Hiring Managers
Hiring managers are the people you will work for directly. They are mostly interested in accomplishments specific to their area of the business. Moreover, they want to know how your accomplishments can translate into success for them personally.
Here"s what else hiring managers may look for:
Technical Competencies * * Proactive: Proactive: Do you embody a forward-thinking, proactive mindset beyond the person"s immediate function? Do you embody a forward-thinking, proactive mindset beyond the person"s immediate function?* Focus on results: Focus on results: Can you recruit a quality subordinate team and get them working together, to generate high levels of performance? Can you recruit a quality subordinate team and get them working together, to generate high levels of performance?* Smart: Smart: Do you have a strong intellect, coupled with pragmatism and pure common sense? Do you have a strong intellect, coupled with pragmatism and pure common sense?
Business Intelligence * * Budget conscious: Budget conscious: Do you understand the critical importance of cash? Do you watch expenditures as an entrepreneur would, or simply spend knowing your paycheck and benefits will come, no matter what? Do you understand the critical importance of cash? Do you watch expenditures as an entrepreneur would, or simply spend knowing your paycheck and benefits will come, no matter what?* Judgment: Judgment: Do you have the ability to deal with novel and complex situations where there is no history or road map? Do you have the ability to deal with novel and complex situations where there is no history or road map?* Customer focused: Customer focused: Do you understand how the industry and marketplace work? Do you understand how the industry and marketplace work?
Emotional Intelligence * * Persistence: Persistence: Can you drive programs to successful fruition? Are you highly self-motivated? Can you drive programs to successful fruition? Are you highly self-motivated?* Empathy: Empathy: Do you have the ability to connect with employees and customers? Do you have the ability to connect with employees and customers?* Stamina: Stamina: Do you demonstrate a built-in unrelenting drive to succeed? Do you demonstrate a built-in unrelenting drive to succeed?
Human Resources Department
Human resources (HR) has concerns that go beyond those of hiring managers and executives. HR is also interested in your overall fit with the company"s core values and culture-your relationship intelligence. The people in HR look for the following attributes: * A fit with the next job: A fit with the next job: How easily can you move up as the company grows? HR will consider your qualifications for the next job because an upwardly mobile person eases their burden for succession planning and improves their department"s return on investment (ROI). How easily can you move up as the company grows? HR will consider your qualifications for the next job because an upwardly mobile person eases their burden for succession planning and improves their department"s return on investment (ROI).* Ability to fill a gap in the management mix: Ability to fill a gap in the management mix: Good coaches know their relative offensive and defensive strengths and make trades accordingly. Likewise, smart HR managers understand their organization"s strengths and weaknesses and will seek to complement, not replicate them. Good coaches know their relative offensive and defensive strengths and make trades accordingly. Likewise, smart HR managers understand their organization"s strengths and weaknesses and will seek to complement, not replicate them.
Corporate Recruiters
These are a company"s internal recruiters, junior members of the HR team. More often than not, if you respond to a newspaper ad or job posting, a junior staffer will be the first person to a.s.sess your qualifications. The irony of tasking a company"s least qualified employee with the responsibility of acquiring its human capital a.s.sets probably hasn"t escaped you-but that"s reality.
Recruiters are often left to figure things out on their own. At a minimum, they have to compare candidates against a list of stipulated skills or abilities. If you have the exact skills you make the cut-if not, you"re out. They have a lot to lose professionally by recommending someone who is not qualified. Some people have said that these people might not know good credentials if they slapped them in the face. They can"t read between the lines. Tailor your response to exactly what was advertised. Here"s how to give corporate recruiters what they are looking for: * Work experience: Work experience: Tell them how your experience fits their opportunity. You have to connect the dots for them subtly. Tell them how your experience fits their opportunity. You have to connect the dots for them subtly.* Goals: Goals: Your short- and long-term goals must be reasonably in line with the opportunities for advancement. Your short- and long-term goals must be reasonably in line with the opportunities for advancement.* Personality: Personality: Chemistry and cultural fit between you and your coworkers is critical. Find out what "type" they hire ahead of time. Call someone who works there. Chemistry and cultural fit between you and your coworkers is critical. Find out what "type" they hire ahead of time. Call someone who works there.* Communication skills: Communication skills: Written and verbal communication skills are becoming increasingly critical as the global marketplace evolves. Demonstrate your ability to listen effectively, verbalize thoughts clearly, and express yourself confidently. Written and verbal communication skills are becoming increasingly critical as the global marketplace evolves. Demonstrate your ability to listen effectively, verbalize thoughts clearly, and express yourself confidently.* Image: Image: Junior people are easily impressed by an appropriate ensemble, so dress for the part you want, not the one you currently have. They"ll mentally compare you to their image of the group you"ll be working with. When in doubt, overdress 2 levels above business casual. Junior people are easily impressed by an appropriate ensemble, so dress for the part you want, not the one you currently have. They"ll mentally compare you to their image of the group you"ll be working with. When in doubt, overdress 2 levels above business casual.* Knowledge of the company: Knowledge of the company: Recruiters expect you to be as enthusiastic about the company as they probably still are. Make sure you read everything on the company"s web site. Don"t waste their time by asking questions you should already know the answers to. Recruiters expect you to be as enthusiastic about the company as they probably still are. Make sure you read everything on the company"s web site. Don"t waste their time by asking questions you should already know the answers to.
THE INTERVIEW MINEFIELD
The most common way people gain entry to a company is through an ad or referral, starting the process at the bottom of the chain of command. As mentioned, the corporate recruiter is the person who is least likely to understand your potential and has the most to lose by recommending you so their natural tendency will be to do nothing.
Traditional job-hunting methods will expose you to a minefield fraught with b.o.o.by traps. As you advance each successive level up the chain of command toward the final decision maker, you risk being eliminated. After the company finally does make you an offer, it will be subject to an excruciatingly detailed reference check and yet another opportunity for you to be eliminated.
For most job hunters, diagrammatically, interviewing looks like this:
Recruiter Human Resources Hiring Manager Executive Job Offer
The lower down the chain you begin, the more people there are who will need to approve of your hiring, and therefore the more hurdles you"ll have to clear. Luckily, the opposite is also true.
Navigating the Minefield
As a guerrilla, you"ve been trained to attack weak points. The higher up in the organization you begin, the fewer people you need to satisfy, and the closer you"ll be to an offer.
Executives have a macroview of the industry, their business, and skill sets. They"re more interested in what you"re capable of doing for them in the future than in dissecting your life story. Executives have more experience hiring and tend to make quick gut-level decisions with little validation. So, you should always aim to begin your job hunting in the executive suite.
Guerrilla interviewing looks like this:
Executive Job Offer
Or in the worst case scenario, this:
Executive Hiring Manager Job Offer
When you start at the top, you can get an offer without meeting anyone else. Executives have authority to make an instant hiring decision and have a mandate to continuously "talent hunt" for the whole company. They"re the only people who have that macroview of the company"s needs. When an executive pa.s.ses your resume down to a hiring manager with a note saying, "get a hold of this candidate" or "looks good," it"s much easier to get an offer. If you think that"s simplistic-boy, are you ever wrong! Headhunters work with senior executives for a reason-they can make decisions quickly and efficiently.
Focus on the Employer"s Goals
What you"re ultimately "selling" during an interview are those elements of your background, skills, and personality that can make a significant contribution to the company. Your potential contribution will be weighed against the cost of a bad hire. If they make the wrong choice, at minimum, they are wasting time and money. At worst, a bad choice could jeopardize the recruiter or manager"s job, perhaps even the success of the company. A lot is at stake.
Your mission is to neutralize their concerns by eliminating fear fear-doubt and and uncertainty. uncertainty.
Preparation-Understand the Meeting"s Purpose
The employer believes you"ll bring something to the organization. What exactly is that? Are you being interviewed because he has announced a specific opening, or did something in your approach pique his interest? To prepare for the meeting, you need to understand the reason for his interest.
If you"re being interviewed for a specific job, he"ll tell you and you"ll know what to focus on. If it"s a general nonspecific get-to-know-you interview as a result of your unsolicited approach, you need to focus on the requirements you uncovered while researching the company. If he"s in line with your accomplishments, then that"s likely the reason for the meeting.
Personally, I"ve always found being direct gets the best results. The easiest thing to do is simply ask, "How much time do you think we"ll need" and "what"s your agenda?" They"ll tell you. If they don"t tell you, it means they definitely have a pressing problem that your background indicates you can solve-but they don"t want to show their hand. In that case, you"ll need to focus on what you"ve accomplished over the past 5 years. This is more work, but it"s not impossible.
If you ever find yourself in an interview where you"re unsure of the agenda, quickly ask, "Where would you like to begin our conversation?" If he says, "Tell me about yourself," then you should ask, "Where would you like me to begin?" Where he wants you to begin is what he"s most interested in. Focus on his interests.
Projecting the image of a stellar can"t-do-without candidate comes with practice and preparation. There are 3 things you need to do: 1. Complete a T-account exercise.2. Build your "story" book.3. Rehea.r.s.e your message.
T-Account Exercise
There"s no subst.i.tute for this exercise. A sage headhunter taught it to me years ago. The exercise requires you to overlay your accomplishments on the employer"s needs. This preps you to talk about your accomplishments, long-term goals, as well as strengths and weaknesses in the context of the specific job you"re interviewing for.