Interview Guidance for Executives & Managers
Lee Woodrow
Retired Principal Consultant at Bigger Fish Executive Branding | Expert in Resumes, Hybrid CVs, & LinkedIn Profiles | Empowering Executive Job Seekers with More Interviews & Better Job Offers
Welcome to my 2nd LinkedIn Newsletter. We now have 2,485 subscribers and growing fast. In last weeks Newsletter I talked about a few of my popular articles, including The LinkedIn Recommendation Framework - The 4P's, The Psychology of reading a CV - F & Z Patterns and What is Psychometric Testing. If you missed it - check it out here.
So this weeks newsletter focuses on Interviews! Firstly I will talk about unsuccessful applications and the reasons why you didn't land an interview. Then I'll step into common mistakes made in an interview followed by a few tips on how to answer difficult questions, ending with the STAR Interview Technique and How to Ace an Interview.
5 reasons you were not selected for interview?
Are you wondering why you haven’t been contacted for a job interview? Waiting for an email or a call from an employer to schedule an interview and wondering why you haven't been selected can be one of the most stressful parts of the job search process.
It’s especially tough when you've applied for a job where it appears that you’re a perfect match for the position. Why weren't you picked? And why haven’t you heard from the employer after you spent so much time and effort tailoring your CV?
The 4 biggest mistakes in an interview
Most professionals think that they did well and "Came across Well" when they come out of an interview. Avoid these biggest pitfalls to stay on track during an interview.
Deep Listening
Most senior Executives and Managers are so familiar with leading teams and coaching individuals they loose the ability to actively listen. Demonstrate that you have a particular skill or competency and anwser the question, but don't ramble. It's like an exam paper "Read all of the question before composing your answer". It's the same principle in an interview environment.
Talking in the collective
Do not say WE, Say I.
This can be very annoying for a recruiter or interviewer. Remember - they are not hiring a team, they want you as an individual.
Truly knowing yourself
Map out your career and learn about yourself, in order to answer proficiently and prevent rambling. Have a deep knowledge of your CV / resume timeline and ready to anwser a question like "tell me about yourself".
Don't play hard to get!
Make yourself come across as excited for the opportunity and that you feel the company and culture is the the perfect fit for you. Don't be arrogant and end with:
"Great opportunity, seems like a great company to work for and I cant wait to hear from you"
"Tell me about yourself" This question seems simple, so many people fail to prepare for it, but it’s crucial. Here's the deal:
Don’t give your complete employment (or personal) history - You're not sat with a councillor. Instead, give a pitch - one that’s concise and compelling and that shows exactly why you’re the right fit for the job. I recommend using a present, past, future framework. Introduce yourself using part of your value proposition, then talk a little bit about your current role (including the scope and perhaps one big accomplishment), giving some background as to how you got there and experience you have that’s relevant. Finally, mention why you're applying for the role — and why you would be perfect fit!
Example:
"I'm currently a Project Manager in the Energy industry and for the past 10 years, I have primarily been working in key account and project management roles in the Middle East. I thoroughly enjoy leading cross cultural teams and assuring E&P projects on behalf of energy operators.
I most recently worked as a senior PM for a large oil company in Saudi Arabia, managing a large exploration and production campaign across 3 separate sites and oversaw other Project Managers. Prior to this I worked my way through the industry and worked with a variety of organisations, including Halliburton, Shell and BP. Now I'm looking to expand my experience across different industries, particularly in renewables, which is why I'm so interested in joining an agency like yours."
As with any interview question, the key to crafting an impressive answer is understanding why people are asking in the first place. If you've done your research and fully understood the job description you could drop in a few keywords to demonstrate you're the ideal candidate.
Beyond serving as an icebreaker and transition, this introductory question also helps recruiters and hiring managers accomplish what’s often one of their major goals in the hiring process: getting to know you. If you answer it well, the interviewers will begin to find out why you’re the best candidate for this job, in terms of hard skills and experience as well as soft skills. It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate that you can communicate clearly and effectively, connect with and react to other humans, and present yourself professionally.
领英推荐
To get a job, you must position yourself as the solution to the companies problems, matching your experience and skill set with an employer’s needs. This question tests how persuasive you are. Interviewers want to see if you can make a calm, confident case for yourself, even if they’re acting skeptical. They’re looking for factual and compelling answers. Answer correctly, and you'll pass a very important test...
To prepare, research everything you can about their business’ agenda. Read their website, social media pages, quarterly reports, vision and mission statements, press releases and recent news stories about the company. Establish what their goals are, where do they see themselves headed in the future and how can your talents can help them get there.
Prepare for the interview by picking 3 or 4 qualifications and experiences that help them understand why you're a fit for this job.
Example 1:
"I've got both the experience and target audience rapport that you're looking for. I've built two _____________ from scratch and developed _____________ that you're currently looking to create. When employees fill out feedback forms, they speak highly of my professionalism and clarity that they've encountered."
Example 2:
"A close friend of mine on your _________ team says that this company is a great cultural fit given my background and values. I have an insatiable level of curiosity and tend to do lots of research on any topic that I'm less than an expert in. I know your values include ____________ and ____________. That really resonates with my passion. I'm just eager to become part of a fast-growing, mission-oriented organisation like yours."
Example 3:
"As a ________________, I’ve demonstrated my ability to _____________, as well as advise strategic ___________ decisions by providing in-depth __________ with various technical skills, such as _______ and __________. Part of my previous role has been to _________________ and make recommendations. A recent ________ strategy that I proposed eventually drove growth of __% for the business. Given the growth that your company is poised to have, I believe that my unique experience will be an asset to your team. I’m excited to expand my expertise within a new industry, and recommend key strategies and opportunities that will support and drive business."
The STAR method is an interviewing technique that lets the interviewer analyse in detail if you are well-suited for a job. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Actions and Result, which are the four pillars that interviewers will be searching in your answer.
SITUATION: Mention the company and set context for your story. For example:“ABC Oil Company in Houston had 6 expansion projects requiring $6 billion of CAPEX”
TASK: Mention your position and what was required of you. For example:“As Non Executive Director, oversaw corporate governance to ensure business plans & delivery were robust and efficient.”
ACTIONS: What you actually did. For example: Provided business advice & assurance; engaged stakeholders via board committees; aligned JV partner goals with company objectives; and identified weaknesses in SMS & developed solutions.
RESULT: How well the situation played out. For example: Successfully improved capital efficiencies by >$500 million and improved profitability.
Use this method to create a number of stories so you are prepared for an interview. Make sure the stories are relevant for the role, substantiate the required skillsets and also demonstrate a measurable outcome.
Well thats it for this week folks! I hope you gained benefit from my career, interview and personal branding tips. If you haven't done so already - please subscribe to this newsletter and give me a like or a comment below. I'm always keen to hear back you!
All the best!
Lee Woodrow - Executive Branding Specialist at Bigger Fish
Follow Lee for more Career, CV, Resume, LinkedIn and Interview Tips here: Lee Woodrow
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Are you worried about your next interview? Bigger Fish offers a 1 hour interview coaching session that teaches you how to prepare and handle a range of questions, including the following topics:
Book your session here: https://www.bigger-fish.co.uk/bookings-checkout/interview-coaching
Talent Acquisition Partner at Sage | Technology and Product | Senior Recruiter | Data Nerd | I ?? TA ??
3 年Great advice here for interviewees of any level. Great points raised and lots for people to take away and implement. Biggest thing for me is the rambling answers. In my experience, rambling is like kryptonite to senior-level managers. They just don't have time and usually just want the time NOT how to make the watch. When I worked in banking, I'd email large, complex emails to senior executives, and get one sentence replies back. They're just processing too much to deal with things any other way and become a bit hard wired like that. Also STAR is great. I've also heard people talking about CARL which incorporates what you've learned too. Both work fine in terms of just providing a structure to build your answers around. Like this a lot.