Conventional or Behavior-Based Interviewing?

A job interview has been scheduled for you, but do you know what types of questions you’ll have to answer? This is the dilemma most candidates face. Don’t panic. You can prepare for various types of questions, and I’ll give you a few hints later on. Most companies are using one or the other type: conventional questions or behavior-based questions; even a combination of them is likely.

Behavior-based questions have a clear purpose: the idea is to focus on your past and to conclude that if you behaved in a certain way in the past, then that would be the way you’d behave in the future in a similar situation. So, this expectation is based on predictable future behavior. The interviewer wants to hear how you applied your skills and whether you’ll demonstrate your capabilities in the future. The interviewer wants to assess the entire picture about what you did, what your thought process was, and how you felt about a particular situation. Best way to answer these types of questions is via storytelling. Start describing—in brief—the background situation, and then proceed to describe what you did or the actions you took. Finally, highlight the result of your action and its benefit to the company. Because behavior-based questions can be endless, I suggest that you prepare for them by organizing your thoughts in themes. Remember that the interviewer is looking to validate not only the skills mentioned in your résumé but perhaps also—and even more important—your traits.

Examples of themes are commitment, work ethic, problem solving, leadership, negotiation techniques, and dealing with adversity. To prepare for such themes, it’s best to write out in longhand some examples you could review before the interview and commit to short-term memory. In working on the examples, consider that the interviewer is more interested in the process than in the details of your stories. Rather, the interviewer wants to understand the reasoning that drove your actions: Why did you behave the way you did? And what skills did you have to use?

You will immediately know whether you’re being asked a behavior-based question because such questions typically start with, “Tell me a time when . . . ” or “What has been your biggest . . . ” or “What is the toughest . . . ” or “Describe a situation when . . . ” or “What example can you cite that . . . ” Notice that many behavior-based questions include a superlative or something of a superlative value such as biggest, fastest, toughest, and the like. This might be intimidating. My advice is that when you’re asked such a question, you first think for two or three seconds and then face the interviewer and say, “Well, I’m not sure I can come up at the moment with the [insert the superlative], but here’s an example,” and then give the story.

Behavior-based questions are not so difficult once you have half a dozen to a dozen examples, and you’ve had a chance to practice delivering them in a mock interview setting.

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The Interview Focus Is on Future, Not Past

Until about 1990, the conventional thinking was that if you did your job satisfactorily, you would keep it for many years to come. Several of my friends were AT&T employees in those days, and many of them had had seniority for one or two decades. So it seemed like they had it made and that the only foreseeable future would be their retirement. But then we learned certain new words, such as downsizing and outsourcing; and life in America started shifting. Until then, managers had had to be good at planning, organizing, managing people, managing processes, managing budgets, and so on.

That was indeed the business world of the past. Today, though, things are different. Today’s managers and rank-and-file employees have to show they are innovators and that they can add value and competitive advantage via creative input and collaboration with internal and external customers. And those who are unable to live up to such expectations soon find themselves either marginalized or reassigned to mundane tasks or, in the worst case, terminated.

Today’s employees have voice—something that typically did not exist in the past—and they’re now judged by the contributions of their creative ideas for improved content, processes, and technologies. Plus, employees are now expected to improve customers’ satisfaction levels and to express themselves more extensively.

So, what does all this have to do with interviewing?

I hope that my preface has shifted the thinking of those preparing to talk about their past during an interview. Of course, you should recite, quantify, and herald your professional accomplishments. But remember that the interviewer’s focus is on the future. Through your examples, the interviewer is trying to figure out whether you’re the one to solve the company’s future problems.

Think about the big picture emphasized earlier, and provide examples of your ability to make the interviewer visualize you and your future contributions as parts of that interviewer’s future team. Here are a few common interview questions that will give you the opportunity to talk about your future with the company.

• Where do you see yourself in the next three to five years?
• Why would you like to work for us?
• What is your management style?
• What would you do within 90 days after your hire?
• What’s your personality like?
• What traits do you consider important for this job?

If well rehearsed, your answers to all of those questions could position you in the hiring manager’s future. Good luck and congratulations!

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Is the Employer Always Right?

In this new, chaotic, and uncertain century, with its more and more minutely specialized occupations and skill sets and with nothing to do with the faltering economy, it’s not only human resources employees who might not be familiar with certain job skills and the actual needs of the open positions in their organizations. Believe it or not, the hiring managers themselves many times don’t know their own needs until the hapless chosen candidate has completed a typically extensive, lengthy, complex, and personally probing on-boarding administrative process and the candidate has already started reporting for work. Then the employer suddenly dismisses the employee—after perhaps only one or two days on the job—saying it has decided the employee’s skills apparently don’t match the actual needs of the position. That reason is not an employer cover-up for dismissal for a different reason. It is indeed the actual reason.

We’re living in a fast-paced world. Not only in our personal and family lives is everyone in the household or among our acquaintances going in different directions, but the same phenomenon is prevalent even more at work. For instance, the economy forces senior management to make budget cuts, which then cascades down the chain of command. Sometimes management changes are made, and literally everyone gets asked to do more with less and in less time. It’s no wonder, then, that hiring decisions nowadays are going not through a reasonable-length process but through an accelerated, hasty process—one that brings its victims. Employers are treating staff like a printed circuit board in an electronic module: Plug it in, and let’s see whether it’s working. If it is found that the wrong part has been used, it gets quickly replaced with a new one. Perhaps the replacement part will work better.

It is a fact that high employee turnover is very costly and not only in dollars and cents. Does the employer regret or feel contrite that such a dismissal—not based on the employee’s fault—leaves an indelible scar on the psyche of the employee? The answer is, most likely not. And the painful part of that too-often occurrence is going to stay with us until the buyer’s market shifts to the seller’s market, the way it used to be in the late 1900s.

Many people in America lost their jobs because of a shift in the economy that was due to the transfer of a large part of manufacturing to countries where labor is less expensive. Another reason is that evolution of the technology whose machines and computers introduced efficiency made people or hands become redundant. And generally, people are slow in adjusting to the new world. For instance, today’s car mechanics need specialized computer skills and knowledge; otherwise, they cannot repair today’s highly computerized vehicles.

So, with these sorts of rapid changes here to stay, the only issue we’re left to grapple with is whether employers are always right. Do you know? Do you have an answer? What’s your opinion?

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Are You Really Good at Job Interviewing?

Job interviewing is an act. Yes, you are the actor, and both sides know the rules: You, who are one of the candidates for the position, are doing your best to convince the interviewer you are the ideal candidate. The interviewer, who is the audience, has choices, is an independent thinker and often skeptic, and needs evidence and proof before buying everything you want to sell. (Please pardon the mixed metaphor.)

The winner in this competition is not only the individual who, on the positive side, has good answers but also the one who, on the negative side, does not make mistakes. So let’s look at both of those issues.

What are positive factors in an interview?

• Without being specific, an interviewer’s number one concern is whether you’d fit into the company’s culture. This is a loaded subject because the decision is subjective. The candidate should attempt to find out as much as possible about the company’s culture by talking to present and past employees and should then display to the extent possible the traits for a good fit into the culture.
• The other factor weighing heavily on the interviewer’s mind is the image you create. A candidate who exhibits a great deal of passion and excitement as well as specific knowledge about the company seems very attractive.
• More ways to give a positive impression are via general appearance, attire, and, above all, a natural smile. Regardless of geographic location, language, or culture, a smile means the same thing around the globe.

What are negative factors in an interview?

• Lack of confidence is an interview killer. If you’re not sure of yourself, or you don’t have specific examples, or you’re winging many of your answers, the interviewer will probably not be very impressed. Your body language will instantly reveal the truth, and both parties are thinking the same thing without talking about it.
• Certain things are universally considered gauche and should be strictly avoided—for example, being late or smelling of nicotine or strong perfume, dressing improperly, chewing gum, or the ringing of your cell phone in the middle of the interview. Any of those could be detrimental.
• And there are other ways a candidate can disenchant the interviewer—for example, denigrating a previous employer, voicing strong opinions, being caught lying, pointing out where the interviewer is wrong about something, or making the interviewer feel bad—about anything.

So, in summary, what is the holy grail of the interview process? The answer is, it depends, because a large portion of the decision-making process is subjective and hinges on the interviewer’s consciousness, past experiences, personal culture, and intellectual world. What I’ve learned from performing job interview coaching for several years is that the most important success factors are extensive preparation via mock interviewing the building of self-confidence. Both of those are instantly evident to an interviewer.

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How to Sell Yourself in a Job Interview

So, finally the phone rings and the caller ID displays the name of a company you sent your résumé to. The caller is from the company’s human resources department and wants to schedule you for an in-person interview. Fantastic, this is music to your ears, but what now? Are you prepared? Do you have time to get ready? More important, do you understand the interview process and in what context the company wants to explore your candidacy? Plus, also remember that such interviews are competitive. In other words, your résumé provided some clues about you that may fit the company’s need, the company’s culture, the skills sought, and so on, but in addition to exploring hiring possibilities with you, the company does so with several additional candidates as well. So now the question is, What can you do to maximize your chances?

Know your relationship with the interviewer

From the moment you hung up the phone with the person arranging the interview, this upcoming face-to-face meeting becomes the focal point of your next few days. Such is not the case, however, with the person who’s going to conduct the interview. For that person, the excitement about meeting with you is minimal—sometimes even to the point that the interviewer might not be prepared to conduct the interview. Sometimes the interviewer does not have with him a copy of your résumé—or even the job description!—and will just wing it, as they say. On top of that, you think that well-rehearsed answers to common interview questions are very convincing. Well, think again. The interviewer knows you came in to sell yourself and knows to expect from you many self-proclaimed adjectives about how great you are. But do you really think the interviewer believes everything you say? Well, maybe some of it—and probably more of it if you have factual examples and you describe them as viewed by others.

What’s actually important to the interviewer?

This is where the candidate is at a disadvantage. Don’t forget that the hiring manager initiated the quest for the “ideal candidate” because there’s a problem to solve. It’s most likely the hiring manager (or interviewer) did not agree to meet with you because of your beautiful hands—well, unless you’re a professional model and the company is selling, say, wristwatches.

Seriously, your focus should be on identifying what the hiring manager needs done. And most likely, that information does not get revealed even via a candid dialogue. The thing is that job descriptions are typically rather general by not highlighting the specifics that are in fact the driving forces behind the hiring process for the positions advertised. Additionally, a large survey conducted among human resources personnel and hiring managers exposed the fact that 100 percent of them were looking for candidate fit into their companies’ cultures. And 82 percent of interviewers said they look for passion and excitement in candidates. So, based on this information, you may think your past speaks very well and you’d therefore be a shoo-in for the position. Not so, says the survey, unless you fit into the culture and you exhibit passion and excitement while interviewing.

As a reader, you may have your own opinion. I’d welcome your comment.

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A guest blogger - Secrets to a Stellar Video Resume

Eugene Lim is a marketing intern at Software Advice, a company that reviews and compares HR software. Read her full blog post here.

In today’s cluttered and competitive job market, job seekers may have a hard time differentiating themselves in what seems to be a sea of paper resumes. Video resumes could be just that extra advantage that sets candidates apart because they offer a unique look at the candidate’s personality and personal brand.
My freshman year of college, I made my own video resume. I thought I was being creative at the time, but in hindsight, it was a disaster (I was wearing pigtails)! With the advice of some seasoned professionals and from my own experience, here are a few tips to craft a stellar video resume.
1. Tailor to the employer
Your video resume should be tailored to fit the specific job and the company culture as well. If the employer has a recruiting video, try to match the tone they set. Josh Tolan, CEO of Sparkhire, encourages candidates to “approach a video resume just like you would an in-person meeting. Keep it polished, poised and professional. Dress professionally and speak with confidence.” Be clever and creative, but make sure the tone and humor can translate into the workplace.

2. Make your case
Your video resume is meant to move further along in the hiring process, so think of it as a sales pitch. Focus on a few strong takeaways for the hiring manager that illustrate why you are perfect for this job. Be sure to have a strong closing statement that summarizes your key points and makes a compelling argument for why the employer should pursue you further.

3. Show them what you can do
Tolan, points out, a video resume is not a replacement of your paper resume or a dramatic reading of it. Your video resume should show employers a side of you that can’t be captured in writing. Show yourself in action, perhaps working on your latest achievement or walking them through a past project with some visuals, or link your video to platforms like Twitter or your online portfolio to communicate a fuller picture of who you are.
Here’s a great example:
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4. Know the limits
Honestly, video resumes aren’t for everyone. Jeremy Roberts, SPHR, advises that this might not be the best path for you if you are uncomfortable in front of the camera or if you are applying to a technical position where your skill set already qualifies you. In that case, a ten-second scan of your paper resume might be all a recruiter needs, so be sure that you are making the best use of the his time and your own.
The goal of a video resume is to communicate who you are and why you’re a qualified candidate for the job. Though it might not be a guaranteed ticket in, it shows that you are willing to go a step further than most job candidates. So grab your camera, get creative and go get that job. Good luck!

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How to Shorten Your Job Search

People in transition know that finding a new, suitable job is a process—and most often, an unpleasant and lengthy one. While this is true in most cases, it doesn’t have to be that way, provided the job seeker understands the search process and becomes efficient with planning, creative thinking, networking, and research.

Where Do You Start Your Search?

You can’t even start searching for a job unless you know what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, many people are so burned out from their previous jobs that the idea of going back to the same kind of position seems to be a monumental barrier. Often, talking to an experienced career coach can help. No career coach will tell a client what to do but will ask the right questions, and jointly the coach and the client can come to the right conclusion. Occasionally, when the situation is severe, a third party is introduced for help. In such extreme cases, I myself refer clients to an experienced counselor and career-coaching expert who has a Ph.D. and over 20 years of experience specifically in such situations.

How to Plan Your Day

A job seeker needs to develop a plan and a strategy. The plan is not only a road map but also an important element in achieving a positive mind-set. Focus and determination are integral parts of the process if one wants to shorten it. This job search strategy has as its goal the identification of ways the job seeker will conduct the job search via various methods, including searching for online job listings, connecting with employment recruiters, and building personal relationships through networking. Keeping track of daily activities is essential by developing a spreadsheet with such information as whom you called and e-mailed and when, what networking events you participated in, and so on. Build a roster of people you met and followed up with. And beware of falling into the trap of spending more than 10 or 15 percent of the day answering online job postings and just searching the Internet in vain.

The job search has several components to it, and therefore, identifying and measuring realistic milestones are very important in order to maintain the positive attitude and self-confidence needed during the long process.

Make sure you have an outstanding résumé. I mean outstanding—not good or very good. Those who do not have an outstanding résumé unknowingly prolong their job search. This is a shame, because they think they’re in the running when in fact they’re not—because their résumé isn’t up to snuff. Companies search mostly among only outstanding candidates. Remember that you are represented by what your résumé projects. No company is knowingly looking for good or very good job candidates. Companies all are looking for outstanding ones. For years, my recommendation has been to use a recommended professional résumé writer. Unless you are one, chances are very good that you’re not capable of producing an outstanding résumé—even if many others have helped you improve or edit it. And last, I suggest you work with a career coach who can prepare you by helping you acquire the skills needed for a successful interview.

Only in the Olympics are there three winners. In the job market, all candidates are losers except one. Good luck to you!

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