Being early – a secret way to access the hidden jobs market

By Neil Patrick

Fortune favours the punctual. Here’s why.

I post a lot of information here about techniques for getting hired in this hyper-difficult jobs market.

And they all involve some amount of effort. But here’s one which doesn’t. It just requires an adjustment of your schedule.

I was talking yesterday with a friend who’s a job search coach and he told me an interesting story.

He had a client who had applied for a job and got asked to attend an interview. She actually arrived almost an hour early and after signing in at the desk began her wait.

At this point, most people will sit down quietly in a corner waiting to be called to their interview. They’ll browse the magazines and newsletters, or read their resume and the job description over again.

This lady didn’t though. It was a busy open plan office and people were coming and going through the reception area constantly. Instead of quietly sitting down, she chatted with a few people. She told them she was there for an interview. And a little about what her background was.

Because she had prepared properly and knew a good deal about the business, she could talk about some of the things she knew the company was doing. She had also perfected her elevator pitch and used this as an opportunity to practise it. One person even asked her for her contact details.

She actually discovered a few more things about the firm that were useful snippets of information for her interview.

She had the interview. And a few days later she was called back to be informed she’d not been chosen.

She wasn’t in the least bit disappointed though. Because before she got this call, one of the people she’d talked to in the reception area had called her already to ask if she’d be interested in taking on a role they needed filling.

The job hadn’t been advertised. It was more senior and better paid than the one she’d interviewed for and she didn’t have to compete with any other candidates. Needless to say, she took the job.

Now this story isn’t statistically proven. It an anecdote. No more no less.

And will it happen to everyone who arrives early for an interview? Of course not.

But neither does it cost you anything. There’s no downside and a lot of possible upsides.

But what I like most about this story is that it shows how thinking outside of the box can make a big difference to outcomes. If this lady had just done the normal thing and quietly sat down waiting for her interview, speaking to no-one, she’d not have been hired. But she didn’t. She didn’t even plan this as a strategy; she just thought she’d make the best possible use of her time while waiting.

It just goes to show – fortune favours the brave…and the early!

Why the wrong people get hired and how to turn this to your advantage

By Neil Patrick

There are a lot of very average people that get hired simply because they fit a template. 

It’s not because these people are special. It’s because archaic approaches to selection have proved to be astonishingly persistent in many organisations. If you don't believe me, I think you'll change your mind, when you read some of the examples below, at least some of which I am sure you'll have personal experience of.

When these flawed approaches are combined with some bizarre thinking, it’s unlikely the best person for the job will be selected.

You cannot change this fact, but if you know what the process flaws are, you can use this knowledge to your advantage.

I’ve been talking to several recruiters recently about their businesses and how they and their clients go about the process of selection. And it’s clear the best person for a job is often not the one that ends up getting hired.

How can it be, when this is such an important decision and so much time, money and effort is invested in it, that so many poor decisions are made?

Well my conversations revealed that the supposed science of selection is frequently distorted and corrupted by a whole range of instinctive, almost primitive beliefs and practices.

1. Managers define the person rather than the job

Most job descriptions are written so that the desired person’s personal characteristics are much more specifically defined than the characteristics of the job requirements. These personal requirements presuppose what the person hired ought to have in terms of background, skills and experiences. Such profiles not are not job descriptions, they’re ‘person descriptions’.

Since clear definitions of work success have repeatedly been shown to be the main driver of personal performance, it seems obvious that managers should carefully define the work that needs to be done before defining the person they think can do the work.

Specific, key performance objectives should be the main part of a true job description. Not vague and generic characteristics like, “good communication skills”, “self-motivated”, or “results-orientated”

2. Getting the job requires a whole different skillset to doing the job

In an election, when deciding who to vote for, we often judge and choose based on our perception of the candidate’s presentation skills, not their ability to do the job.

Managers do the same with job candidates. They overvalue first impressions, likeability, and communication skills. They instinctively exclude those who are “different” in some way, temporarily nervous, or those who are not slick and polished interviewees.

 
3. People with personal connections are treated differently

People who are connected to the interviewer in some way are evaluated more fairly than a complete stranger. Strangers are assumed unqualified from the outset.

Ordinary candidates are assessed on the depth of their skills, level of direct experience, personality and first impression. These have been proven by research to be useless as predictors of future performance and fit.

The connected person has an automatic advantage – it’s assumed that they will fit with the team and culture of the organisation. Those who are unknown are not given this approval. They have to prove it and that can be difficult.

4. Managers ask irrelevant questions and assess people on meaningless facts

Brain teasers were proved to be of no value in selection processes long ago, but they remain a persistent feature of numerous interview and selection processes.

I heard of one CEO who predicted team skills based on whether or not the candidate picked up the coffee cups before leaving the interview room. I worked with a senior manager who co-related strong organizational and planning skills with a tidy desk, and would regularly carry out desk ‘inspections’, in the belief this would help him know who was performing and who wasn’t.

More recently, I heard about a manager who assumed that any person that could not keep to the appointed interview time for any reason at all lacked a strong work ethic.

5. The decision process is based on candidate features not benefits

Filling jobs with those who tick the largest number of boxes is a poor but common substitute for hiring the best person possible. The latter involves a dialogue aimed at acquiring an in-depth understanding of a person’s capabilities, aspirations and fit. There’s more give-and-take in the negotiation process. Both sides balance their long and short-term needs.

So, I have no doubt that the hiring processes in many, many cases are flawed and that the best candidates are often not the ones that get hired.

What can you do about this? Yes it’s unfair and counter-productive for everyone involved. But you have to face facts and ignore the things you cannot change, and focus instead on the things you can.

1. Pay close attention to the job description, however flawed it may be.

If the JD has been thrown together without due care and attention to detail, play them at their own game. Make sure that you include every clichéd key word from the JD in your resume AND then verify that you have that qualification, by means of providing an example of how you have delivered that result, or shown that capability in your previous job(s).

2. Recognise that the job interview will place undue importance on how well you present yourself, probably much more than how well you can do the job.

Approach the interview not so much as an exercise in showing what you know, more as an opportunity to seduce the interviewers. This is why you should pay close attention to every detail of your dress and personal presentation.

Understand that if you show an interest in the organisation and the job by asking appropriate questions, you’ll actually make the interviewers like you more and they will thus rate you more highly.

3. Adjust your target jobs to prioritise those where you may have a connection to the person hiring

This is where long-term investment in building a good personal network can really pay off. The bigger your network, the more chances you will have of finding vacancies where someone you know personally can come into play…whether it’s by giving you a confidential inside track, or in the best situations, actually putting you forward for consideration.

4. Don’t lose self-confidence following a rejection where you were the best candidate but still didn’t get hired.

I know this is easy to say and hard to do. But if you spotted any of the above process weaknesses I described above in your selection process, you can take heart from the knowledge that: 

• It was poor process by the hiring firm not your unsuitability that meant you didn’t get hired. 
• If the firm can’t get this key process right, maybe, it wasn’t such a great firm to join after all. 

For all the talk in HR circles about process quality and selection science, the sad fact is that the process flaws I describe above will probably never be banished completely. But at least if you know what they are, you have a chance to counter them.

How to transform your interview and defeat your competition

By Neil Patrick

If you think you know how to prepare for a job interview, think again. A recent survey of employers by job site Careerbuilder.com found that 39% of jobseekers failed because they didn’t properly research the company they were being interviewed by.

Whilst it might seem an obvious point that research is a key part of proper interview preparation, there’s a powerful secret extra benefit to doing this which I’ll reveal in a moment.

As Monster.co.uk points out, "Nothing is as disappointing as when a candidate oozes enthusiasm and then doesn't even know the most basic facts and figures about a company."

What’s more, in this digital age where so much information is freely available online, companies expect you to do this. There really is no excuse not to anymore.

What you need to know

Naturally, your aim is to appear knowledgeable about the company, its market position, plans for the future and the particular role you're applying for. With smaller employers especially, you should also reassure yourself that the company is financially sound.

It's also valuable to know about the culture within the company and a little about the person who’s interviewing you. You might just discover that you have connections, background or interests in common.

At the very least, their career history will give you valuable insights into how they are likely to think and what their particular focus at interview might be.

The company website

The first and most basic information source is the organisation’s own website. Any reasonably-sized firm is likely to have a blog or media centre. You'll find out what the company is doing right now, its products and services and how it markets them.

The website will probably also contain biographies of senior staff - possibly including your interviewer - and a list of important clients. If you extend your research to these clients, you can also pick up some very useful information that will enable you to talk knowledgeably at your interview.

Social media

Most companies now have a Facebook or Twitter account, and this can provide you with a good insight into the company culture. It's also very useful to look up the person that's interviewing you on LinkedIn. Do you have any contacts in common? If some of these are good personal connections of your own, it may well be worth having a private chat with them to get their insights.

Other websites

Job sites including Glassdoor and Inside Buzz, contain profiles of thousands of companies. Some have reviews written by current or former employees, which can tell you a lot about what working there is like.

When applying to small companies, provided you have some basic financial knowledge it is worth creating a Deudil account to check out the financial well-being of the company. That way, you won’t be blinded by any smokescreens by interviewers to cover up the real story. Make no mistake, companies in difficulty often keep on recruiting right up to the point of collapse…

Google is your friend…

The company’s website will only tell you what the company wants you to hear - and this may not give you the full story. Create a Google alert using the name of the organisation and/or business unit. This will give you daily updates of any news items about the company.

You can find out how your target company is doing by using Google searches such as "(company name) + research + share price". With luck, you'll find research reports about how your target company is performing, and some independent expert opinion on its prospects.

You'll need a context in which to put all you've learned about your potential new employer. So check out their competitors' websites too.

Get smart with social media tools

A valuable tool to help you establish the success level of the company on social media is Kred. I was recently talking to a client about their online marketing strategy. I showed them how their competitors were scoring higher than them on Kred and why. They had no idea this was the case. And this news made them really sit up and take notice of the plans I was proposing for them. Had I been applying for a job, this sort of insight would have been really valuable too.

How to use the information

After all this, you'll have a heap of information about your prospective employer. But you need to utilise it tactfully. Posts to the company's social media sites, may well include some customer complaints; unless the site's swamped with them, this doesn't automatically mean you should reject the company as a prospective employer.

Once you get into the interview, it may be tempting to try and showcase all your homework by dragging as many facts as you can into the conversation. Whilst this will make you look keen, it's much better to hold back a little and simply use what you've learned as and when it comes up. Your aim is to look as if you knew it all already. Where you've uncovered negative information about the company, a lawsuit, a fall in profits or any other negative information - it's best to avoid mentioning it altogether.

So, prepare, prepare, prepare!

I promised I’d let you in on a secret at the start of this post. And here it is.

A couple of years ago I was interviewed for an executive board position on a major UK plc.

Before the interview I wrote down every question I thought I might be asked, from the deceptively simple ‘tell me about yourself’, to the testily specific ‘what’s your take on the regulatory frameworks in the market’. And everything in between. I scripted the best answers I could come up with, polished them and learned them so I could more or less recite them word perfectly.

But I didn't just prepare answers, I prepared almost as many questions. I wanted the interview to be as much of a discussion as I could make it. And for that, I needed good questions. This would not only take the pressure off me a little, it would show if I chose the right questions, that I had really done my homework.

To find the right questions I really went to work on my research. I mean really went to work. I got hold of every news report and company statement I could find. I tracked the share price history. I used LinkedIn and other social media to discover the name and background of every senior person in the business. I researched their competitors. And their competitors’ strategies. I made notes on all the market sector reports and analysis I could find.

All in all, I think I spent about five full days of work preparing. But at the end, I was so prepared and ready, that I knew I would put on my best possible performance. When the day came and I sat in the reception area, waiting to go into the interview, I was calm, focussed and actually looking forward to the interview and having the discussion.

As it turned out, the interview was just between the CEO and myself. And it was the simplest interview I’ve ever had. It was more like a friendly chat than an interview.

And this was because my research meant that instead of me passively responding to a string of questions, I was able to not only answer every one, but also bring up relevant topics I had discovered through my research. And since most CEOs love talking about their companies, we ended up having an interesting and engaging discussion.

At a stroke, I had proved that I was super knowledgeable about the business and therefore interested and qualified. But critically, the interview turned into a two way discussion…and I’m certain that it facilitated a more meaningful dialogue as a result. I was no longer a passive participant - I was actively steering the conversation too.

Of course this couldn't have happened if I was being interviewed by several people or a panel. But the key point remains - proper preparation will make you more relaxed, more confident, and more knowledgeable. Do it thoroughly and the extent of your preparation will be clear, proving that you really want the job...in a positive way.

So don’t just think that research is about showing that you know a little about the company…do it right and you can change the whole interview process for the better and empower yourself too.

Show you mean business and let your competitors have the stress instead!

The poisonous words that undermine your credibility

By Neil Patrick

The words we choose determine who we are to the ears of everyone we speak to.

I just read a post here at Fast Company by Hunter Thurman which proposed that overuse of the word "so" in business conversations undermines our credibility.

But I don’t agree with his argument that the word "so" is particularly damaging. Here’s an extract from his post.

Hunter argued that:

1. “SO” INSULTS YOUR AUDIENCE

That little head cock, slight furrowing of the brow, and set-up with “so” says to your audience, “I’m trying to dumb this down so someone like you may have at least a chance of comprehending the importance of what I do.”

The person with whom you’re talking won’t call you on it, because he won’t even consciously recognize it. But the convention we’ve all created around “so” will register subconsciously, and the damage will be done.

2. “SO” UNDERMINES YOUR CREDIBILITY

The “so” setup also announces: here comes the rehearsed part of my discussion.

It’s like a poker player’s tell that announces to your audience that they’re about to get pitched. This one is easier to observe than the insult I talked about above--just walk up to the first peer you encounter and ask him what he’s working on.

He’ll follow with, “So, I’m optimizing our UI to better convert... ”

It’s obvious that you just heard his “public” version of his current workload. The more honest answer might be something like, “I’m trying to figure out where one f-ing period is jagging up all this code... ”

3. “SO” DEMONSTRATES THAT YOU’RE NOT 100% COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT YOU’RE SAYING

Just as the “so” setup announces that this portion of the conversation will be very deliberate, it also demonstrates that you’re not as comfortable with your story as you think you are.

Rather than just plainly answering their question, you’re relying on the crutch of a practiced blurb. Usually, whatever follows “so” is a carefully crafted sentence, evolved over many iterations and audience reactions.

I do not agree. And judging by the comments on Hunter’s post a lot of people feel the same way.

The word “so” is a conjunction. And anyone who has a basic grasp of grammar knows the rule which says you should never begin a sentence with a conjunction.

“And” is also a conjunction. And I choose to begin sentences with it all the time. I know I’m breaking the rules of good grammar. But, (yes that’s another conjunction) I do so deliberately. I happen to think that blogging doesn’t benefit from the application of strict grammar. It should be conversational. It should be easy to read. It should flow. Plenty of top selling fiction writers know this. And they do the same thing.

Personally, if someone uses the word “so” at the beginning of a sentence in a business conversation with me, I don’t mark them down. I interpret it as simply meaning “what I am about to say has a causal relationship with the previous thing I said”. And that’s fine with me.

So, I think Hunter has arrested the wrong suspect.

But (yes I did it again), I agree with him that the words we choose to use determine how we are perceived by an audience. And I’d like to propose a list of villains that I think really qualify for incarceration.

How about these:

Like…

“‘I like horror movies” is just fine. “I’m like thinking” is not. For some reason, this has become the default tic of young females, especially in the US and UK. It implies youth, but also cluelessness.

You know?

This is just annoying. And a little insulting. Of course I know. You just told me (or are about to).

Frankly

The speaker is striving for the implication that they’re being honest. Which suggests to me they are not.

Right?

As a tic inserted in every paragraph, not only is it irritating, after a while the listener begins to wonder if you’re not trying to convince yourself. Right?

Literally

Another one which when combined with “like” promotes a quiet raging inside me. Some people apparently don’t understand what the word really means. They just use it for general emphasis. If you use it, you risk being dumped into the bucket with them.

I freely admit I am not without guilt as anyone who has spoken with me will testify. I'm perhaps the world’s greatest hesitator and at least half of my spoken sentences are prefixed by a great big ‘ummm’.

I know I do it and I try hard to minimise it. But I know I’ll never banish it completely.

And that is OK I think.

No, our real enemy is our unconscious use of the words which sneak into our vocabulary through others’ repetition and overuse.

The solution isn’t to banish words from our vocabulary. Or to apply strict rules of grammar. It’s to try and hear ourselves when we speak. Learn to listen to ourselves and make every word count.

You might think none of this matters in our normal day to day conversations. And I’d agree. But if we use these times to practice our mindful choice of vocabulary, we’ll be much better able to present ourselves credibly when the important speaking occasions arise.

So, it’s like you know, let’s literally think about the stuff we say. Frankly we’ll be perceived in a better light. Right?

5 Great interview questions to challenge your interviewer

By Neil Patrick and David Hunt, PE

My good friend and regular poster here David Hunt has come up with five really great questions that will challenge any interviewer.

Having some epic questions on hand for the end of the interview is a stumbling block for many. So we hope these give you some ready made ideas!

Here’s why good questions are important:

1. It shows you have prepared properly 
2. It demonstrates to your interviewer that know how to ask good questions. And in most management jobs, this is a vital skill. 
3. Most importantly, it can give you valuable insights about the job and culture of the organisation, which may well affect your subsequent negotiations, assuming you are offered the job. It might even persuade you, you don't want the job!

It’s not that they are devious (well perhaps a bit), but they will impress your interviewer that you have thought outside the box and are not wasting this vital opportunity to learn the things that are really important to you.

After all, at an interview you should be testing your potential employer as much as they are testing you. It should be a two way process.

And at the very least, every one of them holds the potential for you to enjoy watching your interviewer squirming!

Here are David’s five questions (and every one’s a corker!):

Why shouldn’t I work here?

Yes, you read that right. It’s a twist on “Why should I want to work here?” I actually read that as a recommended question for candidates – i.e., “Why shouldn’t we hire you?” – intended to put people outside their comfort zones; IMHO, those types of questions are deliberately intended to shake candidates up – because people who are rattled tend to make more mistakes.

This one will definitely put your interviewer outside their comfort zone, opening them up for some follow-on questions. (Hey, if they can ask questions to rattle you, turnabout is fair play – but I only recommend this if they are already asking “rattle the candidate” questions.)

Among many other possibilities, you might learn that while they’re willing to dish out such questions, they’re not used to “uppity” candidates asking equivalent questions in turn. (Body language will tell much here.)

How do you determine your salary ranges?

I just read an article, here, with a question “Why are you asking for that salary?” Too many companies these days are salary-obsessed, not value-obsessed. In the case of this question, candidates are asked to justify their salary request.

Turn it around – after they bring up salary, of course (e.g., “Well, I’m looking for a salary range from X to Y… if I might ask, how do you determine your salary ranges?”).

And if they talk about doing market surveys, competitive analysis, and so on, ask where they fall in that range? If the answer is something like “We try to be competitive” what they’re really saying is that they try to be enough above average to brag about… while expecting to hire the cream of the crop.



How do you check people out on social media websites? 

 What do you consider important things to look for? And how do you know, absent a picture, whether a “hit” on google is the right person?

This is generally intended for HR, but could be aimed at a hiring manager as well. Social media checking is the latest thing for vetting candidates – and by asking “how” you subtly convey that you expect them to do it, after all it’s not IF they will look for you, it’s WHERE – and what they do with the information.

By explicitly addressing this question you find out what they do. And if you’ve found some information related to someone else, or information from a while ago when you were hot-headed and posted something you now regret, this is a chance to head it off proactively.

See here, here, here, here, and here for a lot more of my thoughts – shameless self-promotion here!



Where do people typically eat lunch?

This is not an inquiry about the local restaurant scene; it is an inquiry into the culture. The cultures are very different as indicated by whether people have (or take) the time to go to the cafeteria to eat and socialize, vs. bolting lunch down at their desk trying to get more work done.

As a follow-up question, to the hiring manager, is “What’s your favorite local restaurant?” or, possibly, “When’s the last time you ate out for lunch?” If you really want to be sneaky, and not sound like you’re food-obsessed, ask the favorite restaurant question only (ideally, as you lean back into a relaxed pose). If the hiring manager has a dumb look on their face, and can’t answer after a moment’s thought, it means they don’t go out to lunch, ever. Which means, likely, that nobody else does… and likely everyone eats at their desk to squeeze more work out.



How do plan your peoples’ development?

Lots of companies talk about professional development. Many tout tuition programs. But for the most part, companies these days leave a person’s career development up to the person. This is an error.

Now I’m not saying that a person should be pushed through to career positions that they truly don’t want. Companies as an organization, however, have a vested interest in identifying “high potential” people internally, and helping them develop – both educationally as well as with assignments that broaden their perspectives and time horizons of their decisions – and I don’t mean individual managers picking their own “Golden Children” to nurture… I mean by a systematic, formal process.

The best companies proactively help people along in their careers without having to have people, themselves, do all the planning work and identification of training / developmental assignments.


If you have any personal favorite questions you’d like to add, please post then below and we’ll be happy to share them.

The 6 job interviews you can never win

By Neil Patrick

There are six job interview situations, in which it doesn’t matter how good you are, how excellently your perform at the interview, you will not get hired.

For all the talk about excellent hiring practices, process quality, talent management, investing in people, the hiring process has always been and will continue to be imperfect.

If you are struggling to understand why you didn’t get hired for a job you were easily the best candidate for, I’m willing to wager that one of the following six reasons applied.

Here they are:

1. The comfort factor. These are legitimate reasons from the employer’s point of view. They include your current or previous salary level, relocation requirements, and recent experience. You may be perfectly willing to settle for a lower salary than you have enjoyed previously. You may also be perfectly happy to up sticks and move to the other side of the country. And learn any new skills that may be required. But the employer will perceive that these adjustments will make you feel uncomfortable and hence less motivated. Result: you’re rejected. 

2. Your age. I’m not just talking about discrimination against older candidates here either. For some roles, the grey hair factor is a definite plus. Of course it’s nonsense. And yes it’s also illegal, but it’s so easy to dodge the accusation of age bias, that plenty of employers can and do. 

3. The internal candidate. Firms will sometimes advertise a position even when they have no intention of hiring because they have an internal candidate lined up. But the company wants to legitimise this decision, so they benchmark the internal candidate against who else is available. The odds are heavily stacked against you in this situation. The internal candidate, who is a known quantity is almost guaranteed to get the job.

4. You’re better than your boss. Again, this is almost impossible to win; the hiring manager feels that you are so competent that you could do their job. Even if you don’t want their job, and are fully prepared to be a supportive sub-ordinate, they will worry that your expertise may expose shortcomings in their own. The outcome is they will choose a less well qualified candidate. 

5. Looks matter. Nepotism is alive and well. So is positive discrimination that favours the physically attractive. The sad truth is that if you’re up against someone with film star good looks, they’ve got an automatic bonus card over you. I won’t even discuss what happens when a hiring manger feels a strong physical attraction to a candidate. 

6. Incompetent interviewers. Hiring managers are rarely trained interviewers. This has always been a problem, and it’s become worse. In the tough times we have gone through, interview skills training for every manager is a luxury few can afford. The result is that at best your technical competencies will get a fair appraisal, but your other soft competencies and value adding capabilities will not. Worse an untrained interviewer may be easily influenced by a less competent candidate that can dazzle them with slick talking.

If you have an interview failure and any one of these situations applies, you can at least take consolation that even though you were not chosen, it doesn’t reflect badly on you.

Yes, it’s not fair. Yes it may be counterproductive for the employer. But you can walk away with your self-confidence intact…and that’s exactly what you should do. Never take such situations personally and move on, safe and confident in the knowledge that you were not beaten by a better person.

If you've experienced any of these situations, do please share these in the comments below.

How to turn yourself into a winning job candidate

By David Hunt, PE

In replying to someone’s comment on my posting Am I a Fit? in a LinkedIn group, I had a flash of insight for another essay.

When writing resumes, and especially when in an interview, there are several acronyms for techniques used to outline your accomplishments. The one I know is SPAR - Situation, Problem, Action, Result. What was the Situation – the environment, the product or service – in which you were working? What was the Problem you faced; what Action did you take; what Result came from that action (ideally something quantifiable)?

But there’s something missing. And so at the risk of creating an unwieldy acronym, I want to propose:

SPARTACUS

Situation, Problem, Action, Result… Transferable, Aimed, Customized, and US.

Transferable: Based on your research, can you highlight the skills you exercised in this item that can transfer directly to the company where you are interviewing?

Aimed: The examples need to be aimed at specific problems they’re having – or are likely to be having.

Customized: The more you can customize your story to that particular company, the better.

US: Try to discuss the problem and your transferable skills as if you were already there.

Now that I’ve probably got your head spinning, let me back up. Much of this presupposes that you already understand specific problems the company is having. Well, as many job search advice articles hammer home… do your homework.

Read up on the company, both on their own website, the product line, competitors, and the industry in general. Peruse the job description word by word. Often times the order of duties in the description/posting is keyed to the problems they’re experiencing. Can you network to people in the company through LinkedIn or elsewhere to learn more – assuming, of course, that you have the time to do this. But even an after-hours phone call can yield great information; you don’t need a face-to-face lunchtime informational meeting. An article on LinkedIn gives some interesting tips for this.

Can you post to topical LinkedIn groups? Put out the word on your own network (alumni groups can be of enormous help in this) that you will be interviewing at the company… not only will you – hopefully! – get some good info, but it’s entirely possible that someone from that company might see your request for information. First, they might offer to help. Second, they may know someone who is interviewing you (or be one of the interviewers). Showing publicly that you have an active interest in being informed can, IMHO, do nothing but good things if the company learns you are doing solid preparation.

Next, there’s the interview itself. Take charge. As the hiring manger enters the room, be standing already. Proactively go over as they come in, shake their hand; “Mr. So-and-so, glad to meet you. I’m really excited at being interviewed for <position title>; what kinds of problems would you have me working on out of the gate?” (Remember, many people don’t like doing interviews; so long as you’re not pushy about it, they may appreciate your taking an active role in the conversation.)

Wham! You’ve shown you have energy, drive, and you’ve opened the door for them to vent about their “pain points”. You’ve also painted yourself as if you’re already in the position ready to get started on Day One.

As they talk, take mental notes. The things they say will then guide your SPARTACUS answers from then on. Remember – you are not in an interview because you need a job, but because they have problems they need to solve.

By taking a SPARTACUS approach to the interview conversation you:

1. Highlight accomplishments you’ve already made

2. Show how you can transfer skills to their problems – don’t rely on them to make those inferences

3. Demonstrate enthusiasm and initiative because you’ve clearly taken the time to do your homework

4. Get the interviewer to envision you in particular in the role

© 2014, David Hunt, PE

David Hunt is a Mechanical Design Engineer in southern New Hampshire looking for his "next opportunity" that allows him to design new products and shepherd them to stable production. His LinkedIn profile is: www.linkedin.com/in/davidhuntmecheng/; he blogs at davidhuntpe.wordpress.com and tweets at @davidhuntpe.

Body Language Makeover for Interview (and life) Success

By Neil Patrick

We all know that some people are more confident about themselves than others. We also know that this confidence often makes them more successful, whether their true aptitude warrants this or not.

And we’ve all observed how confident, even arrogant personalties seem to be able to harness something almost primal to win through. What is this?

Is it just attitude? Is it body chemistry? Is it social conditioning?

Are there things that we can all do which can make us feel more confident and thus perform better? There have always been plenty of coaches and other pseudo-scientific types telling us that this is indeed possible. But the assertion was always just that – it was never really backed up by much science.

But it turns out now that this isn’t just new age nonsense. The truth is now borne out by the results of experiments.

Amy Cuddy at Harvard business school has carried out research to discover how certain body postures affect our performance at critical events in our lives. She tested results at job interviews in particular. She used what she calls ‘power postures’ to see if these could make a difference. And the findings are frankly amazing.

Both humans and animals express power through their bodies. They tumble in on themselves when they feel unsure, making themselves smaller by hunching over, crossing their arms over their chest and avoiding big movements. When they feel on top of the world, they sprawl out. Amy wondered - could adopting these postures change a person’s internal state actually make them feel more powerful?

Not only that, could this feeling of increased power really result in better performance and how we are perceived by others?

“Our nonverbals govern how we think and feel about ourselves. Our bodies change our minds,” she says.

But it’s not just about feeling better, Amy’s research found that when positive physical postures and self-talk, as she calls it, ‘fake it until you make it’, have a profound influence on the actual outcomes in people’s lives.

If you think that you’ve not really got the results you deserve, then this is a must see video. Better still, you’ll discover what you can do that takes almost no time at all, to capitalise on what Amy has discovered.

To hear Cuddy’s powerful story of how power posing helped her get her own life on track, watch her TEDx talk below. You’ll hear stories of how power posing has worked for others, as well as transforming her own life, enabling her to overcome a car accident which seriously damaged her mental faculties.

The acclaim for Amy’s work has been widespread:

From a male high school physics teacher in the United States:

“I introduced my AP Physics students to power posing last spring. One student in particular was always so nervous during assessments and therefore her test scores did not represent her abilities at all. We all know that old saying about correlation and causation — and this was no scientific study — but from that day forward that student power posed before every physics test and her grades went from high ‘C’s and low ‘B’s to where she belonged — in the mid to lower ‘A’s. I’m convinced that power posing helped her even if it is difficult to prove.”

From an online commenter:

“It’s nice to see that there’s scientific support for Oscar Hammerstein’s King and I lyrics: ‘Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head erect and whistle a happy tune, so no one will suspect I’m afraid …The result of this deception is very strange to tell, for when I fool the people I fear, I fool myself as well.’”

From a male musician in Canada:

“I tried your ‘power positions’ right before I went on stage with a symphony, and I have to say, it was the best performance I have had in terms of nerves in my life.”

From a woman in finance in the United States:

“I power posed before my third interview for a job the other day! Moving onto fourth and final interview on Tuesday!!! I was seriously nervous and power posing calmed me down … Okay, there was a fifth interview today. I was freaking out, so while waiting I walked outside and power posed on the street. I can’t believe how much better I felt. And I did really well on the interview.”

Skype interviews: Why they are increasing and how to handle them

By Hannah Briggs

The job interview is an ordeal that most people face at some stage in their career. But as video starts to take the place of the face-to-face interview, is it easier or harder now to land your dream job?

The job interview as we know it may never have existed if it wasn't for Thomas Edison.

Frustrated with hiring college graduates who lacked the right knowledge, Edison devised the first employment questionnaire to narrow down his applicant pool.

The survey was thought to be so difficult that in 1921 the New York Times nicknamed it a "Tom Foolery test" and claimed only a "walking encyclopaedia" could succeed.

Questions included: "What is the weight of air in a room 20ft x 30ft x 10ft?" and "Where are condors to be found?"

But today the trick to making a good impression at interview may be less about what you know and more about how you come across on camera.

Jean Luc, a 30-year-old marketing professional from Greenwich, recently had his first video interview for a role at a web start-up company based in Berlin.

"I had the usual nerves before my interview. But I Skype all the time as my parents live in South Africa so it felt like a much more familiar process. What I found quite disconcerting was when I first turned on the video, my interviewer had his camera turned off.

"It would have been awkward if I turned my camera off and on again so I just went through the interview with a black screen. It was a bit like talking to myself."

Looking in the wrong place is just one of the common pitfalls of video interviews, says New York-based career coach and blogger Megan Broussard.

"It's tempting to watch yourself in that little box to make sure your hair isn't in your face or that you're not making weird facial expressions. But the truth is that it is very distracting to the other party and can come across as shy and even insincere - two qualities both employers and new hires want to avoid.

"It's OK to watch the speaker on the screen, but respond by looking into the camera to create the illusion of direct eye-contact, always."

In the US more than six out of 10 HR managers now use video to interview job applicants, according to a survey.

A growing number of UK firms are adopting a similar approach, says Claire McCartney, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

"Video interviewing is becoming an attractive option as organisations branch out overseas," says McCartney.

How to cruise a video interview


Tips from Megan Broussard - aka Professional - a career coach and blogger from New York:

· Set the stage: Make the room you're in a reflection of your work -polished

· A plain backdrop can be less distracting

· Test the lighting: Even if your camera isn't the highest quality, make sure it flatters your features and the interviewer can see you clearly

· Dress the part: Be as conservative as the organisation - wear smart bottoms in case you have to get up during the interview

· Work the camera: Minimise the video image of you so you're not tempted to watch yourself

· The employer expects eye contact and anything else will distract him or her

· Do a test run: Call a friend or family member to make sure speakers and microphone are working and they can hear you clearly

As well as live interviewing on services like Skype, some firms are giving video "questionnaires" for candidates to record.

The UK company, Webrecruit, reports a steady increase in the use of automated video interviewing over the past few years. Employers can view recorded responses from candidates in their own time.

"Clients will input their questions, then the candidate receives an automated email inviting them to sit the interview," explains Webrecruit's Leona Matson. "The interviewee can then sit the interview within an allocated time frame, the answers are recorded, and then the client can view it at a time that suits them."

As hiring becomes more global for candidates and employers, video interviews can be much more cost-effective.

In 2012 employers in the UK spent an average of 10 working days interviewing, 16% of the working week travelling to meet candidates and £3,286 reimbursing candidates' travel expenses, according to a survey carried out by Cammio - a Dutch company specialising in online video services.

"The significant drain on time and resources companies face when scheduling and carrying out interviews means for many, it can be an expensive and time-consuming task," says Matson.

For large firms with international graduate schemes, the savings can be significant. Sellafield's graduate scheme cited cost savings of £14,000 using video technology to screen interview candidates.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) also report cutting recruitment costs by 20% using automated video assessments for first-round interviews.

First impressions are still crucial.

"You can definitely gain a better first impression of candidates using a combination of video and CV rather than their CV only," says Walter Hueber, chief executive of Cammio. "It's much more visual and allows you to get a broader assessment of the candidate."

But does the technology give the younger generation an unfair advantage?

"It can take some getting used to," says Peter Russell of VuCall, a company offering video consultations based in London. "When we started three years ago, it took some time for people in a business context to feel comfortable seeing themselves on screen. After a while though, they just got used to it and learned to relax."

Jean Luc says he would prefer to do all his interviews via video in future, to avoid unnecessary anxiety.

"This way you avoid the pressure of getting to the interview on time, getting stuck in traffic or worrying so much about what to wear. I felt much more at ease interviewing at home and I was able to think more clearly before responding."

But sometimes you can't beat face-to-face contact says Mike Parker, who runs Pitchcoach, a business communication consultancy.

"I suspect that for senior jobs face-to-face will continue. You can't see the handshake. You can't see how they walk into the room."

"Half of all business travel, in theory, could be substituted with telecommunications, but it isn't. Why?"

This post originally appeared here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21334710

Interview Failure: Next Steps

BY MARCIA LAREAU

Interviewing is a skill that takes practice.

This is perhaps the most difficult part of the job search process. After the exhausting roller coaster of emotions that surround the interview process, receiving the bad news is particularly difficult. For help on managing the emotional trauma, consider the blog series: Unemployment: The breeding ground for rejection (February 2012).

What should you do? Here is a list for your consideration. 

When you receive the news: 

Be professional and gracious:

“Thank you for calling. I’m disappointed but I’m grateful you considered me for this position. Is there anything you can tell me that will strengthen my next interview?” (See the note below on this.)

“Thank you. I appreciate your help. If there are other opportunities with ________ (Name of Company) in the future, I hope you will contact me.”

Take time alone or with trusted friends to process the news.

You may wish to tap into your personal support network to ensure your self-belief is not affected by this outcome. Or you may choose to deal with the situation on your own. Whichever you choose just remember, the decision about this job has absolutely no bearing, influence or relevance to the next job you are interviewed for.

Do not allow this outcome to diminish your estimation of your value

We all know that decisions about who is hired and who is not are driven by a multitude of factors. And your personal quality may very well have been greater than all the other applicants even though you were not offered this particular job.

Create a communication plan: 

• Communicate the news professionally, and maintain your dignity.

• Write thank-you notes to the company contacts. Indicate something personal that you appreciated during the process. Keep it short and encourage further interaction. Include your contact information.

• Use a handwritten format for small to mid-sized companies, formal businesses (law firms, libraries, local government, etc.) Use email for large companies, corporations, and recruiters. 

Identify lessons learned and record changes for future opportunities: 

• Reconsider your dress, mannerisms, and verbiage.

• Make a note of any of the interview questions you may not have been prepared for.

Track your personal thoughts about your interview and review past thoughts in light of the current information:

• Remain positive, move to the next step in your Employment Action Plan. 

• Stay focused.

• Identify what works for you in this situation.

• Avoid “beating yourself up”. (This is a new skill that takes practice.)

• Maintain your commitment to the process.

• Monitor your thoughts and avoid negativity triggers.

Should you ask for feedback? 

Unless the source is trusted, I usually advise against this. I make exception if you are in the first five years of your career. 

If you didn’t get the position and you ask for feedback, the person will feel obligated to respond with some element that was problematic. They might be concerned that a lawsuit could follow…so they may make something up or relay false information that has no credibility, causes pain, and adds unnecessary apprehension in your next interview.

Called a Creative Thinker, Career Futurist, and a person of unusual solution, Marcia LaReau founded Forward Motion, LLC in 2007. Since that time, she has become a recognized leader in the employment industry, and Forward Motion has spread across the United States and abroad to help jobseekers find jobs that fit.

Website: http://forwardmotioncareers.com/
Blog: http://forwardmotioncareers.com/category/blog/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ForwardMotionUS

The best interview questions you’ve never seen before

By David Hunt, PE

“Since before your sun burned hot in space… I have awaited a question.” - The Guardian of Forever, Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever.


Questions are the lifeblood of an interview. The interviewer asks the candidate questions. Too often, though, candidates do not ask questions in reply. This should be a conversation, not a one-way interrogation. Reading the online literature from job search coaches, they all discuss the need to ask questions as a part of the interviewee’s presentation. Questions show interest, motivation, and they give the interviewee information to judge the employer, not to mention their potential boss, in turn.

Multiple sites and columns exist with scores upon hundreds of questions for candidates to consider asking in an interview. If you search with google or bing the phrase “questions to ask on/during an interview” you will find more questions than you can possibly imagine – many are good, and when interviewing I try to ask them if I can get a word in edgewise. But I’d like to discuss a few of my favorites which I’ve not seen elsewhere.

Who will introduce me to the people outside the department with whom I will need to interact to get my job done?

Not “Will I be introduced”, not even “how”, but “who”. This puts a spotlight onto both the company’s and hiring manager’s onboarding process, and the role of HR. It also highlights their commitment to you as a new person to help you get up to speed. A lack of this basic action as a standard part of the process implies weakness in other aspects of your coming on board – the “Here’s your anvil, now go swimming” mentality is not going to be conducive to your success. Body language can speak volumes here, especially if they have no such process. I’ve seen people literally squirm and shift uncomfortably when I ask this.

How are decisions made here?

This is actually a double-whammy question. The first is that it gives insight into how the group functions. Are big decisions done by committee, by one person, etc.? But it’s also an insight into the perspective of the manager… because decisions are not made by teams, but by a person. Teams can recommend courses of action, they can agree on a consensus or majority path to choose, but ultimately the decision to do X and not Y has to be made by a person, even if that person decides to accept the recommendation of a group.



How long have you worked here, and what is your story of how you ended up here? How has it measured against your expectations?

This is a chance to learn more about the career history of your potential manager. This is also a chance to see how the company’s marketing to potential employees, and their self-serving spin (and they all do self-serving spin, just as candidates do), matches the reality. In particular watch their body language as they describe the correlation between their own expectations vs. reality.


If you could change one thing here, what would it be? And is that a local phenomenon, or is it global to the whole company (if a large company)?

This is another chance to see what a potential sore point your manager might have about the place. It’s also a great question to ask a potential colleague who also reports to them. Ideally, do both. First, you get to see how peoples’ perceptions of organizational weaknesses align with the different perspectives of position. It’s also a good segue to learn more about your possible new boss from their subordinate, without specifically asking.


How long ago did you move from being an individual contributor to a manager? What induced you to make that switch, and do you have any regrets?

Again, this is a chance to learn more about your potential boss’ history and motivation. But there’s more. If they’re new to their level of responsibility, they might be nervous about someone gunning for their chair, and scared they’re not up to their new responsibilities. And if they have regrets, that’s a warning sign they might micromanage and possibly meddle in your day-to-day activities, because they want to keep their hands in the business of their subordinates, as opposed to managing it.


What happened the last time a big project went awry? What did you learn, and how do you keep these issues from happening again?

A number of things can come from these questions – so ask several people. The first is that there is no organization that is so fine-tuned that projects don’t go off the rails to some degree. A company that says it’s never happened either has a really poor collective memory, or people are hiding reality. The second thing is that it gives an indication of how flexible and adaptable the organization is. It’s also an opening for one of the people to descend into finger-pointing, which can teach you a lot about how the company handles people who make mistakes. And last, informal companies fight fires but are unable to prevent them from happening again. Good companies document and disseminate such information formally. Where are you interviewing?


Describe the best, most successful project that you’ve seen done here.

The answers to this question can reveal if the company does projects well, if things going right is considered normal or not, and what’s involved in a successful project.


I’m curious; what are the top three things about my background that interested you?

This forces the hiring manager to bring to mind specific things they liked about your background (as opposed to the question about any shortcomings or objections, which forces them to think of negative things). It also gives you insight about what the company values in general, which can help you color your answers to emphasize the traits that led to the accomplishments they cite. Lastly, if you know you are an “imperfect fit” for the position, it can indicate what they value enough to bring you in anyway despite those things that are lacking.


Have you ever abandoned a significant project (or cut loose a client, or whatever is suitable to your profession)? What went into that decision?

Not everything in a business works out. If they’ve never done this, they’ve either been blessed with extraordinary success, or are so desperate for revenue or cost savings that they don’t dare give up anything, or are too stubborn to cut their losses on something… among many possible reasons. Regardless of the root cause, this is useful to know.

Stock questions have their uses, and many are good and worth asking. But just as good candidates have created stock answers to stock questions – and there are a million “best answers to top interview questions” articles and books – so too have veteran interviewers created stock answers to the canned questions from candidates. Just as interviewers try to ferret out information from candidates, candidates must do the same.

In the sci-fi masterwork novel Dune, which I’ve praised before (don’t bother with the movie IMHO; I suffered through it so that I could recommend you avoid it – instead read it, and then immediately start reading it again), arch-villain Baron Harkonnen is gloating to his nephew Rabban about having suborned his enemy Duke Leto Atreides’ trusted employee, Doctor Huey. The doctor, a graduate of the Suk medical school (famous in that novel’s universe for the loyalty of their students to their employers), has conditioning and training that supposedly precludes exactly this type of betrayal. Rabban asks “Does the Emperor know you’ve suborned a Suk doctor?”

The Baron was surprised and paused, thinking “That was a penetrating question.”

Surprise your interviewers. Ask penetrating questions.

© 2013, David Hunt, PE

David Hunt is a Mechanical Design Engineer in southern New Hampshire looking for his "next opportunity" that allows him to design new products and shepherd them to stable production. His LinkedIn profile is: www.linkedin.com/in/davidhuntmecheng/; he blogs at davidhuntpe.wordpress.com and tweets at @davidhuntpe.

7 seconds - why that's all you may have to succeed or fail at interview

By David Hunt, PE

Two animals meet – in a diorama played out countless times across hundreds of millions of years. Within seconds, each must size the other up. Is this a friend or foe, predator or prey? And if of the same species, an ally, a rival, or a potential mate? Each animal must make an instinctive judgment about the other based on sight, sound, and smell with three drivers that are axiomatic:

1. Speed of decision. When an animal meets another for whom they might be on the menu, they need to decide quickly whether it’s “fight or flight”. Similarly, an animal looking for a meal needs to decide quickly to pounce before the other reacts. In either case, animals that take their time risk being lunch, or missing it.

2. Even if of the same species, while cannibalism is exceedingly rare in most cases, strangers are often rivals – for food or for mates, likely both; never mind other possible same-species threats. Again, this drives the need for a speedy judgment about the other to evaluate them against multiple possibilities, the majority of which aren’t good.

3. A bias towards fear and dislike. Any animal that gives another the benefit of the doubt risks not living to pass its genes along.

So making snap judgments about another is hardwired into us with a bias towards being distrusting. This is backed up by research – most communication is non-verbal as is routinely cited in innumerable places. How we appear, how we move, and sound, and smell. Many people in the job search business coach that a good first impression is the key to a successful interview, and in my own efforts to help others I tell people that most interviews are over in the first few minutes, with the remainder of the time being dedicated to the interviewer looking for things to justify the decision they made.

By pure coincidence several articles have come across my computer’s screen right as I was writing this article.

The first, Why Qualified Candidates Don’t Get Hired, cites several factors that can make or break a good first impression, to wit: your clothing, your handshake, your breath, your general enthusiasm. He cites William Knegendorf, who is a consultant, speaker, and author on hiring strategies for individuals and organizations:

While surveying 327 Hiring Mangers on how long it takes (on average) for them to decide NO to hiring an applicant after the beginning of an interview, [Knegendorf’s] data showed an average time to rejection of 4 to less than 10 seconds. And what did the hiring managers he surveyed say was the cause of their rush to judgment? “I didn’t like them.” Skills or talent was never mentioned.

Reread that quotation and mull it over a little. Less than ten seconds and the interview might be over. The door is still open, or it has closed in the time that you, the job seeker, have smiled, shaken their hand, and said “So nice to meet you.”

The second article, 7 seconds to a stronger first impression, seconds this fleetingly-fast time. Pulling from research done at New York University’s Stern Graduate School of Business, the article states that people make decisions about others in seven seconds. The article then goes on to highlight things to do to improve how others perceive you in those critical first moments.

Yet another article, Dressing to Impress and How That Can Have a Huge Impact on Your Professional Career, discusses research from the University of Oregon:

Dr. Frank Bernieri, an associate professor of psychology at Oregon State University, recently conducted just such a study in which he probed employers about the traits they deem most favorable of prospective applicants. Conservative, polished dress and a well groomed appearance was at the top of the list. Dr. Bernieri also found most employers make a decision in an interview about an applicant’s rightness for the job within 10-30 seconds of a first meeting.

The article goes on to state that appearance has been found to be so critical in interviews that the University of Illinois Extension has a mini-course and series of online tutorials about the importance of appearance, style, grooming, etc.

As skilled professionals, however, let alone as sentient beings we should rightfully take umbrage at the idea that it is on superficial aspects like how we dress, how we groom, etc., that take precedence in an interview over what we know and what problems we can solve. After all, a great American man once said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Yet we will be so judged – on innumerable things having absolutely nothing to do with our ability to do the work.

Weight and how you move / carry yourself will be used as a proxy for your energy level, drive, health, and stamina. (I again will take the liberty to brag about the fact I’ve lost almost 50 pounds after reading the book Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes and taking his recommendations… with, hopefully, another 20 to go.)

Appearance – clothing, accessories, grooming, tattoos, and piercings – will be taken as a proxies for your attention to detail, respect for the positions of the people you are meeting, and your judgment in thinking about the long-term consequences of your decisions.

Body and breath odor will be taken as a proxy, again, for your attention to detail, your physical health, as well as your consideration for others.

And so on. Body language is a strange thing. Some aspects of reading and using body language can be taught, and I’ve found the book How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less quite helpful. Another book I’ve read is Contact: The First Four Minutes, and while this is more intended for those courting a mate, many of the principles apply.

A good friend of mine, Greg Chenevert (side plug: check out his dog treats and other pet/animal related products) once gave a very interesting and informative seminar on the psychology of interviewing and decision-making. Anyone who knows Greg will smile and nod in total agreement if told Greg is so persuasive he can talk a hungry dog off a meat truck. He knows his stuff. (In full disclosure, I’ve written a recommendation for him on LinkedIn, and vice versa.)

'WOW - I want THAT one!'

In his seminar I learned just how emotional decision-making really is. Most people, per his seminar, make decisions emotionally – and then seek out facts and information to rationalize this emotional decision. Having been in the automotive industry, specifically,Ford Motor Company and its components-and-subsystems spinoff Visteon Corporation, the adage is that “style sells cars.” Yes, things like impact resistance, gas mileage, etc., are all important – but what’s critical is the WOW! factor. Companies want people to walk into the showroom and go WOW I want that one! Gas mileage, safety, etc., will be used to rationalize the emotional WOW! decision after-the-fact; things that don’t meet the predetermined desires will be rationalized away. (As an example, I cite automotive lighting in which I spent four years of my career. Lights with the optics in the lens, as opposed to in the reflector, are significantly cheaper to make. But clear lenses showing shiny, reflective light interiors are much more glitzy and attractive. The WOW! factor of clear lenses trumps the added cost… something accounted for in their on-going use.)

Personal experience verifies this. My wife and I own a minivan – brand-spanking new. Why? Because my wife felt instantly comfortable in it. Looking at used ones, as was the original plan for cost purposes? Never happened. My wife – then mid-way through her pregnancy – felt comfortable and safe. That settled it.

So is this seven-seconds-to-judgment fair? No.

But fair or not, it is what it is. This is reality: making snap judgments about others as people meet is hardwired into us as a survival trait, a trait selected-for over millions upon millions of years. And while effort and time can overcome an initial bad impression, you as a job seeker may not be given the chance. Making decisions emotionally based on sight, sound, and smell is hardwired into the limbic system, the seat of emotion and memory in our brain – and probably the oldest structure in the brain (I’d like to definitively say the oldest, but apparently this is the subject of some debate these days).

So what can people do?

The first thing is to know what’s costing you that good first impression. Sit your friends and family down for a real, honest feedback session. Solicit trusted networking contacts the same way. Tell them you want them to pull no punches. You need to know. You’re unemployed. And if you are a skilled professional – and odds are you are one! – you are watching the calendar tick over day after week after month with, if you’re lucky, interviews. But still no offers.

So get that feedback. Read up on how to polish your first impression, and then reinforce it with non-verbal communication like body language. One article I just found comes from Britain: First impressions count: how can you overcome interviewer bias?

And then take action. Skills, knowledge, a good resume, references… all will help get you in the door to meet people. But your next job depends on the visceral, instinctive reaction you provoke in your potential new boss in the first few seconds of your introduction. The sooner you truly grasp that, the sooner you’ll land.

(c) 2013, David Hunt, PE

David Hunt is a Mechanical Design Engineer in southern New Hampshire looking for his "next opportunity" that allows him to design new products and shepherd them to stable production. His LinkedIn profile is: www.linkedin.com/in/davidhuntmecheng/; he blogs at davidhuntpe.wordpress.com and tweets at @davidhuntpe.

How to land a great job in two weeks (and how a mirror can help!)

By Neil Patrick

I have had an interesting few days. Two weeks ago I had a wonderful challenge land on the doorstep quite literally!

It was in the form of my step daughter, who had struggled through her first year of university due to some unfortunately timed health problems and had been forced to admit defeat and abandon her degree, return home and try and find a job.

She wasn’t in a great place mentally. She felt as if all her aspirations had gone up in smoke and that she didn’t have enough good work experience to land a great job, or even a not so great job for that matter. Not an ideal place to be in when you need to find work fast.

She’s independently minded too and likes to do things herself without help. Given what I write about on this blog and my great contacts, you’d have thought she’d be enthusiastic to take advantage of my assistance, but no, I had to persuade her to accept it!

But I am pleased to report that she relented and we set about the task together and now, just two weeks later she is starting work at the end of August. She has a brand new job, but not just any job, a good job with a great firm on our doorstep and a job that I know she’ll excel at.

She applied for just one job, went through a four stage selection process and beat about 200 other applicants.

The four stages were:

• Online application 
• Telephone interview 
• 3 hour assessment centre 
• Face to face panel interview 

So I thought I’d share the process we used to get the desired outcome from start to finish in just two weeks.

 
Research the market

We started by deciding what sort of firms we would target. The criteria in this case were:

• They must be nearby (less than 20 miles away) or the travel costs and time would be a problem.
• They should be expanding so that she’d have career growth opportunities
• They should be a recognised market leader
• They should have a good track record of investing in their people and helping them develop.

This was actually a rather quick step. We easily found the firms locally with a bit of help from Google and the local press online that were accredited as Investors in People and who were getting media attention because of their success.

We also found that the better firms had good websites which provided information on the type of people they were wanting to hire. We read this information closely to focus our search down to the best targets. 

Know a lot about the employer and job you are targeting

This was a quick process too. Once we had the (very) short target list, I showed her how to use advanced searches on Google to quickly find the right information about these firms. As it turns out, I happened to know the firms we’d identified quite well. I hadn't worked for any of them myself, but I knew people that did and I knew they'd help us with some inside information.

But being the independent woman she is, she decided that she’d do all her own research and turned up some recent facts and contacts, that I wasn't aware of. This was to prove invaluable later in the process, enabling her to prove that she was serious about wanting this job. She'd also be able to talk intelligently about the business, which would both impress her interviewers and make the experience less stressful too.

Get the application right

The first step was an online application. But before we even began to complete this, I sat down with her and her own draft of her resume and rewrote the whole thing. It was not looking good when we started. She had been working in a bar for the last year and had previously worked in high street fashion stores. Hardly the sort of job history that would make her look like a high flyer. Plus we had to address the potential negative that she’d become a college drop out.

But after I’d rewritten her resume, things were looking much better. It wasn’t any magic on my part, I simply went through the job description and highlighted all the keywords that were in it. Then I went back to her draft resume and rephrased her descriptions of what she had done, so that it was describing how she’d already done these things in her previous job. I should point out that everything we said was completely true, there were no exaggerations or fabrications.

Only once we’d done this and she had verified with me that the facts were all totally accurate did she take this information and place them into the online application. 

Excel at the telephone Interview

Within 24 hours of sending the online application, an email came back asking to book a telephone interview. Things were looking up!

This was going to be important and so we sat down for a couple of hours and discussed all the points we wanted to get across in the telephone interview as well as the questions I knew would be asked, like, ‘Why do you want to work here?’ and ‘What do you know about this business?’.

We rehearsed how she would talk about her failure to complete her degree. We distilled this into a little story that explained her history in a way which minimised the negatives and maximised the positives. She was preparing her own version of her life history which was showing she was now the perfect person to be hired for not just any job, but this job in particular.

We also rehearsed all the things she was going to want to talk about during the phone interview, to ensure we got over the points we wanted – she would be actively influencing the discussion, not just passively reacting to the questions. She prepared a little list of bullet points of topics that she’d talk about at the appropriate time.

We also practised delivery. For her, we decided, she’d perform best by standing in front of a mirror whilst on the phone and that she would smile frequently during the phone interview. These three things - standing, watching you own face and smiling are actually audible during a phone conversation. If you take these steps, they will introduce a subtle but noticeable change in your voice. You’ll sound positive, happier, more energised and more focussed.

After the phone interview, I asked how it went. She was happy, it had gone well and she’d actually enjoyed it! The next day, she was invited to attend an assessment centre the following week. 

Stand out for the right reasons at the assessment centre

We were still along way away from our goal. But again focus and preparation were the keys.

We went back again to the job description and isolated the behaviours and personal characteristics the firm wanted for the role. These would form the basis of how she was to present herself and behave during the assessment centre.

Based on this we then prepared: 

• The most suitable outfit for the day 
• The precise schedules and travel arrangements to guarantee she’d not just arrive on time, but with plenty of time to get relaxed and perhaps talk to some people in reception. 
• How she would interact with the other candidates and organisers. In this case we decided that she’d not try and dominate but would instead be helpful and friendly with everyone there and take the initiative to engage with the others who would mostly all be feeling at least a little nervous and anxious. 

We also practised rhythmic breathing so that if her nerves were starting to get the better of her, she could get them back under control 

Have the final interview thoroughly rehearsed

Towards the end of the assessment centre exercises, she was asked by one of the organisers to leave. She was crestfallen. In fact, the reason was that she was being whisked away was for a final interview and the organisers didn't wish to alert the other candidates to the fact that they had in fact not been chosen.

The final interview was her chance to ask all the carefully selected questions we had worked out in advance. Again, all designed to prove to the employer that she was the perfect person to hire.

The final interview was she says quite easy! But that’s because we’d prepared and rehearsed every step in advance and left nothing to chance.

The following day, she was telephoned and offered the job, together with a starting date of the end of August. So in two weeks, we’d turned around her life from university drop out to a new career. We applied for a total of one (very carefully chosen) job, and got one offer. That’s all we needed.

Total time investment by both of us I estimate was about 50 hours, which I think would be impossible if we were going after more than one job. And yes she had to beat 200 others, but I would estimate that from the 200 or so online applications, about half would have been telephone interviewed, and half of these invited to the assessment centres which were run over three days.

At every stage, even as late as the assessment centre, candidates were in their own words ‘winging it’. Reminds me of the old cliché, ‘failure to prepare is to prepare to fail.’

Mission accomplished!