Dealing With How Would You…? Questions
August 25, 2010
I’m always preaching about proper preparation prior to interviews. If you research the position and company carefully, you can anticipate likely questions and prepare excellent answers.
But something I also tell job seekers is that you can never anticipate every single question.
I once had to respond to a “How would you…?” question about exhuming a dead duck. I am not making this up. The position involved community affairs work for a sewer treatment plant. How could I have anticipated such a strange question? It took me totally by surprise.
But I got the job.
Often with problem-solving questions, the interviewer isn’t looking for a “right” or “wrong” answer. He or she is more interested in the thought processes you demonstrate to come up with your answer.
The dead-duck question was based on an actual incident, and the person who asked it is the person who had to deal with it. My response showed that I would have handled the situation differently than she had, but it also showed that I knew about problem solving. I didn’t panic at the unexpected question; I didn’t answer before thinking about it for a few seconds; and I didn’t blow it by giving a lame response like, “Gosh, that’s a really tough question! I honestly don’t know what I would do in that situation.”
Settling Successfully Into Your New Job
August 18, 2010
The euphoria of getting a new job can sometimes be overcome by apprehension about what comes next. After all, you’re “the new kid on the block,” and there’s much to learn–about your new job duties and much more. But here are some things you can do to make the process go smoother.
1. Dress for success. You’ll want to look professional. Dress on the conservative side for the first week. Once you’ve got a good idea of what’s appropriate and what isn’t, you can adjust your style.
2. Be on time. You never want to start your new job by being late, so make sure you allow plenty of time for your commute. Plan the most direct route, but be aware of alternates in case of an accident or other traffic snarls.
3. Get to know people. Be polite and friendly to everyone you meet, whether it’s the receptionist or the general manager. Introduce yourself, smile and make eye contact. Make a positive first impression. Ask about your coworkers’ interests.
How To Tap Into the Invisible Job Market
August 11, 2010
Is there a company in your area that you’d love to work for? Do you assume that, because you don’t see them advertising in the classifieds or posting jobs on their website, they have no openings? That may or may not be the case. That truth is, only about one-fifth of job openings are actually advertised!
Here’s how to tap into the huge “invisible” job market.
1. Make a list of companies you’d like to work for that are likely to have positions in your field. When composing your list, do some research and take notes about each company. You’ll use that later.
2. Obtain the names of the people in those companies who have the power to offer you a job. Simply call each company’s main number and ask for the name (ask them to spell it) and title of the manager in your field of expertise (or check to see if this information is available on their website). If possible, also get their email address and direct phone number. Don’t let the receptionist give you the name of the Human Resources manager (unless that is the department where you are trying to get a job) because your first point of contact should be with the hiring manager in your field.
Career Change: From Suits & Sales to Boots & Rails
August 3, 2010
Peter Humleker had it made. As the general manager of a successful car dealership, he was earning an impressive income. The only problem? He hated what he was doing.
“I was making a living off of manipulating and misleading people, taking advantage of them with ugly games and lies," Peter said. "It’s how I was taught to make sales, and I was very good at it."
Eventually, his feelings of success were overcome by feelings of remorse.
"I had to get out of that business," he said. "No paycheck amount is worth the guilt, lies and not being able to look at myself in the mirror."
So at the age of 40 and with a family to support, Peter made one of the scariest–and best–decisions of his life: he quit his job and began searching for a new career.
"I was sick and tired of sales," he said. "But I wanted to get a job where my success was mostly dependant on my own performance. My other main requirements for a new career were that it pay at least $60,000 per year (with the opportunity to make even more) and offer a good retirement program. I don’t have a college education, so this limited some possibilities for me.
When All Is Not Well With Work
July 28, 2010
When all is not well with work, what do you do? Do you quickly get frustrated and feel discontent? Do you look at each situation as a tiresome challenge or as an opportunity to learn something new? Have you ever considered looking at work problems from a spiritual point of view?
When you look at work from a spiritual perspective, you will see that there are lessons for you to learn. Let’s look at a couple of situations that you or someone you know may have encountered. We will look at each scenario from a typical perspective and from a spiritual perspective.
Difficulty with Boss or Co-Worker
Normally, we think that a difficult boss is just that, difficult. By all means, you are probably not the first person who didn’t get along with them. Therefore, it can’t be you who needs to change and instead the boss needs to change.
From a spiritual way of thinking, you should ask yourself, "What is this person trying to teach me?" (And we’re not talking about job tasks.) Think for a moment, what is it about this person that really aggravates you? Make a list of all of their annoying attributes. How does this person make you feel? What bothers you the most? Compare the boss’s or co-worker’s list of attributes to your own behaviors. What characteristics do you have in common?
How Hedgehogs Hire
July 18, 2010
In my last column, I explored Jim Collins’ "hedgehog" principle, and how powerfully this can be used to attract great employees. After many dozens of CEO interviews, I’m convinced that leaders with well-defined hedgehogs deploy the most successful hiring models.
Recent job growth figures mean that more firms are competing for the same talent. This causes additional pressure on us to determine how we can minimize attrition of our best people.
I interviewed CEO’s of successful small to medium-sized companies to find out how they are addressing this trend. They had to meet two criteria: First, they had to report consistent profitable growth for the last 3-5 years, and second, they had to demonstrate a serious passion for attracting and retaining good people.
Rod Walker, President and CEO of Knightsbridge Technology, a consulting firm based in Chicago, meets the criteria. According to Walker, “recruiting the best talent is my number one priority. As we experience 41% CAGR, we’ve been challenging ourselves to attract premium people quickly while maintaining our culture.” It’s no wonder that Knightsbridge boasts a 15% voluntary turnover rate, much lower than today’s services industry average of 25%.
Old Hiring Foxes vs. The Hedgehogs
July 9, 2010
You are about to compete for the best people again. The recovery is happening. Labor statistics indicate over 280,000 new jobs were created in the U.S. last May. Is your company’s hiring process a competitive weapon-or a ball and chain? If you’re not sure, here are some places to look:
1. You abdicate hiring responsibility to an HR person or executive recruiter. That’s their job, right? Wrong. The job of HR is a support and advisory role. The role of a recruiter is to help you build a stronger pipeline of available candidates and advise you on key hires. For key positions, take a proactive role and implement a recruiting and interviewing process.
One software client of mine once relied on HR to design their job descriptions. For years, they attracted people with the right education and skills for open positions. The bad news is that the job description did not help a hiring executive assess a person’s behaviors or cultural fit for that division. Two Directors who were hired under the old model were demoted after much customer uproar about missed deadlines on product launches.
Have Some PASTA with Your Interview
July 3, 2010
When cyclists prepare for a big race, they always make sure they load up on the carbs. It is not uncommon to have a pasta feed the night before an important event so that the athletes can store up some of the carbohydrates they will be burning up the next day. The same goes for preparing for an interview. A candidate for a job, preparing for that all-important interview, needs to take in some PASTA. However, it isn’t the same kind of pasta, but it is something that will energize, fortify and maximize a person’s chances in having a successful interview.
Here is the PASTA that is being suggested: P, prepare thoroughly; A, attitude adjustment; S, start the interview off smartly; T, tips to be followed; and A, after-the-interview follow-up. These five steps can provide a level of preparation, comfort, and professionalism that should impress the decision makers with your performance under pressure and to demonstrate your abilities and attributes in the best light.
Staying In The Game
June 23, 2010
The message came from Human Resources. There’s nothing to worry about with the newly announced organizational changes and pending merger, it reassured. The changes will be good for the company and good for the people who work here it coached.
I’ve seen a couple dozen messages like this during my career. In fact, I’ve even crafted a few. I’ve been through mergers, acquisitions, downsizings, organizational changes, personal career set-backs and a myriad of new corporate initiatives. And the best lesson I learned from all of them? Stay a player.
Granted my tactics for what that meant varied with the situation. Sometimes the safest play was to keep my head down and do my work exceedingly well until I understood the new landscape. Sometimes I rolled with the punches long enough to realize what was happening might be great for the company, but not a great long term choice for me, so I moved on. Sometimes I helped others acclimate to the new direction or culture and found new opportunities emerging along the way. Sometimes the toll was personal, like when a promotion I’d worked my entire career to reach was given to an outsider. Still, I stayed in the game.
Should I leave My Job?
June 16, 2010
Most of us have to work for a living. Since we spend so many hours each week at our jobs, it’s very important that there is a good fit. If you have been feeling less enthusiastic about your work situation recently, maybe you have even begun to wonder if it is time to move on.
Here are seven signs that your job is no longer the right one for you.
1. You no longer look forward to going to work in the morning. This may seem obvious, but many people overlook it because it happens gradually. Think about how you felt when you first started working at your company. Most people feel pretty excited about their work in the beginning, looking forward to each day and thinking about the projects they will be working on. It’s normal for that enthusiasm to tone down somewhat, but if you notice that you are feeling bored, indifferent, or actually wish you didn’t have to go, maybe it’s time for a change. This is especially true if you’re spending 60 hours a week at your job, which is not unusual in today’s workplace. You owe it to yourself to do something that gives you satisfaction.
