2024: 6 ways to differentiate yourself as a leader and land your next role

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Introduction:

Over the last year it seems like I have read about one or more lay off every week – no company has been spared and as more folks have been affected the competition for jobs has only increased. Now more than ever, interviewing leaders need to be able to differentiate and demonstrate that they understand and can meet the specific challenges that propels a business to survive / thrive.

After seeing hundreds of leaders successfully pass and fail at interview I wanted to share the trends that have helped many a Phase 3 Search placed leader land the job of their life:

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1. Your friends are your best champions:

First things first, the best way into a business is not through a headhunter but through an inside connection, a quick word from a trusted source, someone that can vouch for your work ethic, character and skill carries great weight. Before you begin applying, find who you know that knows the company you want to join and ask them to send your resume and a recommendation. It’s good for you, good for the person who referred you, and it’s cheaper than using an external search firm.

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2. Aligning with Company Culture:

Alignment to company mission and values forms the backbone of most hiring.

However, you will need to dig deeper than just asking the interviewing company about what the culture and values are. What a company says their culture is and what their culture actually is is often extremely different. It is your responsibility to do your due diligence to understand whether the company has an environment that will enable you to thrive. Ask around your network for other folks opinions & speak to everybody you know that has worked there.

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When interviewing, be sure to ask the questions that will give you more than the words on the wall:

• ?“What makes <company name> culture so unique & how does this differ to other places that you’ve worked?”
• “What’s the best example how special the <company name>’s company culture is?”

?By repeating these questions for each of your interviews you will quickly be able to see trends – good and bad.

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3. Research the company and be sure to understand their perspective:

Dig into the company and understand their challenges, market position, and future goals. Read old annual reports, look at the prior quarter’s investor decks, analyze future looking statements, look at their direct competitors and seek to understand where the threats to your interviewing company may come from.

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4. Prepare examples that highlight your best Skills and Achievements:

When you think you have the company’s position mapped, formulate questions that you can ask during the interview rounds that will help validate your understanding if where the company is (this will also demonstrate that you’ve done your homework).

Once you have answers to your questions, start to demonstrate how your past experiences could help them with their current challenge, lean into answers that demonstrate your ability to bring teams together, raise performance, and anticipate future challenges.

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5. Showcasing Problem-Solving Abilities:

Employers are looking for leaders who can solve problems. Share examples of how you've led your teams to identify problems, develop solutions, and successfully execute. Aim to convey how you achieved your results safely, on / ahead time, under budget, and how you made these results sustainable.

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NOTE: In today’s world HOW you led that team is just as important as what you achieved. You must demonstrate how you found out what your team needed to feel safe, motivated, how you kept them engaged, navigated conflict scenarios and ultimately how you were able to get the very best out of them.)

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"The team is the rocket, the challenge is the pilot, enthusiasm & energy are the fuel. You are the control tower and the inflight mechanic."

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6. Emphasizing Adaptability and Learning:

In today's fast-paced environment, adaptability is crucial to each company’s success. If you’ve ever scrapped a project to prioritize budget or had to rework something that was nailed down, you need to show how you reached your decision to do this and demonstrate that you have adapted to new situations and have the learning agility (and desire) to keep adding new skills to succeed.

You want to create the impression of a leader that will juggle their resources, filter out what not to do, set priority, generate buy in from their team, execute and adjust if the demands of the situation change.

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Conclusion:

In a cash tight market companies don’t have the luxury of hiring for fun, they hire because they need a set of skills that they don’t already have. Companies have become more discerning than ever before and they need people to be able to show how every action drives the business toward its next milestone.

By doing your research to identify what the interviewing businesses critical goals are, you will have the key to demonstrate how you can lead others through the maze of challenges that lies ahead and how you can help them survive / thrive.

If you are the candidate that can demonstrate to a CEO that you know how get you to their result in the shortest amount of time, for the least amount of cost, while also keeping teams motivated and pulling in the same direction”, and that business is ready to listen, you will find yourself in extremely high demand.

If you'd like to discuss your career development further, please reach out to me directly at: [email protected]