Big Book of Job-Hunting Hacks

Millions of words have been written about interviews. For example, Google “job interviews,” and you will get thousands of hits. Go to the business and career sections at a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and you will find dozens of books on interviews. All of us have read Internet hits titled “Ten tips for killer interviews,” or “Ace the interview in three easy steps,” or “Interviews for dummies.” All of this tells us that the interview is an important part of the job-hunting process and that we should prepare for it carefully.

Before we get into the heart of the interview process, let’s reconstruct the bigger picture. The interview is a part of the process that enables both you and the company to determine if the relationship will work to the advantage of both the company and the candidate. When that happens, everyone wins. The company makes money from your productive work in order to pay your salary and benefits, expenses, taxes, and perhaps contribute to charitable causes, and still have enough left over to be a profitable business. You win because you make money to become self-sufficient, take care of your family, and give back money and time to the community.

Even though the interviewer appears to hold all of the cards, it really is not so. The hiring manager needs someone like you to fill an important position and is under pressure to find the right candidate as soon as possible.

While the hiring manager is evaluating the person across the desk, smart candidates are sizing up the hiring manager, as well. It is important that the hiring manager be someone you respect, someone who shows courtesy and honesty. If you find that the interviewer lacks these qualities, erase that company from your list. You may need a job, but you do not want it at the expense of working on a ship of fools. If, for some reason, you think that this listing ship might change once the company hires you, remember this rule: you can’t fix crazy!

All candidates, especially midcareer workers, want to tout their accomplishments and general work experience to anyone who will listen. They tend to smother the interviewer with a recitation of what’s on the résumé. The interviewer has most likely checked out who you are and what you have done and is not interested in your retelling it. The person sitting across the desk from you is forward-looking. Keep that in mind when the interviewer begins the conversation by asking questions. Listen and comprehend, because it is how you respond that really counts.

In his well-known book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey says, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They are either speaking or preparing to speak.”

A good example that supports Covey’s theory is the TV interview. Interviewers are often more concerned with presenting their own agendas than with listening for responses to questions they ask. Why don’t they permit the person to complete the answer? Before the response is even completed, the interviewer interrupts with her own statement.

Your interviewer, too, might have the same tendency, so be sure to maintain the integrity of the interview to make your point. If the interviewer interrupts before you have the last word out of your mouth, you need to make an appropriate response to keep the interview on an even keel, even though your gut reaction might be, “Shut up. Let me finish my answer to your question.”

Here is what you might say when this happens: “To complete my response to your first question, here is what I was going to say . . .” That should keep the interview on the right track and make for a fruitful exchange of ideas and courteous discourse.

The interview is a conversation where two people listen, comprehend, and then respond. There are two basic rules for interviews.

These two rules build the foundation for all personal relationships. This holds true no matter how young, how old, or how senior the interviewer is. And it applies if you have been laid off or fired from your last job. If the interviewer asks you why you left your previous job, be honest and say that you were let go. If you were laid off, state the circumstances: a reorganization, downsizing, rightsizing, or bankruptcy. If you were fired, don’t talk around it. Be forthcoming and state why you were fired: that you did not meet the job expectations, or that you and your boss were on different pages. Admit it and follow by saying that you have learned your lesson and that you have resolved to move forward using your newfound persona and your reconstructed character. (As a matter of fact, the interviewer most likely learned that you had been fired for cause after some preliminary background checking before you came for the interview, so do not try to hide it.)

The person sitting across the desk from you may be older than you are and may be at the director or vice president level. To reach that point in the corporate hierarchy, this person has been doing something right.

On the other side of the age situation, the interviewer may be ten years your junior and display arrogance that is nothing short of irritating. Suck it up, because you cannot do anything about it. Build the relationship by expressing interest in this person’s rise to a position of responsibility.

Regardless of the situation, the only way to deal with these variables is to be prepared to answer the questions in a mature manner and on your own terms. When you prepare for the interview, resolve that you are going to look at the hiring manager as a potential friend.

Three important items on an employer’s checklist appear so self-evident that candidates overlook them. However, if you fall short on any of the three, your chances of moving ahead in the process are diminished.

Your appearance is the first thing a hiring manager notices. If you come to an interview dressed inappropriately, you are history. Case closed. No second chance. With the workplace becoming more casual, there is a tendency to dress down, even for an interview. We see midlevel and executive-level workers in casual dress when on the job, but an interview is a different occasion. I have asked human resources directors about this, and their advice is to dress a cut above casual for an interview. In fact, several told me that many experienced candidates, midlevel and executive level, dress too casually for interviews, and it does not help their candidacy. Their advice is to wear business attire for an interview.

After dress, the most important checklist item is verbal communication, which includes vocabulary. Avoid clichés and slang terms. Answer questions using business-speak that you have learned throughout your working years. The hiring manager expects no less. For example, one of the question most frequently asked is “Why do you want to work here?” Deliver your answer in business language such as this:

There are two parts to the interview: what you say and how you say it—content and delivery. The content part of the interview should reflect your research on the company’s finances, your interest in the job opportunity at hand, and your qualifications for helping the company move forward. The delivery part of your conversation includes the unspoken word—body language—which reflects your level of confidence and your interest in the job and company.

Many words have been written on this subject, but it still comes down to a few basics. Sit straight, make eye contact, relax, smile, and display your personality. If you are not accustomed to using your hands to make a point, do not make an awkward attempt to do this in an interview. You are having a conversation about how you can help the company going forward, not auditioning for a part in a movie. To learn more on this general topic, conduct a Google search on body language.

Here is a real-life situation that I encountered recently while conducting a search for a vice president. This story demonstrates that delivery, particularly the body language part of it, is just as important as content.

FRED FROM CALIFORNIA

Fred had a personal two-hour interview with the CEO of a major company located in Los Angeles. The position, vice president for international sales and marketing, required the candidate to live in the home office area, and Fred met that requirement. He did not need to relocate. This was a huge problem out of the way. On paper, he met every job requirement and more. So far, so good. However, something untoward happened during the interview process. The CEO rejected his candidacy citing two reasons. One, “Fred’s answers seemed shallow.” In other words, the CEO did not buy the content. Two, “Fred appeared insecure, lacking confidence, and appeared to be distracted.” His body language told the CEO that there was a disconnect. His eyes were wandering during the interview, his posture was strained, his arms were folded much of the time, and his legs were crossed during the interview. Fred’s body language told the CEO that he was not buying into the conversation.

I counseled Fred on the basics of body language and persuaded the CEO to have a second interview with Fred. Specifically, I told Fred to sit erect facing the interviewer, make direct eye contact throughout the interview, sit with hands resting in his lap rather than folded, rest legs on the floor rather than tightly crossed, and avoid fidgeting and letting eyes wander if there are interruptions from office sources, like a ringing phone. Also, I told Fred to relax and maintain a friendly smile during the interview. The CEO obliged by granting Fred a second interview, and the results were startling. The interview proceeded as a conversation, and the CEO and Fred learned they had much in common on a personal level. Both were star performers on their college swim teams, and both had similar current interests. After another round of interviews with company executives, Fred was hired.

I am always impressed when a candidate comes to an interview with a written agenda that includes questions about both the position and the company. I’m equally impressed when the candidate hands me a written agenda and requests a brief discussion of each topic if time permits. A written agenda sends a powerful message that you have carefully prepared for the interview and that you are pursuing this particular opportunity, not just any job. Here is a sample agenda that you can use as a model for crafting your own, which you can then print on your letterhead and hand to the interviewer before beginning the interview:

SAMPLE INTERVIEW AGENDA

Subject: Agenda for Interview with Amazon
Position: Director of Inside Sales
Candidate: Lisa Hopkins
Human Resources Director: Joseph Kowalski
Date: June 7, 2018
I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss the following questions during my interview with Mr. Kowalski:

1. Why is this position open?

2. If someone else had this job, why did that person leave the company?

3. Why are you considering me for this position?

4. Would superior performance in this position lead to a promotion?

5. What are the three major expectations for the Director of Inside Sales?

6. To whom does this job report, and what is that person’s management style?

7. What is the background of the person to whom this position reports?

8. What is the company’s revenue goal for this fiscal year? How much of an increase is that over the previous year’s revenue?

9. What has made this company a leader in the industry?

10. Does the company participate in community outreach programs?

11. Does the company require ongoing professional development courses?

12. Why should I join Amazon?

I thank you for discussing these issues during our interview.

Sincerely,

Lisa

Lisa Hopkins

Answers to these questions are a tool for evaluating the position and company. You need this information to determine if you want to continue the process or decline. Using the written interview agenda will separate you from the rest of the pack. Do not hesitate to use this technique for every interview.

Before each interview, write your plan detailing how you will deal with each section. Let’s explore each part in detail.

After you exchange hellos and informal chitchat, like “This is just a beautiful day. I’m happy spring has finally come after such a harsh winter,” it is showtime.

Trying to anticipate what the interviewer will ask can be a never-ending game. To level the playing field and keep this a true give-and-take rather than an interrogation, plan to incorporate some or all of these five topics into the interview:

• You are here because you have learned there is a specific employment opportunity.

• You have researched the company and would like to work there for several reasons. State what they are. Some reasons could be your interest in their product, company profitability, glowing reports from company workers, or the steady increase in the price of the company stock.

• You would like an opportunity to increase company profitability by using your talents, intelligence, energy, and passion.

• Highlight your successes and awards for achievement. Verbalize the key points on your résumé under the major heading “Awards, Recognition, Community Service.”

• State your career goals and do not be shy. If you really would like to be the company president someday, say so. Tell your interviewer how and why you believe you could work your way up to that position.

One never knows where an interview will go, and it is really up to the candidate to set the direction and tone of the interview. Your written agenda will help accomplish this. Naturally, the interviewer has a certain number of questions, but you do not know these in advance. However, the interviewer will ask one question in almost every situation: “Would you tell me about yourself?” It appears to be a trivial question, but that’s just the way it is, and you have to prepare for it. If you are caught off guard, you might end up reciting your family history or rendering a chronological account of your life from birth to the present. What the hiring manager really wants to hear is what you might do for the company if you are hired, rather than hearing that you like a latte better than a cappuccino.

How do you answer that question? It could go several ways, but here is a script that you might use. It gives direction to the interview and sets the tone for a dialogue instead of a Q&A session.

SCRIPT ANSWER FOR “WOULD YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF?”

I’m the kind of person who takes responsibility for my own life, and that includes having a position that will give me income to continue to be self-sufficient and accomplish my career goals. I’m here because I believe that your company can provide that opportunity. My research indicates that your last quarter generated revenue that exceeded expectations and that your past three years were profitable. I want to be part of a company with that kind of track record because it means that you are doing something right. I would like to build on that success by applying my intelligence, energy, and passion to make this company even better and more profitable. Also, my career vision includes a vice president–level position, and hopefully I can that find that here.

Read this aloud several times until you make it your own. Modify it to include some hard numbers and specifics from your résumé.

Candidates, understandably, are curious about what the interviewer will ask. The kinds of questions asked in an interview follow a somewhat standard format. Here are questions the interviewer may ask regardless of the company or position:

1. Would you tell me something about yourself?

2. How did you find out about us?

3. Why do you want to work here?

4. What are your major qualifications for this position?

5. Are there any areas where you think you need to improve?

6. What is your career goal?

7. Can you tell me about a work problem you encountered and how you resolved it?

8. What are your compensation requirements?

9. When could you begin work with us if we agree this is the right job for you?

10. Have you participated in community outreach programs?

11. What is your main academic interest?

12. What books have you read recently?

13. Can you give me an example of how you use social media like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn?

14. What do you want to know about the company and the job?

15. Why did you leave your last job?

You don’t know how many of these questions the interviewer will ask, but be prepared to answer all of them. Conduct a rehearsal before the interview by having a trusted friend ask you these questions, and then deliver your responses. Practice until you feel comfortable with your answers. Remember to quantify as much as possible.

You can begin evaluating the hiring manager by asking a question like “Could you tell me about your job experience, such as how long you have been here, what your responsibilities are, and what you did before taking this job?”

Such dialogue permits the hiring manager to brag a little and tell you some success stories. Your expressed interest in the hiring manager’s accomplishments helps build the relationship and provides valuable information to evaluate this person. In addition, it makes the interview conversational rather than interrogative.

Remember, this is your interview, and you are entitled to ask as many questions as necessary to learn about the company and its people. Do not be intimidated by the interviewer’s status or title. This is your interview, your time, your career, your life.

Most likely, you will have your own list of questions, but here are five you should always ask, according to Jeff Haden, a very successful executive recruiter and author of many articles and a book on job hunting and interviewing. This material appeared in his article “Five Questions Job Candidates Should Ask,” which appeared in an issue of INC. online magazine:

1. What really drives success for the company? Every profitable company has rubrics that account for its success. Learn what these are, and you will know much about the company and what it expects from its workers. If you hear something like, “Everyone here works like crazy, even coming in on Saturdays and Sundays,” consider it a yellow flag. You should not have to spend seven days a week meeting job expectations, and you should not be expected to be on call via texts and e-mail 24/7, unless you are a medical professional or a law enforcement officer . . . or president of the United States.

2. What do employees do in their spare time? This might be a difficult question for the interviewer to answer, especially in a large company. However, the answer will tell you much about the kind of people the company hires, and if these are your kind of people. Do they spend off-work hours at a sports bar? Do they volunteer their off-work hours for company-sponsored outreach programs? Do some of them take graduate-level courses to improve their work skills?

3. How do you plan to deal with . . . ? The blank part of this question could be any number of items that aroused your curiosity while doing your research on the company and the industry. The question could be, “How do you plan to deal with lower margins for your technology products?” The answers to these questions will tell you if the company recognizes its problems and how it plans to deal with them going forward.

4. What do you expect me to accomplish in the first sixty to ninety days? This question lets the interviewer know that you are no slouch. You want the company hiring manager to know that you are ready, willing, and able to be productive immediately. You are job-ready.

5. What are the common attributes of your top performers? The answer to this question will tell you much about the corporate culture, the company expectations, and what workers are willing to do in order to be successful there.

There is a definite way to end the interview. Salespeople ask for the order after making their product presentation instead of just saying, “Thank you for your time,” and leaving. The same holds true for the interview. Close by saying thank you and, if you are interested in the job and the company, ask, “What are the next steps in the process? I really would like to work here based upon your answers to my questions and my research about the company. When can I start?”

If the interviewer gives a nebulous answer to your closing statements, counter with an action item like, “Thanks for your time. I’ll follow up with you by phone or e-mail to check on the status of my candidacy. May I please have your business card? And by the way, what is your hiring deadline?”

If you are not interested in the job, say so and leave after saying, “Thank you for your time. I really do not think this is a good fit. I’m sure that you will find a candidate better suited for this position.”

Remember to send a follow-up letter even if you are no longer interested in the job. Always maintain the relationship regardless of the results of the interview.

Occasionally, a panel instead of just one person will conduct the interview for the company. The panel interview may sound intimidating, but it can work to your advantage.

Panels usually consist of the hiring manager, the company human resources director, and a worker from the department where the job is located. For example, if you are interviewing for an editorial manager position with a publishing company, the worker may be an associate editor.

The purpose of the panel interview is to save time, not to intimidate the candidate. When you walk in the door, you don’t know if the interview will be with one person or with a panel, so be prepared mentally for both. Usually a panel interview means that the company is seriously interested in your candidacy. It’s a positive sign for you. Be reassured and confident that the interview is going to work to your advantage. After the interview begins, determine the person who appears to be most friendly and supportive and make an effort to build a relationship with him or her.

Interviewing with a panel is advantageous for a number of reasons. In the one-on-one interview, if you do not connect with the person across from you, there is nobody else you can turn to for help. In a panel interview, you have options for building strong relationships with more than one person.

Occasionally, the hiring manager will invite you to interview over breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The reason is not hunger. Rather, this type of an interview gives the manager an opportunity to observe your behavior in a real-life setting. Candidates for customer-contact jobs in sales or marketing are frequently subjected to interviews over a meal. There are several basic rubrics for such interviews:

• Table manners should be scrupulously observed. That means chewing with your mouth closed, not leaning on the table, and not slurping your soup or coffee.

• Never lick your fingers.

• Never drink alcoholic beverages at meal interviews, even if the interviewer does.

• Never take calls on your smartphone. In fact, turn it off and put in your pocket or purse.

• Treat the wait staff and clean-up crew with respect.

• Remain focused regardless of circumstances.

These may sound like adolescent suggestions, but I have included them because I have observed violations of basic manners on a number of occasions while interviewing midcareer candidates. On one occasion, I was interviewing a candidate for the presidency of a publishing company, and she licked her fingers after finishing her entrée. In effect, she licked her way out of a job. I have interviewed many job candidates over breakfast and lunch. Most observed our rubrics, but a number did not, with devastating results—loss of a job opportunity. Here’s just one example that highlights the benefits of adhering to the rules:

MARK THE MARINE

I was interviewing a candidate over breakfast for a sales manager position at the Marriott Hotel restaurant, located at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. It was early morning, crowded, and tables were close together. At the table next to us sat a young couple with a screaming baby who was distracting me to the point where I was ready to ask the host to change our location. However, candidate Mark kept the conversation going as if there were no distractions. He did not even look at the unhappy baby. This caught my attention, and I gained a great deal of respect for Mark because of his discipline and understanding. We proceeded through the interview for ninety minutes, and Mark won not only my respect, but also my recommendation for the job. When I asked Mark how he kept his cool, he replied, “In the Marines, I learned discipline and how to stay focused in difficult situations.”

The phone/Skype interview is a standard part of the job-hunting process because of the large number of candidates applying for posted jobs, and because of the distance between candidate and interviewer. When a human resources director has a hundred applicants for one position, he makes the first cut using the candidate’s résumé and information from other sources like social media. After the list is narrowed to a handful of candidates, the next step is to evaluate them with a phone or Skype interview. The process is sometimes called a “phone screening.” Company execs claim the phone and Skype interview process is cost-effective.

These interviews usually are not conversations, but interrogations leaving candidates with little time to do more than answer rapid-fire questions. The interviewer has a list of questions on her desk and wants to run through them as quickly as possible. It is akin to a robotic procedure. The candidate is rarely given time to ask questions or offer more than a perfunctory answer to questions posed by the interviewer.

Try to avoid the phone screening by volunteering to come in for a personal interview, even if this means driving three hours each way to the company location. Face-to-face communication is what you need to move forward in the search process, and the phone interview gets in the way.

The only purpose of the phone interview is to move your candidacy to the next step, the personal interview with the hiring manager. Nobody is ever hired because of a phone or Skype interview. It’s just another step in the process. It permits the interviewer to screen out unqualified candidates and select finalists for personal interviews. It does not seem fair because the hiring manager or human resources director is holding the cards, but that’s the way it is. You cannot change some things, so you must learn to live with them and do your best. The phone/Skype interview is one of them.

Talking on the phone comes naturally to some people, but most of us have a less-than-winning phone personality. However, with adequate preparation, anyone can accomplish the mission successfully. Prepare for the interview just as you would for a personal interview using this checklist:

• Find a private location for the interview, preferably your home office, where there will be absolute quiet.

• Eliminate traffic noise, barking dogs, crying babies, and music playing in the background. If there are two phones in your location, turn off the one not being used. The last thing you want is your alternate phone ringing during an interview.

• Avoid holding the interview in casual settings such as a restaurant, car, bar, or train. This is a business call, not a casual call. If there are barking dogs or clinking glasses in the background, surely the interviewer will hear the background noise, and you will be history. There are no second chances.

• Take the call at a table or desk where you can spread out documents for reference. You cannot do this while driving your car.

• Have your résumé, the job description, company information, and a written interview agenda listing your questions in front of you during the call. Also, have a tablet or notebook and a pen for note-taking. Handwrite notes instead of entering them on your desktop or laptop computer or smartphone. With today’s sensitive audio technology, keyboard noise is distracting to the person on the other end of the line.

• Stay focused. On a separate sheet of paper, write the name of the company, the name and title of the person with whom you will be speaking, the date, time, and location of the interviewer.

• If the interviewer is located in another time zone, make the adjustment. If you are in New York and the interviewer is in Denver, there will be a two-hour time difference, so plan accordingly. If the call is scheduled for 9:00 a.m., Mountain Time, it will be 11:00 a.m. in New York. If you miscalculate the time difference and the caller gets your voice-mail instead of your voice, you will be history.

• Take the call dressed in business attire, because the way you dress sets the stage for your behavior. If you are dressed in a yoga outfit, your conversation could easily become too casual. The same applies to your body language. If you take the call with bare feet resting on the top of your desk, you could slip into casual mode and begin using words like “awesome.”

• Prepare to answer the question “Would you tell me something about yourself?”

• Select the three most important questions from your written agenda. Usually phone interviews are timesensitive, so you want to make sure you have covered what is important to you. If the interviewer permits you to continue, go beyond the first three questions. Phone and Skype interviews, like personal interviews, should be a two-way conversation, which entitles you to be a proactive part of it. Your time is just as valuable as that of the interviewer.

• Have your laptop or desktop computer running with the company website on the screen.

• Smile during the interview. A smile on your face will relax you and make the tone more conversational. Think of the phone smile as virtual body language.

• If you are using a smartphone for the interview, conduct a test run to make sure the connection works.

Etiquette is everyone’s concern. Should you address the interviewer by first or last name? Is it Mrs., Ms., Mr., Dr., or Mary? It is important to get it right. Here are some guidelines that follow the “listen first” rule.

If the interviewer introduces herself as “Mrs. Smith, human resources director,” then you address her as Mrs. Smith throughout the interview. If she introduces herself as “Barbara Smith,” call her Barbara. Never, under any circumstances, address a person using a nickname like “Barb” if she introduces herself as Barbara.

If the interviewer introduces himself as “Dr. William Ford,” call him “Dr. Ford” throughout the interview. If the interviewer introduces himself as “Bob Ford, sales manager,” call him Bob. If the interviewer introduces himself as “John Cupcake,” call him John, not “Jack.” A common error is to assume it is permissible to call a person by a shortened version of his or her name. I have found that the most frequently abused first name is “Robert.” Why does everyone revert to “Bob”?

The first thing to ask after you say hello and make introductory chitchat is “How much time do we have?” Knowing this will tell you how much time to spend answering questions, and how much time you have for asking questions that are on your interview agenda. Write the end time on a piece of paper and refer to it throughout the conversation. After learning the amount of time you have, tell the interviewer that you have several questions you would like to ask and find out when it would be appropriate to do so. It could be the last thing on the agenda, or the first.

The close is the same for the phone interview and the Skype interview. Learn the interviewer’s phone number and e-mail address, say thank you for the interview, and ask for the job. The script for closing all interviews is the same: “Thank you for your time and consideration. What are the next steps in the process? I really would like to work here based on your answers to my questions and my research about your company. When can I start?”

Courtesy dictates that you send a follow-up letter or e-mail to the interviewer(s) after every personal, phone, or Skype interview. This is a business document, so format it accordingly. Include the following items:

Send the follow-up letter by e-mail and by FedEx or UPS. I recommend using traditional services because hard copy has a tendency to stay on the recipient’s desk. An e-mail doc disappears with a quick click, never to be seen again.

All types of interviews have one purpose: to see if you and the employer are on the same page for continuing the process. If you believe you are, pursue the job until you get an offer or a definite rejection. Do not let the process hang unresolved.

Midcareer workers come to the interview with a work history and an idea of what they need for compensation. The most frequent objections to one’s candidacy are overqualification, compensation requirements that are too high, and lack of certain education requirements. In the next chapter, I’ll discuss all of these issues.

• Build a friendly relationship with the interviewer. Friends hire friends.

• Body language is crucial nonverbal communication.

• Observe basic manners during interviews at restaurants.

• Control the interview process by preparing a written agenda to share with the interviewer.

• Practice reciting answers to possible questions.

• The purpose of the phone or Skype interview is to move your candidacy to the next step, the personal interview.