What Color Is Your Parachute? Part 6

The Point You Try to Get Across: You are looking for precisely the kind of work the employer is offering (but don't say that, if it isn't true). Repeat back to the employer, in your own words, what he/she has said about the job, and emphasize the skills you have to do that.

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: If the employer hasn't described the job at all, say, "I'd be happy to answer that, but first I need to understand exactly what kind of work this job involves." Then answer, as at left.

Employer's Question: "Have you ever done this kind of work before?"

The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid you don't possess the necessary skills and experience to do this job.

The Point You Try to Get Across: You have skills that are transferable, from whatever you used to do; and you did it well.

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: "I pick up stuff very quickly." "I have quickly mastered any job I have ever done."

Employer's Question: "Why did you leave your last job?"-or "How did you get along with your former boss and co-workers?"

The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid you don't get along well with people, especially bosses, and is just waiting for you to "bad-mouth" your previous boss or co-workers, as proof of that.

The Point You Try to Get Across: Say whatever positive things you possibly can about your former boss and co-workers (without telling lies). Emphasize you usually get along very well with people-and then let your gracious att.i.tude toward your previous boss(es) and co-workers prove it, right before this employer's very eyes (and ears).

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: If you left voluntarily: "My boss and I both felt I would be happier and more effective in a job where [here describe your strong points, such as] I would have more room to use my initiative and creativity." If you were fired: "Usually, I get along well with everyone, but in this particular case the boss and I just didn't get along with each other. Difficult to say why." You don't need to say anything more than that. If you were laid off and your job wasn't filled after you left: "My job was terminated."

Employer's Question: "How is your health?"-or "How much were you absent from work during your last job?"

The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid you will be absent from work a lot, if they hire you. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for you, this is a question they cannot legally ask you.

The Point You Try to Get Across: Just because the question is illegal, doesn't mean you can't address their hidden fear. Even if they never mention it, you can try to disarm that fear.

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: You can find a way to say, "My productivity always exceeded other workers, in my previous jobs."

Employer's Question: "Can you explain why you've been out of work so long?"-or "Can you tell me why there are these gaps in your work history?" (Usually said after studying your resume.) The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid that you are the kind of person who quits a job the minute he/she doesn't like something at it; in other words, that you have no "stick-to-it-iveness."

The Point You Try to Get Across: You love to work, and you regard times when things aren't going well as challenges, which you enjoy learning how to conquer.

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: "During the gaps in my work record, I was studying/doing volunteer work/doing some hard thinking about my mission in life/finding redirection." (Choose one.) Employer's Question: "Wouldn't this job represent a step down for you?"-or "I think this job would be way beneath your talents and experience."-or "Don't you think you would be underemployed if you took this job?"

The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid you could command a bigger salary, somewhere else, and will therefore leave him/her as soon as something better turns up.

The Point You Try to Get Across: You will stick with this job as long as you and the employer agree this is where you should be.

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: "This job isn't a step down for me. It's a step up-from welfare." "We have mutual fears; every employer is afraid a good employee will leave too soon, and every employee is afraid the employer might fire him/her, for no good reason." "I like to work, and I give my best to every job I've ever had."

Employer's Question: And, last, "Tell me, what is your greatest weakness?"

The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid you have some character flaw, and hopes you will now rashly blurt it out, or confess it.

The Point You Try to Get Across: You have limitations just like anyone else, but you work constantly to improve yourself and be a more and more effective worker.

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: Mention a weakness and then stress its positive aspect, e.g., "I don't like to be over-supervised, because I have a great deal of initiative, and I like to antic.i.p.ate problems before they even arise."

Tip #14

As the interview proceeds, you want to quietly notice the timeframe of the questions the employer is asking, because it's a way of measuring how the interview is going. If it's going favorably for you, the timeframe of the employer's questions will often move-however slowly-through the following stages.

1. Distant past: e.g., "Where did you attend high school?"

2. Immediate past: e.g., "Tell me about your most recent job."

3. Present: e.g., "What kind of a job are you looking for?"

4. Immediate future: e.g., "Would you be able to come back for another interview next week?"

5. Distant future: e.g., "Where would you like to be five years from now?"

Well, you get the point. The more the timeframe of the interviewer's questions moves from the past to the future, the more favorably you may a.s.sume the interview is going for you. On the other hand, if the interviewer's questions stay firmly in the past, the outlook is not so good. Ah well, ya can't win them all!

When the timeframe of the interviewer's questions moves firmly into the future, then is the time for you to get more specific about the job in question. Experts say it is essential for you to ask, at that point, these kinds of questions, if you don't already know the answers: What is the job, specifically, that I am being considered for?

If I were hired, what duties would I be performing?

What would you be hiring me to accomplish?

What responsibilities would I have?

Would I be working with a team, or group?

To whom would I report? (Remember, the communication skills and personal warmth of an employee's supervisor are often crucial in determining the employee's tenure and performance. In fact, recent research shows that the quality of the supervisor may be more important than the experience and individual attributes of the workers themselves.) Whose responsibility is it to see that I get the training I need, here, to get up to speed?

How would I be evaluated, how often, and by whom?

What were the strengths and weaknesses of previous people in this position?

May I meet the persons I would be working with and for (if it isn't you)?

(Optional) If you don't mind my asking, I'm curious as to why you yourself decided to work at this organization?

(Optional) What do you wish you had known about this company before you started here?

Tip #15

Before you leave the (final) interview there, a.s.suming you have decided that you like them and maybe they like you, there are five questions you should always ask: 1. "Can you offer me this job?" I know this seems stupid, but it is astonis.h.i.+ng (at least to me) how many job-hunters have secured a job simply by being bold enough to ask for it, at the end of the (final) interview, in language they feel comfortable with. I don't know why this is. I only know that it is. Anyway, if after hearing all about this job at this place, you decide you'd really like to have it, you must ask for it. The worst thing the employer can say is "No," or "We need some time to think about all the interviews we're conducting."

2. "When may I expect to hear from you?" If the employer says, "We need some time to think about this," or "We will be calling you for another interview," you don't want to leave this as a vague good intention on the employer's part. You want to nail it down.

3. "Might I ask what would be the latest I can expect to hear from you?" The employer has probably given you their best guess, in answer to your previous question. Now you want to know: what is the worst-case scenario? Incidentally, when I was job-hunting once, and I asked my interviewer when was the latest I might expect to hear from him, he replied, "Never!" I thought he had a great sense of humor. Turned out he was dead serious.

4. "May I contact you after that date, if for any reason you haven't gotten back to me by that time?" Some employers resent this question. You'll know that is the case if they snap at you. But most employers appreciate your offering them what is in essence a safety net. They know they can get busy, become overwhelmed with other things, forget their promise to you. It's rea.s.suring, in such a case, for you to offer to rescue them.

5. (Optional) "Can you think of anyone else who might be interested in my skills and experience?" This question is invoked only if they replied "No," to your first question, above.

Jot down any answers they give you, then stand up, thank them sincerely for their time, give a firm handshake, and leave.

In the following days, rigorously keep to all that you said, and don't contact them except with that mandatory thank-you note, until after the latest deadline you two agreed upon, in answer to question #4. If you do have to contact them after that date, and if they tell you things are still up in the air, you should gently ask questions #2, #3, and #4, all over again.

Tip #16

Every expert on interviewing will tell you two things: 1. Thank-you notes must be sent after every interview, by every job-hunter; and 2. Most job-hunters ignore this advice.

Indeed, it is safe to say that it is the most overlooked step in the entire job-hunting process.

If you want to stand out from the others applying for the same job, send thank-you notes-to everyone you met there, that day. Ask if they have a business card, and if not, ask them to write out their name and address. Do this with secretaries (who often hold the keys to the kingdom) as well as with your interviewer.

If you need any additional encouragement to send thank-you letters (besides the fact that it may get you the job), here are six more reasons for sending a thank-you note, especially to the one who interviewed you: First, you were presenting yourself as one who has good skills with people. Your actions with respect to the job-interview must back this claim up. Sending a thank-you note does that. The employer can see you are good with people; you remembered to thank them.

Second, it helps the employer recall who you are. Very helpful if they've seen a dozen people that day.

Third, if a committee will be involved in the hiring process, but only one member was at the first interview, the man or woman who first interviewed you has something to show the others on the committee.

Fourth, if the interview went rather well, and the employer seemed to show an interest in further talks, the thank-you note can reiterate your interest in further talks.

Fifth, the thank-you note gives you an opportunity to correct any wrong impression you left behind. You can add anything you forgot to tell them, that you want them to know. And from among all the things you two discussed, you can underline the two or three points that you most want to stand out in their minds.

Lastly, if the interview did not go well, or you lost all interest in working there, and this thank-you note is sort of "goodbye, and thanks," keep in mind that they may hear of openings elsewhere, that would be of interest to you. In the thank-you note, you can mention this, and ask them to please let you know if they hear of anything anywhere. If this was a kind man or woman who interviewed you, they may send you additional leads.

Conclusion

Hopefully, with these tips you will do well in your interviews. And if you do get hired, make one resolution to yourself right there, on the spot: plan to keep track of your accomplishments at this new job, on a weekly basis-jotting them down, every weekend, in your own private log. Career experts recommend you do this without fail. You can then summarize these accomplishments annually on a one-page sheet, for your boss's eyes, when the question of a raise or promotion comes up.

But despite all your careful preparation, and all your thoughtful questions, you may not be offered the job. b.u.mmer!

I remind you of what I said earlier: the hiring process is more like choosing a mate, than it is like deciding whether or not to buy a car. "Choosing a mate" here is a metaphor. To elaborate upon the metaphor just a bit, it means that the mechanisms by which human nature decides to hire someone, are similar to the mechanisms by which human nature decides whether or not to marry someone. Those mechanisms, of course, are often impulsive, intuitive, nonrational, unfathomable, made on the spur of the moment, and-sometimes-just plain crazy.

There is no magic in job-hunting. No techniques work all the time. I hear regularly from job-hunters who report that they paid attention to all the tips I have mentioned in this chapter and the book, and are quite skilled at securing interviews-but they never get hired. And they want to know what they're doing wrong.

Well, unfortunately, the answer sometimes is: "Maybe you're doing nothing wrong." I don't know how often this happens, but I know it does happen: namely, some employers play despicable tricks on job-hunters, whereby they invite you in for an interview despite the fact that they have already hired someone for the position in question, and they know from the beginning that they have absolutely no intention of hiring you-not in a million years!

You are cheered, of course, by the ease with which you get these interviews. But unbeknownst to you, the manager who is interviewing you (we'll say it's a he) has a personal friend he already agreed to give the job to. Only one small problem remains: the state or the federal government gives funds to this organization, and has mandated that this position be opened to all. So this manager must pretend to interview ten candidates, including his favorite, as though the job opening were still available. But, he intended, from the beginning, to reject the other nine and give the job to his favorite. You were selected for the honor of being among those nine rejectees.

You will, of course, be baffled as to why you got turned down. Trouble is, you will never know.

On the other hand, maybe no games are being played. You are getting rejected, at place after place, because there is something really wrong with the way you are coming across, during these hiring-interviews.

Employers will rarely ever tell you this. You will never hear them say something like, "You came across as just too c.o.c.ky and arrogant during the interview." You will almost always be left in the dark as to what it is you're doing wrong.

If you feel daring, there is a strategy you can try. If you've been interviewed by a whole bunch of employers, whoever was the friendliest of them all may want to help you. I said may.

You can always try phoning, reminding them of who you are, and then asking the following question-deliberately kept generalized, vague, unrelated to just that place, and above all, future-directed. Something like: "I'd appreciate some advice. I've been on several interviews at several different places now. From what you've seen, is there something about me in an interview, that you think might be causing me not to get hired at those places? If so, I'd really appreciate your giving me some pointers so I can do better in my future hiring-interviews."

Most of the time they'll duck. Their legal advisor, if they have one, will certainly advise against it. First of all, they're afraid of lawsuits. Second, they don't know how you will use what they might have to say. (Said an old military veteran to me one day, "I used to think it was my duty to tell everyone the truth. Now I only give it to those who can use it.") But occasionally you will run into a compa.s.sionate and kind employer who is willing to risk giving you the truth, because they think you will use it wisely. If so, thank them from the bottom of your heart, no matter how painful their feedback is. Such advice, seriously heeded, can bring about just the changes in your interviewing strategy that you most need, in order to win during interviews in the future.

In the absence of any such help from employers who interviewed you, you might want to get a good business friend of yours to role-play a mock hiring-interview with you, in case they immediately see something glaringly wrong with how you're "coming across."

When all else fails, I would recommend you go to a career coach who charges by the hour, and put yourself in their tender knowledgeable hands. Role-play an interview with them, and take their advice seriously (you've just paid for it, after all).

In interviewing, as elsewhere in your job hunt, the secret is to find out anything that is within your control, even if it's only 2%; and change it!

1. The other two are discussed at the end of chapter 9.

2. "Briefing on the Economy," Time, April 11, 2011. The last year for which they had statistics was 2005.

3. Author of The Perfect Resume: Today's Ultimate Job Search Tool, 2004.

4. This one was done by a researcher at Ma.s.sachusetts Inst.i.tute of Technology, whose name has been lost in the mists of time.

5. This one was conducted by my friend and colleague, Daniel Porot, of Geneva, Swtizerland.

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