer was that it used too much jargon. The background of the situation was presented clearly. From there, it will was disorganized and the jargon made the answer tough to follow.

All job seekers need to be careful when using technical terms. A word you use every day at one employer may be unheard of at another. This is especially important for transitioning military officers to remember. The language used in the military can be vastly different from the civilian world.

To alleviate this problem, make sure you explain technical terms, or leave out the term and just give a descriptive explanation. In the recording, the individual talks about the "OPG-SOP" and explains that this is the Operational Planning Group Standard Operating Procedure. Using the acronym and then the formal name is unnecessary. It can distract the listener while they try to digest and remember the term. A better approach would be to just state that he "developed the standard operating procedures for our group." This is much shorter and simpler, and yet still conveys sufficient information.

Another problem with this answer was that it didn’t provide a tangible example of the results. There should be little doubt that strategic planning would be improved with more communications, better organization and improved cooperation. What isn’t clear is how significant this change was. All it would take is one example of a project that was improved in a clear, measurable way because the planning process was improved.

The answer also missed an opportunity. Although it demonstrated good strategic thinking and process improvement skills, there was nothing about how this experience would help another employer. The job seeker is not going to face an identical challenge later in their career. Despite this, the experience should help the individual to be successful in other roles. Great interviewers take experiences like this and directly show how the experience will benefit an employer.

In this interview, concluding the answer with a much stronger statement would have been better. Something like this:

Improving our planning process showed me how important it is to coordinate the activity of a decentralized team. The improvement we saw from the cross-talk between departments was significant. With this experience, I know that in the future, I will be able to improve an organization by maximizing the coordination of work between departments.

The more specific you can make the benefits you achieved in the past and will be capable of achieving in the future, the better.

Transitioning Military Officer Interview Recording

I have another interview answer from a transitioning military officer to share. The question I asked was:

Tell me about a time when your planning led to positive results.

Listen to the answer (Time 3:28)

Just as I did the last two weeks, I’m posting the recording today, and will post my assessment of the answer tomorrow. Please feel free to post your thoughts as a comment.

Note: I only record and post interviews when I have the permission of the job seeker prior to conducting the the interview.