From the hiring manager’s point of view, the interview is going very well. He has laid out the requirements, is satisfied that the candidate has good qualifications and equally as important, he seems to be a good fit for the group

The young man pauses and stops to think and then says,

“Thank you very much for your time today. I am very grateful but from my perspective this interview is over.”

The hiring manager is completely taken aback. “What do you mean?

The candidate continues, “I like your company, but you just finished telling me how many long hours you work. I have no objection to long hours when they are needed to complete a project. You also just finished telling me about how you miss spending enough time with your family.  I am looking for a company whose leadership is committed to work/family balance. So while I appreciate your time, I think we are not a good fit.”

Dumbfounded, the hiring manager said goodbye. Initially, he was furious. How dare that kid tell me anything about running a business. After discussing the event with a few others, he started to think seriously about the candidate’s point of view.

There are a lot of reasons why the best and brightest may not want to work for you. Check out this article by (one of my favorites) David Meerman Scott called, “How to Build a Crappy Workforce.”  Perhaps you’re not scrambling for talent yet but you will be and if you think changing your culture now is difficult — imagine what it will be like when the economy is back full steam.

Image credit: Fast Company

What’s even more amazing about Zappos is their culture. It begins and ends with customer service. I mean real service. Sad that a focus on the customer is so unique.

But the real magic of the organization, according to CEO Tony Hsieh (pronounced “shay”) is in the hiring. When interviewing at Zappos you might be asked,

“What’s your theme song?” or “How weird are you?”

By asking these questions, Zappos finds out if you’re flexible, creative, funny and interesting.  So would you want to work in a place where these were the interview questions?  I would.

I’ve often said I’m a little too weird for the normal people but too normal for the weird people. So add this (maybe) to the list of interview questions to prepare. What’s your favorite interview question?

Photo credit: Miss Communications.com

Most  job seekers don’t really have any idea of who they want to meet. Whether you call it your “marketing plan” or target list – please know who you want to meet, and not just oh the hiring manager after you have a particular job in your sights.  If you’re not sure, get a  job search buddy or join a networking group to help you and here are a few ideas.

Think about people in your current, related or desired fields who have a good reputation and are in:

– Academia or are Vendors/Suppliers or Sales People

Think about targeting people in companies where you might be interested in working.  Get introduced to people who are in leadership positions in non profits or on Boards of nonprofits and individuals who teach skills you are interested in learning. And last but not least, meet with people who know a lot of people (network with networkers!) Use Linked In to find the names of people you want to meet.

When I attend a networking event, I am usually there to meet someone I have identified as a potential contact. Someone I hope to help so that they will remember me when they need a consultant. Make that list, check it twice and go out and meet some new people. You’ll be glad you did.

Photo credit: http://www.kvcfi.com/team_careers.htm

Interviewing is a skill, like cooking or swinging a golf club. To be good at it you need to practice. So whether you’re in an active search or not, you need to practice interviewing.

At your next interview think about:

Asking, ‘why this is a great place to work?’  Watching body language for signs of discomfort from the interviewer? Asking about culture?  technology?

Are you leading the conversation in a way that is to your advantage or are you letting the HR person/hiring manager set the agenda?

Here’s another great question to ask:

“Are there any skills that you would have liked for me to have but we haven’t discussed yet?” (Seems a little risky right?)  When my contact (thanks Jason!) asked this question in a recent interview… the person mentioned business writing skills.  He had a chance to send a writing sample along with the thank you note. By the way, they scheduled his next interview before he left the first. How’s that for results?

Image credit: http://www.mailboxesoncamelback.com/funny-of-the-month.html

Mr. Salzberg asks potential employees:

- What values that are most important to you?

- How have you demonstrated your commitment to those values in the last 2 years?

- Tell me about something recently that didn’t go well and what did you do about it.

His advice:

1)  “Pay it forward and take care of people.” When was the last time you mentored someone? If the CEO asks you that question, would you have a great answer? One that would make him/her proud to know you?

2) ” Brand yourself.” Do you know what your digital footprint looks like? What does it say about you? Do you actively manage it or do you passively hope that your digital information is ‘good enough’?

3) “Get out of your comfort zone.” I consider this the most important. We get so busy with our daily lives that we forget to take calculated risks or all the risk-taking behavior has been “corporatized” out of us. “It’ s ok to be uncomfortable. Don’t resist change …or a different way of looking at things.”

I would go one step further. Look for opportunities to change and then go for it. Early in my career I heard, “the best way to cope with change is to create it.” I have worked hard to figure out how to keep reinventing myself. It’s not easy but I am happy that I kept at it. Not sure how or what to change? Ask someone you respect and then listen with an open mind. You’ll be glad you did.

Photo credit:  ilgiraresole

What do I mean by a ‘fishy’ handshake? Well, when you offer just the fingers of your hand or when you fail to grasp the other person’s hand and shake it with confidence; you run the risk of having people think you are weak. This especially goes for men shaking hands with women. It is disrespectful to barely shake hands with a woman. It makes them think that you don’t think of them as equals.

You’ve probably heard the story about why we shake hands, i.e.,  to show that we have no weapons in our hands. Aside from the way we dress and eye contact, our handshake is another very important signal of our confidence.

When you shake hands, please, oh please I’m begging you, look the person in the eye and give them a gentle but firm handshake. This isn’t a strength contest but it is a chance to make the other person sit up and take notice of your positive manner.  So ladies,  put your hand out there and shake firmly. Guys, do the same. it’s so important!

Photo Credit: Ads of the World

I saw Adam Sandler being interviewed on television. Even if you don’t like him or his movies, I think he’s a good example of how a combination of self confidence and humility can create success.

Adam told a story about when he was first starting out in stand up. While the audience wasn’t laughing very hard,  he was thinking, “I don’t understand why these people don’t see how funny I am!” He wasn’t discouraged; he didn’t stop. He believed in himself.

Listening to him talk about his latest project was inspiring because he was humble about his success without being phony or self-effacing.

My goal is to be genuine in all my interactions. This means that I recognize what I’m good at and can speak with confidence;  AND I know that I have something to learn from every person I meet. No one is better than me (no matter what they have accomplished) and I’ m not better than anyone else.

In 25 Oddball Interview Questions, the author lists interesting interview questions from companies like Google, Goldman Sachs, AT&T, Facebook and Amazon.  These interviewers learned a lot from the responses to these off the wall queries.

You might think, no one is ever going to ask me, “How many traffic lights are in Manhattan?”, but if you get asked an oddball question; will you be prepared with a creative answer? More than ever, organizations need people who can be flexible and think differently about problems.

If you’re hiring manager and had, say,  3 candidates all of whom were equally qualified – how would you figure out which one to hire? You might try asking one of these questions to see how creative and spontaneous the interviewee can be.

So, how would you answer: “How many basketballs can you fit in this room?” Here are a few answers:

• Probably the same number of soccer balls
• One. You didn’t ask what is the maximum number of basketballs you can fit in the room
• Measure the room in basketballs. The room is 16 basketballs (length) by 12 basketballs (width) by 9 basketballs (height). Then it’s just a simple volume multiplication.

My answer would have been, “Why do we want to bring basketballs into this room? Hmmm, what does that tell you about me?

Photo credit S-Fun.com (Solid Fun)

How often do those career days include someone from sales? I’d venture to say almost never. But truthfully, most of us spend a lot of our time selling, regardless of our title. Even in today’s tight job market; there are always open positions for sales people. Sales is an honorable profession and one where people with integrity and intelligence are truly needed.

Whether we’re looking for a job, trying to convince someone of our point of view or persuading a family member to do what we want; it’s all about sales. Sales is “the art of persuading.” I’m not talking about the sales ambush; where we are being forced to think about buying something we don’t want and getting pressured.

The most effective sales people understand their customer and match their product or service with the needs of that customer. In addition, they are often the best listeners, make an excellent living and have a lot of autonomy over their work day.

I mentor and coach small businesses as part of my volunteer commitment to SCORE ( an entity of the Federal government’s Small Business Administration). When I talk to entrepreneurs, I ask them if they think they are sales people. Inevitably they say no, but the  truth is that every entrepreneur needs to be a great sales person. They need to sell customers, investors, business partners and on and on.

Here are some sales tips that are also terrific ideas for everyday living. Here are my personal favorites:

• Want to improve the quality of your communication? Ask a better question!
• Guess what, it NOT about you.  It’s about them!
• Stephen Covey once said “Most people do not listen with the ‘intent’ to understand. Most people listen with an intent to reply.”

What are your favorite sales tips? I need all the help I can get.

• What is your greatest weakness?
• Explain how you handled a difficult person at work
• Discuss a failure you had and how you managed to turn it around

Phew. Ok, you’re ready. Here’s one more idea. When the interviewer asks you if you have any questions, try this:

“What are you looking for in a candidate?”

Wow, powerful question. Think about it. This gets the interviewer talking specifically about the criteria (hopefully beyond the job description) they are using to judge candidates. I suggest you take notes while they are talking. This will help you talk point by point about how you fit their criteria.

Ask questions for clarification but do not interrupt. Let the person talk as long as they want. This is the specific information that you need to sell them on your credentials. I repeat, let them finish and be sure you understand (using active listening) what s/he is saying.

Once you understand, you can start telling the interviewer about how your skills and experience match what they are looking for. While they are talking you can be jotting down ideas or stories that will convince them you’re the one. This is your chance to be self-confident and helps you to focus on the skills that are most important to this hiring manager.

I previously wrote about my favorite interview question, “Why is this a great place to work?” Try both of these and let me know how it goes.