Manager Tools Interview Series

From our weekly shows, this cast describes how to answer the interviewing question, "Describe Your Leadership Style." This is perhaps the third most important interviewing question, after, "Tell me about yourself," and behavioral questions. It can be a tough one if you haven't done some thinking about how you lead and motivate others, and why others perform well when you are leading them. In this cast, we walk through how to prepare to answer, and how to deliver an impressive answer. Finally, at the end of the show, we share a crucial test that your answer must pass. While you already know the answer to the test, it still catches most people off guard.

An additional Interviewing show, originally covered on our weekly podcast ... Mark recently blogged about the crazy advice being given - by the Wall Street Journal! - about how to handle the perennial interviewing question, "Tell me about a weakness." He was stunned by how wrong some of the suggestions were, as well as the implication that a clever interviewee could trick the interviewing manager into accepting a non-responsive answer. We think it's funny how many folks think that "they" can fool "their" interviewer, but of course, if "they" were the one "interviewing", why, "that would be different". Yeah right. In this cast, we share one of the best interviewing answer templates you'll ever hear. It's simple, elegant, easy to deliver, and surprise, surprise: it directly answers the question.

These days, many employers use phone calls to pre-screen candidates before offering in-person interviews. If you are looking for a job, it is likely that at some point, you will be asked to "chat for a few minutes on the phone". Many recruiters are straight-forward enough to call it a "phone interview". Regardless of how they pitch it, don't make the error of mistaking it for anything than what it really is ... an INTERVIEW. And it CAN affect your potential career with an employer. So treat it with all the respect due a full interview. Phone interviews are often used to screen candidates in order to narrow the pool of applicants who will be invited for in-person interviews. In reality, there is only one purpose of the phone interview, to ELIMINATE candidates from further consideration as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Given that the purpose is to eliminate you, doesn't it make sense to be prepared as possible so YOU are one of those invited to the next step ... a face-to-face interview? Well, it's not hard. In many ways, the way you prepare for a phone interview isn't all that different from the way you'd get ready for a in-person interview -- but there are some differences and ADDITIONAL steps you need to take. In this show, we'll walk you through those additional steps.

Offers are what we set out to get when we interview. Most people would tell you that when you interview you're looking for a job, but that's wrong. Wanting a "job" out of the interviewing process is a subtly bad goal to have. It mixes together the two parts of the search, getting offers and taking offers into one long process, and there are such different rules in play for both parts that applying rules from the second into the first is VERY dangerous. During today's show, we discuss offers, and how to handle them.

This guidance helps you know what to do in two common follow up situations: when there are multiple interviews or multiple interviewers.

Follow up is one of the most misunderstood parts of the interviewing PROCESS. Remember Horstman's first law of interviewing, "Until You Got Something, You Got Nothing". Most interviewees make a mistake by believing that the Interview Process is done when the interview is done -- that the contest is over and you're just waiting for the score to be announced. This is a fundamental mistake ... the interview process continues WELL beyond the conclusion of the interview. During this show, we talk about the Follow-up stage of the interview process and how to make it work for you.

During this show, we discuss one of the most emotional aspects of the interviewing process -- Salary. We cover this topic because we get so many questions about it. What do I do when salary comes up? How do I handle when they ask for MY salary? What do I say when they ask me what I'm looking for? How do I negotiate? In today's show, we'll cover those questions and more ...

Closing is the single most powerful technique we know of in interviewing. Mark considers it the HOLY GRAIL of interviewing: those who close, all other things being equal, are significantly more likely to be successful. It is essentially the ONLY SURE WAY to OWN the end of the interview.

In this part of the interview, after you've finished the "Answers" portion, it's your turn to ask questions of the interviewer. It's an often overlooked opportunity to do well in interviews, because so many people don't prepare for it. They treat it like the introductions section, and instead focus all their prep on the company (rather than on themselves.) Companies usually see your questions as an opportunity to assess your intellect and insight. They want to see how your mind works - what you found interesting about the job, what excites you enough to ask questions about. And, to assess YOUR ability to carry the conversation a bit. How do YOU do when YOU have to ask the questions and then follow up when appropriate? Is it all you can do to answer straightforward questions, or can you LEAD the discussion? Can your questions MAKE the interview? No. Can they break it? ABSOLUTELY. So, you must prepare.

This show covers EXAMPLES of the most important question you'll ever get in an interview: "Give me an example of a significant accomplishment". In the previous show, we walked through the structure or design of the answer, and here we'll review the guidance, and then give two examples, using different verbiage.

This show is about the most important question you'll ever get in an interview: "Give me an example of a significant accomplishment". Recruiters more and more these days are using BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWING, which centers around the theory (well proven) that the best way to predict future behavior is by projecting from past behavior.

In this cast, you'll learn how to answer the first BIG question you'll get in any professional interview: Tell Me About Yourself. Sometimes it comes in different forms - "Give me a quick rundown", "Walk me through your resume,", etc. But the fundamental premise of this question is to quickly assess your communication skills on a multi-faceted question, find out how you see yourself, and if you are with a good interviewer, see how you handle interruptions.

In this cast, you'll learn how to handle the crucial first five to ten minutes of any interview - Introductions. It is absolutely true that this is a critical part of the interview - first impressions are being formed, and I’d bet 75% of interviewers have a strong indication of how it’s going to go by the time this portion is done. That translates into our gut feeling that this is where 75% of technical interviewees fail. It's THAT important.

Figuring out what to wear for interviews, according to most people, has gotten a lot harder than it used to be. Given that first impressions can greatly influence a hiring decision, the manner in which you present yourself during an interview can make a big difference in your ability to advance further into the interviewing process. Although your attire plays only a supporting role to your performance during the interview, it is important in making that "first impression" which can be a critical factor in your success. During this show, we discuss how to project a professional and positive image by wearing appropriate attire to the job interview

Somehow, with the advent of the internet in recruiting, the interest in and the ability to write good cover letters has disappeared. And yet, it's a necessary skill when one thinks of the entire job search as a PROCESS as opposed to just interviewing events. What we're going to do in this podcast is give you a simple, broad template that you can use for virtually any cover letter, whether it's hard copy or by email.

Mark and Mike have a very different view of resumes. Your resume is NOT just for interviewing. Your resume, regardless of the baggage associated with it, is probably your most critical career management document. While it's not something you ought to leave laying around on your desk (or on monster.com, for that matter), that doesn't mean you ought to treat it like something you dust off when you really need it. Building your resume is NOT a one time event, it's an ongoing process. Believe it or not, your resume needs to be reviewed and updated QUARTERLY. Yep, Quarterly! In today's show, we'll teach you how to prepare and maintain this important document.

The structure of most interviews is so well known, it only makes sense that we understand that structure and learn how to be effective within it. During this session, we'll discuss each of the 5 parts of an interview, what to expect, and how to be prepared. After which, you'll learn Horstman's Laws of Interviewing -- there are only 3 of them, but violate them at your peril. We've seen many an interviewee fail through violation of just ONE of these laws. Commit them to memory. We'll conclude by covering the 5 biggest mistakes interviewees make ... and how to avoid them.

Did you know that during the interview there is a very specific point of view you take? Mark shares with us that point of view and why it makes an incredible difference. I bet you would like to know what THE biggest mistake interviewees make, and what can you do about it, wouldn't you? Well, we'll talk about that too. We also talk about how to look at your background and what you can do specifically to leverage your background in the interview And then we talk about some ways to prepare ... even practice ... for interview that guarantees an effective delivery. Do the things we talk about during this session and you'll be the most prepared person the recruiter as ever interviewed!

In this introductory cast to our Effective Interviewing series, we talk about all the casts broadly, and share some of our feelings about interviewing in general. I suspect you might be tempted to skip this cast and get to the meat of the problem ... well, we strongly recommend that you listen to this cast first before jumping to other specific casts. Many casts are interrelated, and assume that you understand what has come before. You'll get a sense for that here.