- What are the company's top priorities?
- What would your major responsibilities be?
- What authority would you have to carry them out?
- Who would you be interacting with?
- What is a typical day like?
- What is an a typical day like?
- Past performance questions could explore issues like:
- Who held the job previously and what happened to them?
- What kind of performance do they expect?
- What kind of education and experience do they look for?
- How would they describe their ideal candidate?
Without a specific job opening to focus on, your approach is more entrepreneurial. The decision makers may not know what they want. Or they may have put some problems on the back burner because they didn't know of a solution. You might ask questions like:
- What are the biggest headaches you have in (this area)?
- What are your plans for the future?
- What have you tried to remedy this situation?
- How long has this situation existed?
- What parts of the organization are affected by this situation?
Emphasize Benefits for Them
Can you help them make money, save money, avoid or reduce hassles, pain, and suffering? Many of these are bottom-line benefits, but people are often hired for more personal reasons. They convince the prospective employer that they'll make him look good. That's what Michelle did. Tom's hard work and diligence had paid off His new assignment put him in charge of a whole department. Tall and athletic, he appeared confident. But inside, he was desperate. Tom had no idea how to get his department moving and fulfill top management's high expectations of him.
His only hope was to find someone who could bail him out. He prayed for an angel to fill the newly created position of marketing manager. Michelle did not look like an angel and had little formal marketing experience. But she was bright and understood marketing instinctively. At their meeting, she emphasized her creativity, energy, and contacts. Her trump card: "I'm sure we would work well together. And I can make you look good as she did. And they both flourished.
Not for You
Your personal needs-for security, for a job, for this one because it's conveniently located or because it pays well-must be kept out of the interview. They're not relevant. Other needs, like your need to be contributing, working in a stimulating environment, helping others who are less fortunate, being part of this wonderful enterprise, can help you persuade them in this meeting because such needs are job related. So is the fact that you're a hard worker, a good contributor to team efforts, flexible, eager to learn and be challenged. Your focus is always on the hiring authority and the company.
Universal Hiring Rule
The employer will hire if the benefits of hiring outweigh the costs.
That seems like a straightforward cost/benefit analysis. The costs of hiring you are quantifiable: your salary and benefits. But how can the benefits you bring to the employer be measured? They are, at best, only projections of your past experience. That's why being able to demonstrate your ability to make money and save money for previous employers is so important. If you can show that you saved or generated more money than you cost, hiring you is an excellent investment for your next employer. That's all very logical.
But hiring decisions, we have pointed out, are emotional as well as logical. It's been estimated that 75% of the hiring decision is based on personality traits and communication; 25% on work history.
Compensate with Commitment
Radiate enthusiasm! Don't underestimate what passion and commitment can do to compensate for what you might lack in credentials. Judy, the financial analyst we met in the last chapter, who has recently been on both sides of the desk, observes:
Interviewing process is very intimidating. But people on the other side of the desk are really eager for you to sell yourself. They are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, who believes he or she can do it and wants to do it."
Find Out Where You Stand
Your meeting with a hiring authority is an accomplishment. It's one of the two essential steps in the hiring process. The second step-persuading them to offer you a job-requires understanding and preparation. You have done a very good job of persuading so far. You know what you are selling and who needs it; you have reached them and gotten their attention. In the process, you have gained knowledge about yourself and about them, what they need and want. You have overcome their objections and emphasized the benefits you can bring. Now it's time to wrap this up.
