Energy/enthusiasm“FEW HAVE STRENGTH OF REASON TO OVERRULE THE PERCEPTIONS OF SENSE, AND YET FEWER HAVE CURIOSITY OR BENEVOLENCE TO STRUGGLE LONG AGAINST THE FIRST IMPRESSION. HE WHO THEREFORE FAILS TO PLEASE IN HIS SALUTATION AND ADDRESS, IS AT ONCE REJECTED, AND NEVER OBTAINS AN OPPORTUNITY OF SHOWING HIS LATEST EXCELLENCES OR ESSENTIAL QUALITIES.”
—SAMUEL JOHNSON1
When you are successful in getting a hiring manager seriously interested in you, your next hurdle will most likely be responding to a telephone interview request by an “in-house” corporate human resources recruiter.
If you have been invited to a telephone interview, this indicates they like your competencies as related through your profile online or through a great ProfessionaliBrand, or maybe even through a traditional resume. It is now up to you to get the job.
If you have not prepared for the telephone interview, then you will not get the invite to an in-person or video interview. (Go to www.transi-tiontohired.com/resources to get information on how to prepare for a telephone interview.) If you have prepared, then you probably prepared poorly. There is no excuse for preparing poorly.
You put all that effort into getting to the interview stage. It would now be a downer if you let the opportunity slip away because you did not practice and prepare for the interview. Just like any other skill, interviewing can be mastered.
A telephone interview will most likely focus on “soft skills.” The team in human resources is required to do their job and their assessment. A conversation with you will give them some insight on:
Energy/enthusiasm
Passion
Ambition/initiative/drive
Level of research conducted on the hiring company
Listening skills
Interest level
Always make sure to conduct a telephone interview from a quiet place with no possible interruptions. Never conduct a telephone interview while on a cell phone or in a noisy environment, from an area that does not allow for privacy, or while driving. Any of these situations will affect the outcome of your interview. Many times in my work as a headhunter, the most common feedback about telephone interview candidate failure from the employer would be “I could not really get a good take on his communication skills because the connection was so bad. I think I will pass on him.” Even though our candidates were well schooled on how to conduct proper interviews, they still took calls on their cell phones or in environments where they were interrupted. Heed the advice or suffer the consequences!
With the era of “Google-iscious” amounts of information at your fingertips, it is unforgivable not to have researched the employer prior to an interview. It is imperative that you do thorough research on the employer. In most cases, you should be able to find information and a profile on the person or people who will be interviewing you. To this end, when confirming the interview, ask for an interview agenda with the interviewer’s/interviewers’ names. If an agenda is not available, ask for at least the name(s). Tell the interview scheduler (usually a human resources specialist) that you want to prepare adequately for the interview. This will also serve to demonstrate to the human resources team that you are taking the opportunity seriously and that you are a conscientious professional. A positive review from human resources could just be the extra push needed to get you hired, should a tight race for the job develop.
Get a good grasp of the company, the job, and the people involved before the interview. Having this knowledge allows you to formulate well-thought-out questions that will impress your interviewers.
During client debriefs, I have often heard feedback such as “Things went well. He answered all the questions we asked of him. However, he had no questions. Either he was not listening, not interested, or did not understand anything we said. We even asked him three times at the end of the interview if he had any questions. It just seemed like he wanted to get out of here, like he had something more important to do.” When I or my staff debried these candidates, it never failed; they said something like “I really want this job.” When providing the client’s feedback to the candidate, and asking the candidate why questions were not asked, the answer was always something like “I did not know what to ask.” When you asked the candidate if he read the information you sent him on the company, and the interviewers’ profiles, or had he done extra research on his own, he usually had said something like “I did not think it was important” or “I was too busy” or something similar. The end result was he did not get the job he wanted—nor will you if you do the same. What a crying shame! Do your homework.
Having a good understanding of the position’s objective or knowing what main problem the interviewer(s) is trying to solve by hiring someone is the key to having a great interview. Having this information gives you a great advantage, because you can practice and prepare answers that will directly address this objective, by drawing on your past experience.
If you cannot get this information pre-interview and/or the hiring manager cannot articulate it during the interview, you can bring it to the forefront by asking this: “Why don’t we look at this together? So I am clear, can we nail down what major outcomes need to be achieved in this position and by when?” This approach will get you noticed. (More information is provided on this approach in this chapter.)
One of the most powerful ways to get your knowledge in front of the interviewer is to really understand what she needs. Many times an interviewer does not know or she has a preconceived view that letting you know what she is looking for puts her at a disadvantage. Personally, I prefer giving the questions to the candidate prior to the interview, so he can prepare to show me where he has the necessary competencies to solve the problems at hand. Yet most interviewers will act as if they are holding the secret recipe to Coca-Cola in their grubby hands. If you want to show your best colors, you need to know what colors your interviewer needs and wants in order to satisfy her objectives.
In my corporate recruiting practice at ADV through the years, we have taught the following interview tactics to our candidates with great results. One aspect of our responsibilities is to facilitate interviews between clients and candidates. When sitting in on these interviews and facilitating the exchange I have seen firsthand how these tactics dramatically and positively impact an interview in a candidate’s favor. I first learned about tactical interviewing from my first supervisor in the head hunting business, Tony Grillo. I subsequently adapted the tactics to the GetHiredFastTrack methodology.
The tactic in this situation is to appeal to the manager’s “continuous improvement” mentality. Every manager wants a better employee. Guide the interview with a question such as this: “Mr. Potential Boss, if you look back on this job and how it has been done in the past, and if you could change some things about how it was done, what would you do to make it better?”
By asking a question like this, you are uncovering what the manager considers great performance standards for this position. The strategy for you is to take these answers and demonstrate how your skills, abilities, and past performance will enable you to meet or exceed these “make it better” performance standards. In other words, what competencies does the manager view as “needed” to be outstanding in the job?
The tactic is to get the interviewer to tell you what he considers to be the ideal characteristics (style, behavior) of the new employee.
Because of what we discussed previously regarding the guarded secrets mentality, you usually cannot come out at the start of the interview with the question, “Mr. Potential Boss, can you describe to me the ideal candidate for this job?”
Usually the response would be something like: “Sure, Mr. To-Remain-Unemployed, in another life.”
You need to use a little skill, start up a dialogue, and rephrase the question so it is not as obvious.
For example, you might say: “Can you think back to someone who was great in the job, or is now great in the job? What characteristics would you say make or made him the best?”
Alternatively, you can take a more direct approach: “Mr. Potential Boss, is it important for you to get the best candidate possible for this position? You agree this is important? Because you agree, does it make sense for you to find out if I am the ideal match that you require? In order to be able to demonstrate to you that I have those ideal competencies, do you think it makes sense that I know what they are before I start the interview, so when I answer your questions I can point out specifically those areas that will match, or not match your competency requirements?”
When you have this input, you can keep it in mind when formulating your answers during the interview, therefore demonstrating with precision that you are the ideal candidate.
The great advantage of knowing what makes the ideal candidate is that both parties can walk away knowing it is a match rather than walking away thinking “maybe,” or guessing.
The tactic is to first recognize that companies are always looking to improve any number of things. It could be a product, a process, customer service relationships, or marketing—you name it, pretty well everything. How can you use this to your advantage?
First, you need to find out what major objectives the department, company, or manager wants to achieve in the next year or more. It is important to show how you can meet those objectives, and even go beyond them, by uncovering and pointing out needs they will have that they are not even aware of yet or that they have not even planned for yet. It’s also a great time to pull out a fear-based question, such as: “Have you considered a pre-emptive strike to counter what your competitors are doing right now to put you out of business?” Believe me, this gets everyone’s attention.
Here’s an example of a more subtle approach: You interview for a marketing and customer relations manager position for a small company. It is owned by an “old style” owner who believes marketing requires good ads in newspapers and magazines, for the cheapest possible rate, attending trade shows, designing fancy print brochures, and having 10 customer relationship people answering basic questions like “Where do I send the products for repair?” or “Where can I get replacement parts?”
You show how you can meet the basics requirements of the job (designing brochures, organization trade shows, and managing a customer relations group). However, after establishing the basics, you ask: “Have you considered how you can increase your sales dramatically, and cut down your costs, by using newer-style marketing strategies, yet keep the older-style touch and feel that is important to your company?”
All of a sudden you are not just answering questions like everyone else, but you are looking to the future to some areas the owner may never have even thought of.
When he asks for more information, you might say something like this: “I know keeping the personal touch is important through your customer relations staff. I also know that sending out conventional marketing brochures by post is important to you. I can tell that you want to increase sales yet preserve “personal touch.” Are you open to hearing about ways you can achieve both?
You have a large team of customer relations people that could be deployed in a much better fashion that would result in increasing sales and customer loyalty. Your Website could have a simple addition of frequently asked questions. This would cut down the volume of calls. Alternatively, I would deploy the extra freed-up manpower to contact new customers to make sure they are happy with their purchase. At the same time, our customer relations team would inform customers where they can find specific information 24/7 on the Website, as well as point out complementary products that they may be interested in purchasing. I would also recommend that we offer these customers 20% off their next purchase, and should a new customer be recommended by them, we would offer a discount to that new customer also.
I know you do not believe in this e-mail marketing stuff, and I agree with you that it is less effective today. However, by installing a CRM system, we can capture much more information online, as well as at the point of sale and therefore be able to target our customers in an automated manner. An integrated system would prepare brochures for mailing as well as automate the sending of e-mail offers. With a good CRM system we can also personalize customer communications, preserving the personal touch. For example, we send out three brochures during the two weeks prior to a customer’s birthday hoping that the wife, husband, partner, or children will see the brochure and be motivated to buy a birthday gift from us, because the intended recipient is already a fan of our products. Furthermore, we take two of our customer service team and train them in social media best practices in order to engage customers in discussions about our products, as well as share information with these customers to influence them in their purchase decisions and use this shared information to convince the “purse string holder” of the value of a purchase from us.
Of all the tactics, this one will really makes the employer take notice, and it is the one that I recommend as the most important out of all of the great interview tactics. Do your homework and uncover the employer’s future “pain points.” Open the wound, show them how to apply the bandage, and get hired so you can implement a full rehabilitation and growth process.
The reason the position is open is because the interviewer or the company has a problem it wants solved. Frequently interviews revolve around finding out your qualifications and skills, rather than what actually needs to be done.
In my role as a headhunter, I was frequently given job descriptions that required a PhD for education. When I probed and asked, “Why do you require a PhD?” the answer was, “Because the job requires it.” When I asked again by rephrasing the question to “What specifically in the duties, responsibilities, and objectives of the position require a PhD in education in order to fulfill the requirements?” the answer I invariably got was this: “Because we do. That has always been the requirements of the position.”
“Are you saying that there is no way a BS could do the job?”
“Well, I guess they could.”
“Do you think it would make sense to review the job requirements at this point?”
I would then go on to say, “Mr. Employer, what if you started by asking the following question: What problems do I need solved? Once you have the answer to that question, then ask: What compentencies does my new employee need to possess in order to be competent in solving these problems? Do you think this would be a better way to get the answers you need to get the job done?”
The outcome, of course, of this exercise, for employers that did not get all their feathers ruffled, was to rethink their approach and agree to rewrite a new job description with me. For those that did not, they ended up hiring a PhD who then quit and they were invariably back to square one every six months to a year. This is why it is critical for you to understand the job. You need a job that fits you; otherwise you will quit or be fired. It is therefore of prime importance to know how you can get the job description figuratively re-written during the interview.
Just ask a simple question like this: “What problems would you like to see tackled and resolved in the next three months, six months, one year? And looking further out to the next two years?” Once you have these answers, you can tailor your answer to fit the requirements and/or decide if this job is for you or not.
This is a little different tactic. What you are looking for here are the impediments that could/would stop a person from achieving the stated targets or solving the problems that need solving. Once you know what the interviewer perceives as the hurdles to success, you can point out how you can overcome those hurdles and succeed.
For example, a question like this would be effective: “What do you see as the potential roadblocks to success in solving the problems we just discussed?”
I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to prepare and formulate questions before the interview, based on the extensive research that you conducted.
It is also important to be an active listener. Bring a notebook and jot down points as the interview goes along in order to jog your memory so you can formulate questions and ask them when the appropriate opportunity presents itself. Avoid taking constant notes, as you want to focus your attention on listening and keeping eye contact. Jot down a few keywords to jog your memory, and trust you will remember.
Prepare the bulk of your questions in advance of the interview. Some we have already touched on, but require re-emphasis because of their importance. Use the questions that follow as a guide to help you formulate your specific questions. By getting answers to these or similar questions, you will be in a better position to make an informed decision regarding the opportunity, and point out where your skills and abilities can best be maximized.
Some questions are more pertinent to a second interview or even just prior to accepting an offer; the bottom line is you should have these answers prior to accepting a position.
Use the following questions to formulate your specific questions. Obviously if the questions have already been answered during the interview do not ask again unless you need clarification. Also I am not saying ask all these questions during the interview; get some answers pre-interview through your research or through asking HR, or pre-acceptance.
What are the duties, functions, and responsibilities of the position?
What will your role be?
What is the primary objective of the manager in hiring someone?
What problem does the manager want solved by hiring someone?
What technical issues are important? What business or sales concerns need to be solved?
What will I be doing on a day-to-day basis? (Get the interviewer to describe a typical work day.)
How does the position fit into the “big picture” of what needs to be accomplished by the department, division, and/or company? This will demonstrate to you “how” and “where” you fit into the “whole” of the organization.
Why is the position available?
What are the plans for the department and company? Over one year? Two years? And long-term?
What performance standards define success for this position?
In specific, job-related terms, what critical functions must be performed in order to meet or exceed expectations? What goals/milestones do I need to achieve within three months, six months, and one year, in order to be considered an above-average performer on this team?
How will the performance standards be communicated? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? Annually?
How does the employer or manager do things? What are his or her policies? Rules? Expectations?
What job progression can you expect when you meet the objectives?
What is it like to work for you? You may be surprised by the honest reply you get to this question.
What can I expect from you on a day-to-day basis in terms of guidance, support, and leadership?
What is your management style? Are you a micro-manager or a macro-manager? Do you dictate or are you consultative and open to input? Do you apply metrics, or do you provide general guidance and targets, and get out of the way, and let the person get the job done?
How will we communicate and interface on the job? For example, only at meetings, through daily or weekly reporting, or will we be working side by side? Can you provide me with an example of how this works during a typical day on the job?
With respect to salary, try not to pin yourself down to a specific number until you have a total and realistic picture of the compensation package. Do not bring up the issue of money until you are asked or until it is brought up. It is important not to dwell on money (unless you are in sales), because the focus should be on the opportunity. Get a true picture of the total opportunity prior to locking into some number. Provide a true picture of your total package if you are asked for your salary. For example: “I make [or made] a base salary of 
X plus overtime, stock options, performance bonus, and a share purchase plan, as well as time off in lieu of overtime.” This is where being chased after as a candidate because of your great online professional image pays off over being an applicant on his knees hoping to get an offer. As a candidate you have much more leverage than an applicant. Your income depends on your irresistibility, so create a great online presence and reputation through ProfessionaliBranding.
If the interviewer pushes for a specific salary figure that you are seeking, make sure to give the interviewer a range. Remember to consider the whole package, not only the salary, as most companies today are offering structured packages for professionals. These packages can pay off handsomely in the future through stock options, bonuses, and incentives. Find out if any other pay-for-performance bonuses are available.
One of the biggest mistakes a candidate makes during an interview is mentioning a low salary number for fear of not being considered or thinking that by doing so she will seem more attractive to the employer.
After being selected by the employer for an offer, the “chosen one” may rationalize, and rightly so, that the position requires longer hours and entails greater responsibility than first thought. The candidate may try to substantiate a higher salary request than previously asked for, by now bringing up the facts of a recent salary review, stock options, bonuses, or other perks that were not mentioned previously during the interview process. You can bet, however, that the offer from the company will be the lower figure the candidate quoted initially. It is very difficult to change this figure, or adjust it once the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, no matter how much ammunition you throw at it at a later date. Think through your requirements carefully. Make sure that they are realistic.
Here is a thought-provoking question for you: If you are a manager, is it important to describe yourself in terms of work ethic, dependability, initiative, ability to work well with others, good time management, and communication skills at an interview or even on your resume? The answer to this question for a manager may surprise you. In order to win at interviews you need to know how to describe yourself based on your level of seniority or the level of seniority of the position. You can get more detailed information on this topic and on interviewing and blow them away at your next interview by going to www.transitiontohired.com/resources.