My Secret Ingredients to Interviewing

Over the years I've interviewed for a variety of jobs. In the early part of my career I was...well...not even close to qualified for some of them. But that didn't stop me from getting hired.

What was the secret combination of magical spells I put on the hiring managers to give me a shot?

Three Secrets
1. Preparation

This first step may sound obvious, but sadly, I've seen this noticeably absent over and over again. Candidates come to interviews (even at middle and senior management levels) ill-prepared to grill me and my colleagues about the opportunity.

Conversely, I have always wanted to be the most prepared person in the interview process...particularly when I was the candidate. That's right...I wanted to be far more prepared than those interviewing me.

Exhaustive reviews of company websites, Linkedin profiles, google searches of leaders, and detailed questions based on each person who would be interviewing me were mandatory. 

2. Confidence

Being timid is lame. Being soft is lame. Being meek inspires absolutely zero confidence. Sound hokey? I don't care. 

It's true. I'm never going to hire someone to join my company if they are not confident in their initial presentation to me. 

After all, I'm only asking them to talk about them self. If they can not do that, how are they going to thrive in any corporate culture? 

3. Energy

How does one exude confidence? With lots of energy, that's how. Work is more demanding than ever. The ability to keep up with the crazy pace we're all expected to maintain requires lots of energy. If that doesn't show in the interview, how in the world will a hiring leader have any confidence that it will mysteriously show up once you start the job?

How About You
What are your secrets to successful interviews? What would you add to my list? 

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.


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A Leader's Interview Guide (because you're horrible at it)

I hate to break this to you, but candidates no longer need you. They don’t need to feel lucky to land a job at your organizaiton. You’re not doing them any favors, and they certainly don’t need to grovel all over your office being thankful.

You need them.

They have all the power.

…and you could not be more ill-prepared to compete for them than you are right now.

Vacancies are the Worst

Consider the pressure you face every day:

- overtime

- staff morale

- turnover

- budget performance

- vacancies

- employee behavior

- regulatory constraints

The candidates do not need you…you need them.

Three Focus Areas

You can prepare yourself to interview effectively in many ways; however the three areas below should be considered mandatory if you are hoping to compete in the market today.

a) Your Digital Presentation

- they will search you online…100% of the time

- Linkedin (if your profile is lame, assume they think you are too)

- google yourself to learn how invisible you really are

Have you invested a few minutes to ensure you appear to be paying attention to our digital world? If not, you already look old and stale (regardless of how many candles will be on your cake the next time your birthday rolls around.)

b) Your Real Life presentation

- energy

- passion

- direct, well prepared questions

- humor

- listen to them

Have you invested the time to focus, removed the onslaught of noise from your mind, and committed to focusing exclusively on the person you’ll be interviewing? If not, you will come across just like every other hiring leader in the universe...distracted and arrogant.

c) Your Attitude

- don’t judge in the first five minutes

- be clear about your expectations

- be direct

Have you allowed yourself to have an open mind, and to consider that someone who doesn’t instantly fit into your clone-like vision of your team might actually add a diverse and fresh perspective? If not, it’s time to end the interview before it starts and head to your next recurring management meeting and vent about your circumstances.

How About You

Are you ready for 'your" next interview? Your candidates will be. In fact, they have done more research about you, than you have about them. 

What will they find? Anything at all?

Bueller?

How will you present yourself? How will you follow up after? Do you send thank you notes to candidates for coming in; or, should they leave feeling thankful for the opportunity to be in your presence?

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses. 

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Hello, I Love You

This post is taken from a completely fictitious interview I conducted with no one...or...everyone...who has ever been hired...by your company.

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Jay - Congratulations on your new job. You must be very excited?

Your New Employee - Yes, it's going to be great.

Jay - I'd love to hear about your experience joining your new company. Tell me about the process.

Your New Employee - Well, it's actually been more complicated than I expected. I saw the position posted online, and tried to apply, but their website was pretty old school, so I had to spend a lot of time just trying to get my application in.

Jay - That's too bad...but you know how applicant tracking systems can be...that's just how it goes.

Your New Employee - Um, I guess so.

Jay - Great! How about your interviews, I bet they were inspiring?

Your New Employee - Well, actually my screening interview was okay, but it was a real hassle getting to the next step to meet with the manager.

Jay - Oh yes, you know how meetings just clog up every one's calendars. That's the modern world of work...you know what I mean, right?

Your New Employee - I waited a couple of weeks to get my interview scheduled. Doesn't that seem a bit long to you? Particularly if the job was so important and needed to be filled right away? At least that's what the recruiter told me.

Jay - Yes! Those jobs are so important! This is great! Tell me about your first day, and the orientation you received. I bet it was awesome, right?

Your New Employee - Not exactly. I sat through a long day of lectures on benefits and policy reviews which probably could have been done ahead of time electronically.

Jay - Excellent! It sounds like they have a great program to get new employees up to speed. I love this! Keep going!

Your New Employee - What? I mean...okay. Once I found my way to my department the next day they didn't quite know what to do with me, so I sat around reading some more policies, and figuring out where to go for lunch.

Jay - Awesome! Lots of flexibility and no pressure as you got started. You must have felt so supported!

Your New Employee - To be honest with you, I didn't feel supported until a coworker reached out and helped me meet some people and show me the ropes. Then I started to feel like a part of the team.

Jay - Well, this has just been terrific. Congratulations again, it sounds like you have made a great career move. You clearly have joined a world class organization!

                         

How About You 

No, this wasn't real...or was it? What would your new team members say in an interview?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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