If you had the pain of sitting
at the recruiting chair, you would no longer just dislike the interviewing
process, you would find it intriguing. The thing to remember is that the recruiter
really doesn't want to interview one more person or look at one more resume if
they had enough confidence in who was in front of them. However, the sadness is
that just like the new iPhone 5S, what’s on the other side of the door, is sometimes disappointing.
Bad interview stories are a
dime a dozen. One of our favorites is a story told by
Bruce A. Hurwitz, who overheard his potential new hire
mouthing off to a woman before entering the elevator for the job interview:
"There were maybe 10 of us waiting [for the elevator] on
the ground floor, one of which was an attractive woman. A man joined us in
line, and started to chat with her. She responded politely and then chose to
ignore him. He then started to yell at her [saying] something about how he was
interviewing for a great job with a great salary and he could buy and sell
her...I started to recognize his voice [and] asked him if his name was, let's
say, Bob. He said, 'Ya.' I asked him, 'Is your meeting with Bruce?' He went
white and said 'Ya.' I said, 'It's cancelled.' And, no, I never heard from Bob
again." -- Bruce A. Hurwitz, president and CEO of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing
(Cited from CBS
News)
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| Dwight from the Office Photo Credit TenTonHammer.com |
It's intriguing to look at
these horror stories in retrospect, but in all seriousness, a first impression
is make or break. You've been told a million times to dress the part, have your
LinkedIn profile proofread, and your references updated, but how do you really
shine for a top level position?
Executive Interview Tips:
* Remember it's not suddenly all about you because you have a big
interview. Losing your temper shouldn't be your normal behavior anyway,
but don't yell at random people on the way to your interview. You’ll land
yourself a big pass card, like “Bob” in Bruce’s story. Your behavior from the
first phone conversation to the farewell after the interview all counts, so make
every moment great. Emotional Intelligence, communication and leadership skills are becoming highly valued qualities for
leading professionals. In fact, reports in 2006 pointed to lack of these leadership skills as a top cause of
CEO turnover.
* Do the company culture research ahead of time. Are you a fit? How so? Forbes Contributor, Erika Anderson has this to say “Over the past year, I watched as two newly
hired, talented senior executives failed pretty spectacularly at two different
companies – and in both cases, the problem was a poor cultural fit.” This is
big concern for employers and should be for you as well.
* In the Forbes article Top Executive
Recruiters Agree There Are Only Three True Job Interview Questions, Contributor Geroge Bradt cites "can you do the
job?" as one of the three primary questions of importance to
interviewers. Based on the job description, review which of your strengths best
apply to the tasks you will be performing. This seems like a given, but try to
figure out how to make your most relative skills pop off the resume and become
more tangible. Consider seeking written references for those skills or creating
a portfolio. Above and beyond never hurts.
* If you are working with an executive placement firm, make sure they know you well, and have
taken the time to assess the position as far as leadership, values and long-term strategic goals of the organization. Many executive recruitment firms don’t have a
formal pre-employment assessment process.
So that homework falls on you to inquire and get the firm to work on
your side. Even if you do take the job,
at least you know your goals going in.
No Surprises!
These tips have already given
you an advantage, but it’s up to you to make the goal. Remember, your
interviewer is human just like you. Go in with a positively genuine and can-do
attitude. Above all, figure out how to connect with the interviewer on a
personal level. It isn't easy to do, but in order to reduce stress, try to view the interaction as more of a
discussion. Worst comes to worst, you have a greater network than before
if you are a networking
champion. If it’s
meant to be, it will be.
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