Tag Archive: interview

Listening for the Story (A Manager’s Guide to Conducting a Great Interview)

Season Three B, Episode Three. Podcast recap! (And if you missed the podcast, you can find it here.)

Podcast Recap: Season 3b, Episode 3

In this week’s podcast we focused on tips for managers to be the most successful and effective they can be when conducting an interview.

Oh sorry, you thought it was just the job applicant who had to prepare for an interview? Nope. Wrong.

You’ve Got Some Work to Do

You may recall that we spent some time talking about how a job applicant needs to spend some time thinking about “their story.” How does their experience best answer potential interview questions? We coached people to learn to tell their stories in a way that ensures that you, the interviewer, is hanging on every word and seeing the obvious link to the skills and traits you are looking for.

That last bit, “the skills and traits you’re looking for,” is the key, and preparation is required to make sure that you remember, during those long hours of interview panels, exactly what it is you are hoping to hear. When you design your interview questions, consider,

“Do my questions:

  • align with the both the skills and the character traits that were outlined in the Job Description and Job Ad that I posted?” (Remember, if you want to hire a Gen Z and you posted an awesome Gen Z job description, don’t slip back into tedious Gen X interview behaviours – be consistent!)
  • help me uncover things that may not be on the resume?” (Behavioural qualities like emotional intelligence and comportment.)
  • help me validate resume content?” (Sadly, some people hire others to write their resume, and have no idea what’s in it.)

You’ll also need to decide whether you require an assignment, and whether that should be pre-work (rare, since people can get help with these) or post interview work completed on site (more common).

Finally, consider the time available, the panel interviewing with you (do they have any questions to add or will you simply be reviewing your questions and goals with them), pare down your questions to the most important, and then create a scoring template to use in the interview.

This template can be as simple as a list of the questions, a number of points awarded to each one out of the total points available (a weighting factor), and a few words to remind you what you’re listening for. For example:

Q1: What is it about this job that encouraged you to apply? (15/100) [Listen for: passion, desire to transform things and make them better, well-spoken, confidence.]

Q2: Tell me about a time you had to get information from a variety of people in our global organization, and were not able to meet with them face-to-face? (10/100) [Listen for: problem solving skills, technology solutions other than email, seems to truly like people and talking with them.]

While I’ve Got You Here…

Asking the questions is the easy part. The hard part is listening.

Can you be fully present and engaged in what the person is saying? Is your phone buzzing in your pocket? Do you keep checking your watch? Are people tapping on your door, disrupting (even unintentionally) the interview?

Do everything you can to respect this person’s time, even if you can tell right away that they aren’t the right person. You never know who you will meet again in the future, or whether that person will be able to connect you to someone else. Also, it’s common courtesy.

Other notes on etiquette when conducting an interview:

  • watch for cues you may be giving unintentionally,
  • balance between serious and smiling/encouraging,
  • demonstrate the type of manager you’re going to be – role model your expectations – be on time and make an effort to look like you’re excited about this,
  • set expectations that the interviewee should mange their time, and
  • be kind. Getting people to relax will enable you to more effectively gauge their soft skills.

Lastly, listen for the interviewee’s story, assess their behavioural qualities and how they carry themselves (making allowances for fumbles and word slips at the start due to nerves), and take notes.

Notes are important so you can have an informed discussion with the panel after the interview, so you can support your decision, and so that you can carry out a debrief, if asked, after the interview. They also give you something to focus your mind (it’s hard to think about tonight’s game or tomorrow’s presentation when you’re taking notes).

But Wait, There’s More!

Other than making your decision and bringing in your new employee (which we will cover in our next episode), there is one last thing you may need to do, if asked.

Smart people always request a debrief if they are the unsuccessful candidate. They seek to understand what they could do better next time, and even look for suggestions on how to improve.

Many managers are terrified to conduct debriefs, almost always because they are uncomfortable giving feedback. The best way to prepare to give a debrief (other than reading this blog post), is to take 5-10 minutes, and write down what you want to share with that person. There’s no need to go overboard and gush about how awesome it was to talk to them and how they did a great job but it just wasn’t the best fit and how you really liked them and it was a close call.

That’s garbage feedback and it would be better not to bother at all.

What you want to do is schedule a 15 minute phone call, and go over three things that you felt were missing from the interview, or that could be improved. Consider phrases like:

  • I have a couple of ideas to share with you for your next interview.
  • With respect to project management (or whatever topic you want to focus on), what I was looking for was a specific example of what YOU did, and I only heard about the team.
  • We are looking for someone who has the confidence to take on difficult situations, and you seemed pretty nervous. Of course nerves are normal in an interview, but you didn’t seem able to get more settled and more confident as the interview went on.
  • I think you could use some rehearsal / practice / experience.

The key is to give specific feedback that highlights what you DIDN’T see/hear, and how the candidate could take action and improve.

Lucky for you, we have a handy dandy template, and we are happy to share it with you:

Interview Debrief One Page Template

You have done a lot of work to get to the point where you’re ready to interview someone, and (hopefully) so have they. Do that last little bit of preparation so that you can listen effectively for their stories and know without question whether they are a good fit for their team. Then be prepared to give feedback and pass on your expertise – you never know when that good karma will come back to you.

Until next time,

Ruth.

3 Steps to take before you quit your job

It happens so suddenly.  Things seem to be chugging along and one afternoon you come to the drastic realization: “I want to quit my job”.   It may have been percolating for some time. Anger and resentment like to age like a fine wine (mmm wine. Is it Friday yet?).   Maybe something specific has triggered your sudden need for change. Perhaps you’ve had a sudden leadership shuffle or organizational realignment that just turned your work-life upside down. Either way, something has to change and you’re going with the all -or-nothing approach. You want to quit your job.

Okay, sit back and breathe.  This has happened to all of us.  The following 3 steps ensure that you are making the right move, and if the move is real – how to make sure you are prime interview material.

3 Steps to Take Before You Quit Your Job

Assess. Correct. Act.

1) Assess

First things first.  Let’s do some root cause analysis.  Some questions to ask yourself:

  • What do you love about your job?
  • What are you really good at?pablo
  • What could you be better at?
  • What makes you think you should be better at them?
  • What do you dislike about your job?
  • Which one in particular (there may be many, try to pick the one with the biggest impact) would you say is making you want to leave?
  • Why [insert answer to your last question here]? i.e. Why do you think your boss doesn’t know how to lead?
  • Why [insert answer to the last question here]? i.e. Why do you think your boss has no desire to help you to succeed?
  • Why….[you get the picture right]? i.e. Why do you think your boss dislikes you as a human?
  • What evidence do you have to support your beliefs/observations?
  • Is it possible these are assumptions?
  • Where do you want to go?
  • Why do you think it will be better?
  • What evidence do you have that supports that?
  • Is there a person/place/resource that you could use to determine if another agency/consulting firm/hospital etc. will be better?

*Note: This line of questioning will hopefully have you saying things like “Well, I just assume s/he dislikes me because x,y,z, but I don’t know this for a fact.”

2) Correct

Now, finding a job can take a while.  So maybe there are some opportunities in that big list above to make some course corrections.  Make things better.  Maybe they get so great you don’t need to leave, or maybe they just become more tolerable while you are on the hunt for that new dream job.

  • What can YOU change about your behaviours/habits/style that could help?
  • What skills/experiences do you need to develop to make the transition?
  • What tools, resources, people (mentors, colleagues etc.) do you have to help you make changes/get experience and skills?
  • What changes would help that YOU have influence over?
  • What things do you think can OTHERS change?  Are you willing to have a conversation with them about it/work together to solve it?
  • What things aren’t going to change/things you don’t have control or influence over (i.e. policies, organizational structure) ?  Can you come to terms with that staying the same during your transition?
  • What things might get in the way?

3) Act

Now do the things.   Make the changes.  Use your influence, tools, resources, and people to help you get what you need. Make the best of the situation.  Now is a great time to “SHINE”.  This will serve a couple of purposes: work will be more bearable, you will have overall better days that make you happier, you will be more confident, and you’ll have people who are willing to give great references. You may love it so much, you decide to stay.

Have you had the sudden urge to leave? Did you act on it? Did you use some of these steps? How did it turn out? What would you have done differently? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below or on Twitter @whiteboardcons #iquit.

Until next time!

Nicole

 

3 Questions to ask your potential new boss to avoid a toxic workplace.

Why oh why did I take this job?

You spent days perfecting your resume.  Days finding the right salutation for your cover letter.  Weeks ruining your manicure fretting about the interview process.  And if you happen to work in the public sector, you’ve spent hours rehearsing your presentation assignment with anyone who will listen.

All that hard work, and the phone finally rings – “We’d like to offer you the job!” download

Fast forward 2 goodbye cake parties, 12 transition meetings, and 17 emails about how lucky you are to “get out of here”.  You’ve got your big girl/boy suit on and it is week 3 of your new job.

You said the biggest challenge was going to be what?

You thought you did the right thing! You asked the golden end-of-interview question:

“What will be the biggest challenge you foresee for the winning candidate in this new role?”

This is a great question.  But they didn’t tell you that the office is the perfect example of a toxic workplace! You are dissapointed, demotivated, and think you may have made the worst decision ever!

Don’t get me wrong,  “a challenge” from one individual to another has a great deal of variability. For one it might be subject matter expertise, for another it is senior management support. Managers looking for a team member aren’t going to say things like:

  • The culture is super toxic, have fun!
  • I’m a really great operational manger, but I suck at leadership (oh and I hate team meetings FYI).
  • Your team is the worst performing team in our entire company.
  • My boss is even worse than I am.

3 Questions to ask your potential new boss (BEFORE you say YES!)

You might feelimages awkward asking these questions.  I guarantee that this moment of mild awkwardness is FAR less painful than arriving at TWCC (Toxic Workplace Culture Central). Read more on the signs of a toxic workplace culture here.

  1. How would you describe the culture of the organization? This is a great open-ended question that’s pretty hard to hide behind. If you have an honest hiring manager, they will be clear about the challenges and opportunities.  Be ready with some probing questions to help you out in case you get some tight lipped answers (i.e. You say “Great”, tell me more? How would employees describe the culture? How would another team describe the culture?).  I would be delighted with answers like: our branch does a bi-annual team building event offsite, we have a running club, we have a lunchtime yoga session that more than half of the team participates in etc.
  2. Can you tell me about the history of the team that I’ll be working with? Ooh.  This question is more loaded than a baked potato. Here’s where you can find out things like how new (or how established) your team is.  Perhaps you do some diagnosis on their stage of team development, or how you might apply the situational leadership model.  You can start to understand how resilient the team might be to change (based on their recent history with change).
  3. What kinds of systems/processes are currently in place in the organization to support open and transparent communication and team building? What I would want to hear in this answer are things like: we have weekly 1:1 coaching sessions with our team, we have a very rigorous performance review process, we believe strongly in training, coaching, and having difficult conversations…

Remember, the hiring panel is not only interviewing you, but you are interviewing them – to see if this job, culture, and environment is a great fit for you.  Otherwise, on to the next opportunity!

Now what if you’ve got the job and you’ve got the toxic culture blues? Not to worry, stay tuned and next time I’ll share the top 3 tips to dramatically improve your culture (even if you aren’t a manager)!

Until Next Time,

Nicole

P.S.  Looking for a new role?  Ruth is offering 3 coaching sessions to a select few volunteers, snag this $500 value before spots are gone! Ruth@whiteboardconsulting.ca/staging