Job Search Solution Blog by Tony Beshara

The best candidates… “A players” take notes during their interviews… not copious ones… but a few key words as they go along in the interview. After the interview they write a summary of everything that went on in the interview.

It will not come as a shock that in an hour to an hour and a half interview, even the people involved in the interview won’t remember the same things. (Read my blog post about “inattentional blindness.”) A hiring or interviewing authority may repeat the things that are important to them one or two times and unless the candidate writes it down, the odds are good the candidate will not remember what was important when the second interview rolls around a week or so later. Even if one’s memory is good, remembering more than one, two or three issues a week or so later isn’t likely.

Often times a candidate will review their notes about the interview a day or so later and have an epiphany about some of their experience and background that relates to the particular issue that was discussed. Writing the interviewing or hiring manager an e-mail something like, “I was reviewing my notes about our interview the other day and it came to me that…..” a few days  after an interview always looks impressive, especially if the message is of business value.

Reviewing these notes before other interviews after the initial interview gives a candidate decided advantage. So, take good notes. Write good summaries.

I had a candidate a few months ago who got called back to a company he interviewed with five or six months earlier. For all kinds of different reasons, they never hired anybody and they wanted to speak to him again. One of the comments the hiring authority made as they went to make him an offer, was that they were very impressed with the fact he remembered almost every important issue they had discussed six months earlier. It was easy. He had taken good notes and written good summaries.

What makes these notes and summaries even more important is what a candidate goes through on second, third or fourth interviews with the same guitar. Different people in an organization will emphasize different things. It isn’t uncommon for different levels of management to see things differently.

Tim was a perfect candidate… his 20 year history of success was exactly the kind of leadership our client needed… he was the VP candidate for a position our client has been trying to fill for some time… our client, the EVP   interviewed 10 candidates over a three month period of time, and once he interviewed Tim, he claimed that Tim was “perfect” for the job … after three personal interviews with the EVP,  and establishing a very strong personal rapport, Tim flew to the corporate office where he interviewed with three VPs and the CEO… the interviews could not have gone any better and the EVP told Tim he wanted to hire him…they even discussed what an offer would look like… a $200,000 base salary with total earnings at $400,000 provided Tim and the people in his region if they made quota… Everyone was excited and the EVP said he would be in touch with Tim in the next few days…

When Tim hadn’t heard from the EVP in two days, he called the EVP to ask where the situation stood…the EVP explained that their CEO wanted to speak to one other candidate because the CEO had only interviewed Tim and the CEO wanted to be able to say he had a choice…the EVP explained to Tim that he had nothing to worry about, he was the EVP’s choice and, after all, Tim was going to be working for the EVP…

After two more days of not hearing from the EVP, Tim called him again… both Tim and I were sensing that something was wrong…the EVP ‘t didn’t return his call and didn’t respond to emails…when Tim finally got him on the phone, the EVP explained to him that there was nothing wrong, the CEO had an emergency with family and wasn’t able to talk to the second candidate… being a good recruiter, I discovered who the second candidate was… I knew the guy… in fact he was a candidate of mine a  few years ago… it was comforting to know that although he was a very good candidate, he had nowhere near the capabilities of Tim…in fact the other candidate had actually worked for Tim a number of years ago …he is a really good guy but nowhere near the caliber experience  as Tim… both Tim and I were certain Tim was a much better candidate…

A week later, our client hired the other candidate… even though the candidate was not as good, strong or as accomplished as Tim,  he still got hired… it turned out that the CEO had not been at the company a very long time…the EVP, in the past, had hired just about anyone you wanted to…Maybe the CEO wanted to make it clear that he was now running the show… maybe they really didn’t want to hire as much of an A+ player as they claimed…

When the EVP called Tim to explain that they hired the other candidate, Tim had the courage to ask, “I know who you hired, he used to work for me… he’s a good guy but he’s nowhere near as accomplished and experienced  for the job as I am… can you tell me what made the difference? You had told me I was the guy you wanted to hire, what happened?”

The EVP tried to explain the decision, but none of it made any sense… there is no way anyone could explain it in rational terms…I am sure the guy they hired will do an okay job… but his experience and skill level is not of the same caliber as Tim’s..

Most of the time when a candidate doesn’t get hired it is because he or she doesn’t interview well,  isn’t qualified, etc. …this was one of those rare instances where Tim could not have done any better..

The lesson is that just because a candidate is “perfect”… just because he interviews impeccably… just because his references are next to perfect… doesn’t mean that he’ll get hired…

..I brought this same idea up on my radio program today and here is what one listener wrote…interesting perspective…

I was listening to your segment this morning on your radio program regarding what to say if asked by your boss point blank, “Are you looking for another job?”

I turned to thoughts of my nephew who has Asberger’s. People with Asberger’s are extremely literal. One time I called and asked my nephew what he was doing, and he answered, “Talking to you.” 🙂

I really liked your “answer a question with a question” approach. But if one were pressed for an answer, would one not be able to take a literal approach to the boss’ question by answering, “Not at the moment” or “Not at this time”? In strict literal terms, the answer is truthful, even though evasive.

Just thought I’d share the idea. Feel free to comment or not!

not a bad perspective…

So, what do you say when your boss invites you into his or her office and asks you if you’re looking for a job… when you are? Do you try to live up to the standard your mom taught you, “thou shalt not lie?”  Or, realizing that you’re likely to get fired if you tell the truth, do you lie and deny that you were looking for a job.

Most of the people I’ve read… career coaches, counselors, etc. will tell you that you should admit you are looking for a job, explain the reasons why and see if they can be rectified or fixed. B—l S–t! Don’t you dare do that.

Now I know Sr. Mildred, my first grade teacher at the very Catholic grade school, Monte Cassino, will turn over in her grave when she hears that I’m going to teach you to lie. And you may have to go to confession for telling a lie, but the consequences of telling the truth in this particular case are terrible.

Most companies with any sense, once they find out you are looking for a job are going to fire you on the spot. If they don’t fire you on the spot, they’re going to figure out a way to replace you as soon as they possibly can and then let you go.

Most of the time, when someone’s supervisor calls them in to ask this question, the supervisor really isn’t quite sure if the employee is looking for a job. If they were certain, they’d probably fire the person without asking any questions. They have probably heard a rumor through the company, aren’t really certain, so they ask.  Unfortunately, most of the time the fact that an employee is looking for a job reaches the ears of a supervisor because the soon-to-be unemployed employee shared the fact they were looking for a job with someone in the company. Stupid!

I can’t tell you the number of candidates I’ve had over the years that swear up and down they have absolutely no idea how the boss found out they were looking for a job right before they were fired. 99% of the time the employee told one of their “trusted” cohorts they were looking to leave and never imagined it would get around to other people in the company. So, one lesson is to never, ever, ever discuss your job search with someone you work with. I don’t care if everybody in the company is looking to leave, don’t discuss it with anybody you work with.

Unfortunately, if you’re asked this question and you are looking for a job, you have no choice but to deny it. Please don’t try to tell me you just don’t want to lie. Maybe you don’t want to lie and maybe you’ll feel great about telling the truth even though you get fired. Maybe… but if you are like most, you can’t afford to be without a job. This job market is just way too difficult. So, please try not to get yourself in a situation where you’re faced with this challenge. But if you do, you have to protect your job.

Three times this week, I interviewed  candidates with excellent track records and good work histories. Admittedly, they haven’t looked for a job in quite some time and weren’t use to interviewing.  But when I asked them the specific things they could do for a potential employer that nobody else could, they simply looked at me with a blank stare.

After a long pause, one  said, “I’m a  good worker!” What??? I asked her what that meanT and after another pause she said she couldn’t tell me, but she just knew she was a very good worker.

If you are looking for a job, you need to be able to explain to a hiring authority specific, exact benefits that hiring authority would get if they hired you over and above the 43 other people they are going to interview. Because of  “an intentional blindness” (… see my blog post on the ‘invisible gorilla’ below) you need to be very, very, very specific on exactly what you’ve done in the past, in terms that are extremely clear, that can carry over to what the hiring authority needs. You cannot say  the stupid stuff like, “well, I’m just a good employee… well everybody likes me… I don’t miss work… I get to work on time” or any kind of glib generality. You have to be able to communicate the specifics, “I consistently performed in the upper 2% of the company’s sales force… I consistently received excellent reviews and the maximum raises the company could offer… I was recognized by management 12 times in the last year… I was rewarded the top bonuses available in the company… I was promoted in the shortest period of time of any one of my peers…”

You have to be able to deliver features of your experience and background that can be benefits to  a hiring authority. They have to be clear and concise.

This takes practice. Don’t think you’re going to get into an interview without practicing this and all of a sudden be able to explain your features, advantages and benefits clearly and concisely. In today’s market you’re not going to get three “practice interviews.” Every interview is going to count. Know what you’re selling and deliver it well.

Twice this week, our firm had two excellent candidates who could do a very good job for the firms we referred them to and the jobs they were interviewing for. Unfortunately… and despite our warnings… both candidates went into the interview selling what I call, all galactic,  all world,  “I can do anything and everything” … both of these candidates have been in various jobs from frontline to vice presidents (even though they were still frontline producers) at smaller organizations… they had a number of very different kinds of jobs for short periods of time in a number of different kinds of companies and it was obvious they were very self-conscious about having too many jobs and careers, at least for the last few years, that were, kind of, all over the boards.

In spite of the fact that they were very good, solid candidates, they were so self-conscious about their various jobs with various companies, that even when we got them the interviews,  instead of going in and selling one or two specific skills and one portion of their background that would have been most important to the organizations we referred them to, they tried to sell every skill in every job they ever had.

They never really focused on the specifics of  the  position the hiring authority was looking to fill. When they were asked, “What kind of position are you looking for?”  they tried to answer the question with every possible answer that could be given. Their answer went something like this, “Wow, when I was at ABC company, I was a frontline producer doing XYZ. When I was at the previous company, I was a manager doing LMN. When I was at a previous company, I was the vice president of customer service leading a whole group of people. I can do just about anything and I have done just about everything.”

Instead of focusing on, “What is the most important experience or background you are looking for in the position you’re trying to fill?” They tried to “shotgun” their experience basically saying, “I can do anything, just give me the job.”

In trying to sell themselves, they grossly oversold, communicating that they could do everything and anything… they just need to be hired.

When our clients drill down on their experience, both of them still tried to answer just about every question with, “I can do that!”

The lesson is that in spite of the number of jobs, titles and duties you might have had in the past, a good candidate  cannot come across as,  “I can do everything, just hire me.”

Both candidates insisted that the reason they answered the questions this way is that they didn’t want to eliminate themselves for not being able to do any aspect of the job. It comes from insecurity and nervousness. The key is to analyze exactly what the hiring authority is looking for and sell your primary skills that relate to what they want. Everything else becomes secondary.