Body Language

Posted: May 17, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Interviewing | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Last week I posted about self-confidence and first impressions. I thought it was pretty good – had some hard science in it – very helpful stuff. Then about 4 days later my daughter sends me a link that just blew me away. To a degree it reinforced what I was saying, but then amped it up about 10 times.

In this Ted Talk, Amy Cuddy, Associate Professor at Harvard University talks about not only how your body language influences others (what I was talking about) but more importantly how it influences you. If you are a job seeker you MUST watch this. I won’t steal her thunder, but she says through some very simple techniques you can dramatically influence the outcome of your interviews.

Her talk is about how your body language influences your mind and your powerfulness (or powerless-ness). She explains how her research proves that by simply changing your posture for two minutes before an interview, you will not only appear more confident, but you will actually change your brain chemistry and feel more powerful and confident.

Here is the link. WATCH THIS VIDEO and then come back here next week and find out how to continue to make your search more effective.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Posted: May 3, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Interviewing | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

I’m not a psychic but I predict that at least one time in your job search some interviewer will ask you “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” While I don’t particularly like these questions (more on that later) you do need to be prepared to answer them. Usually the strengths are easier for people. Odds are you can say that you are honest, hardworking, dependable, loyal (remind you of the Boy Scout oath?). If you can, this is a chance to work in your previous related experience – you know the industry, know the job, etc. You understand the drill. You tell them whatever you think they need for this job is what you have – in spades. (More on that later too.)

Where people often struggle are with the weaknesses. Who wants to tell someone they just met what is wrong with them? Nobody! You were going for a good first impression. You don’t want to tell them that you’re a bear in the morning before your coffee or that you can get really cranky if you’re forced to work with people who are not as smart as you are. That just sounds like a bad idea – and to a large degree it is.

You know what issues you have, so try to find a “weakness” or two that you can put to the company’s advantage. For instance, can you turn impatience into a sense of urgency? How about perfectionism in to attention to detail? Can you turn conflict avoidance into being a good mediator, or disorganization into free thinking? The idea here is to be honest, but to also be clear that a) you do recognize that you have this “weakness” and b) you can use or compensate for that weakness in a productive way. A good friend once pointed out the difference between disabled and differently-abled. Just because you have a weakness, doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be great for this job – so tell them about it.

Now back to the second aside – “tell them what you think they want to hear”. I am not suggesting that you should be dishonest. You should pick the strengths that you have that are required for this job and sell those. For instance, you might be an incredible typist and speller but those may not be skills required of a manager or a machine operator. Focus on the job you’re applying for. Above all, be honest. With both strengths and weaknesses there is no expectation to reveal everything, but whatever you say you can do well – or you need to work on – needs to be true. Be honest with yourself and others all the time.

As for first aside, if you are an interviewer, these are lousy questions to ask because you will get the answers they think you want to hear. Instead, work those ideas inside of behaviorally based questions like “tell me about a time when you used your greatest work-related strength to help solve a critical problem” or “tell me a time about when one of your personal weaknesses caused you an issue at work.” These questions require that the strength or weakness be given some context and color. I can again make a prediction – you’ll get more useful information.

According to Wikipedia, no fewer than sixteen ancient Greek sages have been credited with the phrase “Know thyself” and it is still applicable today. As you dive into your job search, spend some time reflecting on what you do well and what you need to work on. Write down instances where you’ve done both, and think about how you can use your weaknesses to your future employers advantage.

Talk to Yourself

Posted: April 12, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Interviewing | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Many years ago I attended a two-day “Train the Trainer” workshop. You may not be planning on becoming at trainer, but this experience also made me better at job interviews.

I conduct a lot of training but I don’t like to be called a “trainer”. Those people are too out-there for me – too extroverted – too theatrical. I’m an engineer at-heart so many of training techniques just seemed really odd and uncomfortable to me.

One of the assignments in that workshop was to prepare and present a 5-minute training session. One step in our preparation was to practice that training session out loud. I remember thinking Out Loud? Are these people crazy? Do they really want me to sit here, surrounded by other participants, and talk to myself?

The answer was yes and later that day the room was flooded with sound as fifty or more people talked to themselves – ignoring everyone else in the room. Some stood, some talked to the wall, some closed their eyes, but they talked.

I was blown away. Partially because I learned there that a good trainer can get the participants to do just about anything, but more because it worked – at least for me. I was used to practicing my training in my head. I would look at my PowerPoint slides and think about what I would say for each one, and it worked, kind of. What I learned at that session was that talking to myself paid off.

In earlier posts I advised you to have an “Elevator Speech” – a 30-second summary of who you are and what you are looking for. I also advise that you find lists of common interview questions and write out the answers to those questions. Both of these exercises start with writing, but should be followed with talking to yourself.

When you practice your material aloud, several things happen. You get a sense of pace and timing. What you thought would be a two minute response may turn out to be twenty seconds or five minutes long. You’ll find word combinations that are hard to say (so you can find easier words). By hearing the material you’ll better understand if you’re making sense.

Maybe most importantly, speaking engages a different part of your brain. The process of seeing the word on the paper and then translating that to speech will help you retain them. Repeating that process several times will make you more comfortable with the material. Soon you are able to give that elevator speech, or answer those questions easily and comfortably. When that happens, the interviewer sees the real you, not the nervous you, or the I’m-not-sure-what-to-say you.

Talk to yourself and don’t pay any attention to those funny looks you get from others. I will caution you though, this may not be the best technique to practice in public. 🙂

 

Can They Do That?

Posted: March 15, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Job Search | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Sometimes being an applicant is like being a second class citizen.  Companies do things to applicants that they don’t do to employees and I often get the question – can they do that?  I’m not a lawyer and I will not give legal advice.  But I can share with you some common practices and maybe tell you where you can learn more if you need to.

Drug screens, and physical examinations – Yes, employers have every right to ask you to take a pre-employment drug screen (of any format they feel is appropriate) and to pass a physical examination.  But, they can’t do either of these until after they have extended to you a conditional offer of employment (conditional on passing these medical tests).  The tests need to have some relationship to the work you’ll do or their policies – e.g. a drug-free workplace policy or a lifting capacity test for a warehouse worker.  (RE: the American’s with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act)

Criminal Background and Credit Checks – yes, they can conduct these checks. Again, they should be conducted post-offer (but they don’t have to be) and you must sign an acknowledgment/consent before they investigate.  If they decide not to hire you based on what they learn they have to tell you about that and give you a copy of the report. (RE: the Fair Credit Reporting Act)

References and Social Media checks – yes, they can ask anyone they want to tell them about you and those people can tell them anything they want to tell them – as long what they tell them is the truth.  Where reference checks go awry is when the former supervisor is honest, and says that Bob was not a good worker, but nobody told Bob that, and in fact his personnel file is full of positive reviews.  Or, if Bob really was a sociopath and was fired for threatening to shoot his boss (while holding a gun) and the former supervisor says Bob’s a great guy – you should hire him.  Dishonesty will cause problems.  As your mother probably told you – if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

And yes, companies can go look at your Facebook profile and see pictures of you holding red cups and acting inappropriately and then decide not to hire you.  So, if you’re serious about your job search a) limit your web presence to your friends and b) don’t post things that might reflect on you poorly – have some common sense.

Withdraw the offer – probably yes.  Let’s say the company makes you an offer, then they conduct the background check and based on that they change their mind.  If a) they told you they were going to check your references, etc. and b) they told you the offer was contingent on the results of those checks, then absolutely, they can pull the plug.  If, however, they give you a written offer with no contingencies, and if you have not lied to them about anything (including enhancing your resume or lying on your application), then regardless of what they learn, it may be a little harder for them to walk away.  But let’s be serious, do you want to work someplace where they don’t want you?  That’s not a great way to start a relationship.

It gets ugly when they extend an offer, you accept, you quit your current job (maybe burn a bridge or two in the process) and then they change their mind.  That can happen. Hopefully everyone can be as open as possible and make sure you’re all on the same page before you put a match to those bridges.

Verbal Contracts – speaking of ugly, verbal contracts are the worst.  Imagine this, you’re interviewing and the manager says “Okay, even though you’re a CPA, we are going to offer you the position of accounting clerk, because that’s what I have open and its all HR will let me do. But after about a month I’ll promote you to Controller and we’ll quadruple your salary.”  You get the clerk offer, accept it, and six months later you’re still a clerk.  Can you sue them?  Maybe.  It depends on who the manager was (did he have any authority to say what he said) and the language he used.  Was that promotion based on the assumption that you perform well or did something else have to  happen first?  Bottom line, don’t take this deal.  If you’re looking to be the Controller then get it in writing, or be willing to be a clerk.

As an applicant you have some rights. You should know what they are, but you should also know what’s best for you.  You really don’t want to work with some jerks who don’t know how to treat an applicant.

Is Anybody Hungry?

Posted: March 1, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Interviewing | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

I was participating in a panel interview recently and one of the panelists asked what might be one of the greatest interview questions I’ve ever heard.  He said “Tell me how you would make a peanut butter sandwich.”

I can hear you now – “What?!?  That’s the greatest question ever?”  Yes, it just might be.

Clearly there is no right or wrong to this question, but you can learn so much from the answer.  One candidate started with “well, I’m low on groceries so first I’d go to the store.”  Others are very direct, “I’d put peanut butter on two slices of bread and stick them together.”  Some get very detailed, “Take the bread from the cupboard, remove the twist-tie to open the package, remove two slices of bread and place them on a plate, reseal the package, then place the bread back in the cupboard” and on and on.  A surprising number will add jelly, even though it’s not part of the question.  Some talk about the colors and flavors while others stick to the facts like reading a computer manual.

What this question does is to force someone to reveal how they think. Are they a detail oriented person, a big picture person, or a descriptive person?  Do they understand process or only results? Are they creative?

As a job seeker, you need to think ahead about how you would answer this type of question.   The odds are that no one will ask you how to make a sandwich, but they might ask you questions that reveal who you are.  When they do, you need to know the answer to that question.

Becoming Scheherazade…

Posted: January 10, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Interviewing | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

You remember Scheherazade, right? The legendary storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights?  Go read Wikipedia.

Anyway, if you haven’t had an interview lately, you may find that the process has changed some.  Good interviewers use Behavioral Interviewing and while no longer revolutionary, it’s still state-of-the-art.

The theory is that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance.  If you ask a candidate how they would handle a certain situation (for example – talking with an angry customer) they’ll tell you what they think you want to hear.  But, if you ask them to tell you a story about the last time they handled an angry customer, they are more likely to reveal their true stripes.

As the applicant, you need to be ready to tell the story.  Search the web for interview questions then think about them and write out your answer.  Practice them until you can tell a story. Include all the color and excitement.   Rehearse them out loud so you feel comfortable with the answer.  You may not be asked that specific question, but having a back pocket full of stories will build your self-confidence and you’ll be surprised how you can weave one story into many different questions.

Here are some of my favorite questions just to get you started and Google can find you thousands more.

  • Tell me about a time when you were a member of a team that had a difficult goal to achieve.  What was your role on the team and how did you help influence the success of the group?
  • Tell me about a time you had an employee who was not being successful.  How did you manage that process and either help the employee become successful or transition out of the organization?
  • Tell me about a time when you were in a fast-paced environment and you had multiple and possibly conflicting priorities.  How did you prioritize your work?  What techniques did you use to keep yourself organized and avoid missing deadlines?

So, be ready when a recruiter says “Tell me about a time when … “ and become Scheherazade.

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