Job Inteview 101

      Recently, a friend asked my advice about a job interview.  They were told that it was going to be a 'behavioral interview"  and did not know how to prepare for it.  I am going to share the answer to the question.

     Behavioral interviews and performance interviews are based on the job description and duties of the posted position.  They are designed to determine the best candidate for the position based on the psychological premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.  Because they are asking about specific, verifiable events, there is also the believe that the respondent will accurately describe their abilities, duties and outcome.  Since they are based on actual job duties, the potential employer reduces the possibility of being accused of bias or not obtaining enough information. 

     All jobs duties have the elements of quantity and quality.  In other words, how often are you expected to do something and how well you do it.  By asking behavioral questions, you are expected to address both issues.  Ideally, you should use an experience from previous employment however you can use any experience that is relevant. Structure your responses using the STAR format.  STAR stands for situation, task, action and results.  

• SITUATION - Answers the questions where did this occur (ie ACME Factory), when (ie., last year, at the annual marketing summit), why (ie potential loss of revenue due to new competition) who (presentation to company president by me).  State the relevance of the project to your company's or department's mission.
• TASK - Describes your assignment and role in the creating the solution to the problem.
• ACTION - What steps did you take to resolve the problem.  Make sure you use action words ie., developed, created, designed, that clearly indicate how you behaved. Include the number of people you supervised, duration of the project, the project budget so that the interviewer has a precise image of your work behavior.
• RESULTS - What was the outcome of your actions (ie., revenues increased by 10%, reached new target market).  If your results were not positive, then demonstrate that you analyzed the outcome and learned from this experience by stating why the plan was not successful and what would you do differently.  Since you are describing a situation in which you were the key player, do not blame someone else for failure because this implies you lack leadership skills and are not a good team player.  This is a good time to mention any award or recognitions that you received for your role in resolving this situation. 

     How should you prepare for this type of interview?  Carefully review the job description and determine the critical elements, (knowledge, skills and abilities) that are needed for the position.   Identify two or three situations for each element.  Consider the corporate culture and personal attributes that you would like to present and select the best examples.  Using the STAR format develop describe each example.  Finally, do mock interviews in order to be able to present yourself in a relaxed, organized manner.

If you would like some assistance with job interviewing skills, please contact me at chartingyourcoursewithcoaching@gmail.com.   

I am my best instructor.

     Say it again - I am my best instructor.  This statement is only true if you can review your experiences objectively and learn from them. 
     By objectively I mean two things.  First you need to recognize and accept what is within your control and what is not. Children think magically and assume that they can magically change things.  Some people play the blame game.  Nothing is ever their fault.  If they don't have a job it is not because they lack job skills but because the economy is bad.   
     Recognizing how you have improved your performance during your job search is a critical skill.  After the interview, you should ask yourself questions like were you prepared for the interview, did you arrive on time, have a copy of your resume, have information on the people you are using for references.  Did you have questions for your interviewer and answer questions in a brief but complete manner?  Did you address the interviewer by name?  Did you get the business cards or names of other people that were present at the interview?  If you could do the day over what would you change?  What would you leave the same?    
       Armed with this information, how are you going to change?  Perhaps, you could do mock interviews?  Can you brainstorm with a friend?  Could you make a check list of things that you should bring? If you believe you didn't answer question satisfactorily perhaps you could reword your answer in your thank you letter?  Perhaps, you could review the interview questions and develop answers. 
       Each experience can make you better but only if you take responsibility for things that are within your control.  But how do you decide if something is within your control?  I  suggest that you make absolute statements.  Since the statement  "Absolutely, no one is being hired." is not true then you know there is something that you can do become hired.  You can also ask people that recently found employment for feedback. 
       So not only are you your best instructor but you are your best student.
    

Before you make that New Year's Resolution .....

Perhaps you should consider that most resolutions are made to inspire self improvement or to attain a goal.  By March, these goals have been abandoned until the end of the year, when they are dusted off and we vow this time following year we are finally going to achieve X.  So why does the cycle keep repeating?

      Having goals or making a resolution is not wrong but, consider doing something different by reviewing your life line.  The first step is to plot all of the significant events of your life on a line, starting with your birth.  The line is a neutral zone, items that a placed below it, are negative while items that are above are positive.  You decide if the significant events are negative, neutral or positive.  The only criterion is that the significant event represents a fork in the road, in which a decision was made that impacted your life.  You may not have made the decision but there was an impact that sent you in a different direction, for example your family decided to move when you were 17 and you could not graduate with your childhood friends.  Once these events are plotted look for patterns.  Does something horrible happen every 3 years?  Is there a clear ratio of positive to negative events?  Do certain events seem to repeat themselves i.e. you move every 4 years?  How did you rate most of life events? Positive? Negative? Or neutral?  Now let’s consider how these events are still affecting you?  Are you attempting to capture, resolve, relive, or undo an event?  Perhaps you are still holding a resentment or feeling regret because you deep down inside, you believe that the wrong decision was made or are you trying to recapture that feeling of joy but nothing seems to come close?  Take some time to consider what you have just discovered about yourself.

      Make a circle and divide it into six equal parts.  Label each part of the circle: spirituality, health/well being, professional, leisure, relationships and financial.  Take each of these significant events and place them in one section of the circle.  Again, check for patterns.  Are positive events clustered in one area?  What about neutral ones?  What about negative ones?  Do you have significant events in all or just a few areas?  A balanced life would have events in all sections of the circle.  Is your life in balance?  If not, which aspect do you need to develop?  Take the time to reflect on this information.

     It is always easier to figure out where you are going, once you know where have been.  Given this information, review the resolutions that you were considering and decide if you should pursue, modify or develop new ones. 

     If you noticed that your life seemed lopsided and would like assistance to get in balance, please contact me for complementary session.