Tough Questions Have Answers

Interview questions that are difficult typically ask about “why and how” not “what and when.”  They focus on demanding workplace issues, events, personalities, and the actions you’ve taken or didn’t take regarding them. When you do a good job responding to these questions you show self awareness and an ability to organize and articulate your thoughts in ways that are logical and understandable. You describe cause and effect and connect facts that may appear unrelated yet are, in fact, relevant to the challenge before you.

Here are three “tough” questions you’re likely to encounter and sample responses that make the case. I suggest that you ask yourself these questions and prepare responses that will make the case for you.

Have you ever fired anyone? Why and how?

I have and it can be done fairly and respectfully. As a manager I’m committed to providing on-going, consistent, timely, honest, constructive feedback to the people I manage and I ask them to do the same with me. That way we’re all aware of what each of us needs to be successful; we address issues as they occur; and we identify root cause so we don’t repeat our mistakes.

Sometimes we place the right employees in the wrong jobs. We all share responsibility for getting that figured out before damage is done to the individual, the team, or the business. It’s my job to for create and maintain a work environment that enables that level of trust and openness.

When employees get themselves in trouble for consistently failing to meet clearly stated expectations I work with them on a development plan designed to address their specific performance issues. If their work product or behavior continues to be unacceptable, they know it and so do I. The only outcome that’s fair to everyone is that I ask the individual to leave the company.

Describe the worst boss you ever had.

The worst boss I ever had displayed the qualities I least admire. That doesn’t make him a bad boss, just the wrong one for me. He was highly critical, and tore people down instead of building them up. He was very intelligent but kept his employees in the dark regarding his vision and values. Although he was well educated, he didn’t provide training or development to his employees. He was fiercely independent and trusted no one, but insisted that others trust him and remain totally dependent upon him.

What’s the biggest career mistake you’ve ever made and what did you learn from it?

Early in my career I paid more attention to what others wanted for me than what I wanted for myself. I spent several years pursuing approval and although I attained the goals others wanted for me, what I achieved held no meaning for me. I’ve learned to follow my own path. I’ve learned to draw out the best from others rather than impose my version of what’s best, upon them. As a result, I’m happier and feel more successful.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started he own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

It’s Always a Good Time for Change

According to the political writers, pundits, pollsters, and candidates, this is a time for change. Some describe change in ways that engage our hearts and imaginations. Some describe change in terms that are pragmatic and time bound.

When you call and email questions about jobs and your career, you want to talk about change. Some of your concerns focus on the future, some are about practical necessities, and some are fundamental to your systems of belief. You want to change jobs from the one you have to the one that’s a better match to what you aspire, do best, or value most. You may not be able to describe or define what change looks like (“I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, I just know it’s got to be better than what I’m doing…”) but you do know this: 1. You are no longer satisfied with where you work or 2. Where you work is no longer satisfied with you. Something has to change.

When employers ask for team-building workshops, they want to focus on change. They’re changing the ways they do business; changing the expectations they have of employees; changing because everyone else is changing and to stand still is to fall behind. What does change look like? What are those expectations? They don’t say. What they do say, is what currently exists has to change, for the company to survive and thrive.

When companies hire and promote, they want those employees to enhance the company’s ability to assess markets, drive competitive advantage and seize opportunity. They want them to articulate vision, design strategy, consolidate power, and embolden teams to drive through to success.

Bottom line, they want to hire, train, and promote employees who can think strategically, design innovatively, and anticipate competitively. They want employees who are primed for change; who are and have demonstrated themselves to be intellectually and emotionally flexible, responsive, able to learn, go and grow in whatever direction necessary to both lead and respond to rapidly changing markets and economies.

If you’re looking for a job, this changing market demands that you change with it. That doesn’t mean you have to give up your foundational values or pragmatic responses or imaginative impulses. It does mean that you become increasingly mindful that openness and flexibility are more than buzz words reserved for interviews and performance reviews. Openness and flexibility can make the difference between getting hired or passed over; advancing or getting placed on the ‘do not retain’ list.

Openness: Your co-workers are as likely to live across the world as they are across town. You may speak to them daily and never see them. They may define time differently than you; they may not share your preference for action or your sense of urgency. They may prefer to go more slowly, to develop relationships, consider options, and process possibilities, over time instead of just in time.

Open your thinking to different ways of seeing problems before you begin to solve them. Shift from the limiting perspective of your comfort zone to the possibility that others see the world and its challenges differently from you. Open your thinking so that you listen and understand before you prescribe. Accept that the outcome you want or the problem you see can be different from what others experience or want to address. Open your thinking so that you understand that people of other cultures may be more rule regarding or open-ended, more deferential or authoritative, more direct or indirect in communicating ideas, than you. Recognize that insistence creates resistance and when that happens, nothing changes.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started he own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Eliminating Job Search Frustrations

It’s frustrating to send your resume to dozens, even hundreds of job openings and not get a response. It’s frustrating to interview and not get a call back that tells you where you stand. It’s humbling to feel as though you’re being judged and maddening to feel that you have no way to control the outcome. What can you do to shift your emotional responses to tactical actions? Eliminate one frustration at a time. For example:

If you’re not getting responses when you send out unsolicited resumes, stop sending them. Mass mailings don’t work; they cost too much time, postage, and emotional capital for little to no return on investment. If you want to tap into the “hidden” job market, get away from your computer and get back into the world. Increase your visibility, meet with upbeat people who know people who hire people. Tell them what you do, how you make a difference, and ask for their advice as to who to call and what to say.

If you’re sending resumes to bona fide job openings that you’re finding on line or in the newspapers and you’re not hearing much in return, you’ll increase your response rate if your stated experience and accomplishments match the published opportunity. Include the job description’s key words in both your objective and the body of your resume.

If you’re sending your resumes to openings where the match ought to be obvious; you think you’re doing everything right; and you’re still not getting any responses, you need assistance from an objective third party. Here’s what you want to know: Does the objective on my resume clearly state the job I want and does my resume demonstrate my ability to succeed in that job? If the candid response is “no”, don’t wait. Request help from a professional career coach.

First it’s flattering, then frustrating, then exhausting, and finally a conclusive blow to your self-esteem and your billfold to be asked to interview, not once but several times with the same employer, and to never be told the outcome. Shame on company representatives who are so remiss in their duties as to allow this to happen. Having said that, there are actions beleaguered applicants can take in hopes of getting closure: 1) send a self-addressed stamped postcard to the decision maker. Request a check marked response to one of the following statements:

1. Yes, we are interested in your candidacy and we will be in touch.
2. No, we are no longer interested in your candidacy at this time.

Or place a call to the decision maker (a polite voice mail message will do) being sure to include your name and telephone number say: “I interviewed for the XYZ position on (provide the time and date of the interview). As I have not heard from you regarding the outcome I am concluding that you are no longer interested in my candidacy and will I continue my search elsewhere. Thank you for your kind consideration.”

If they’re interested, they’ll call. If they aren’t, they won’t. That may be all the closure you’re likely to get but it beats the alternative. Either way, you’ve taken control of the situation, your emotions are in check, and you’re determined to keep looking until you get an offer from a company that wants you, needs you, and shows it.

It’s tempting to want to take a few days or even weeks off from your search after you’ve had an interview and while you’re waiting to hear the results. Delay that gratification. Stay on course, stay focused, keep networking, and keep looking until you get the offer that’s worth the effort it took to get it.

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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started he own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.