Category Archives: Interviews

1 good, and 3 bad jokes for interviews

Posted on April 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

I cannot call to mind a single instance where I have been irreverent, except toward the things which were sacred to other people. (Mark Twain)

I admit it.  This is my biggest problem.  I make a jokes in interviews.  I’m irreverent. These jokes really have been used in interviews.

Q.  When do you like to arrive at work?

A.  One hour before quitting time.

 

Q.  How much do you want to earn?

A.  Enough to retire after my first day on the job.

 

Q.  Are you honest?

A.  Yes, if you don’t leave food in the refrigerator or money in your desk drawer.

You need to establish a good relationship with your interviewer.  You also need to figure out what is “sacred” to him and be reverent.  Honesty and hard work are two good areas to be careful about.  If you want to joke, taking hard work too far is a better joke than being a slacker.

 

Q.  When do you like to arrive at work?

A.  My biggest problem is making sure I go home at night so that I HAVE an arrival time.

 

Be human.  Have some fun.  Just do it in a way that benefits you and your interviewer.

Something to do today

Think about the negative jokes you tell.  Can you turn them around and make them about doing too much that is good?

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5 brave interview questions for Eagles to ask

Posted on April 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

I have been asked to find people for the ultimate bad situation.  For example a job had 4 bosses in 1 year – each one fired. 7 coworkers had quit in that same year.

I asked the difficult questions, and then refused to place someone in that job. However, I have placed people in difficult situations if I thought they could win.

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance. (Aesop)

It takes guts, bravery really, to ask some difficult questions during interviews. If you are blindly desperate for any job, don’t ask these.  Otherwise, get the gumption to ask your interviewers:

1.         Why did the previous person who had this job leave?

2.         How long had he been with the company?

3.         How long have you been with this company?

4.         Personally, how do you feel about the company and its future?

5.         How will I be evaluated in 12 months time if I take this job?

The next trick is to be brave enough to ask followup questions where there are negatives.  Probe problems.  Make sure you know what you are getting into.

No job is perfect.  They may want you to fix problems.  They may have fixed a weakness that caused weak players to leave.  So, keep your eyes open.  At the very least, you’ll know more about what you are getting into.

Something to do today

Put those questions on your interview prep list.  Read them right before leaving your car for your interview.

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Later: Interview like an Eagle -12

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Being cheerful in an interview can get you a job – like an Eagle

Posted on April 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Managers really want to avoid this guy.  Cheerful is good.  Positive is positive. Then there is Larry. Larry is an interviewer’s greatest fear.

Larry attracts indifference. His smile rarely reaches his eyes. The way he walks looks like he is just a little reluctant.  Larry is not depressed.  He is recessed. Life’s okay, but, why waste energy on strangers or something that is not entertaining.  He wants a job. He is going on just another interview for just another job. No reason to be excited. He doesn’t care if his cup is half full or half empty. What is there to care about?

Now let’s look at what cheerful means

Joe smiles as he walks up to the building.  A minor adventure is beginning for him. The receptionist gets a nervous but enthusiastic greeting.  She calls the interviewer with a smile on her lips because of Joe.  In the interview Joe is attentive and talks about things he likes at his current job.  He slides by questions about his boss, “Little Hitler”.  Instead he concentrates on projects where his whole team got things done. Sure his company is failing, but look what you can accomplish.  Joe’s cup is half full, and he can’t wait to taste what is in it.

Two guys equally qualified.  Which would you like to work with? Who would you hire?

Which of the two guys are you?

Something to do today

In The Pirates Of Penzance the perfect officer knows “many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.”   It is ridiculous, but important.

You and your recruiter should be able to come up with many cheerful facts about the company and job you are going to interview for.  Make a list.  Read it right before you go in for the interview.

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Later: Interview like an Eagle -10

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Obedient is a great word in an interview – like an Eagle

Posted on April 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

Not a popular word, obedient.  It can be magical in an interview.

It can get you a job.

If your previous boss overruled your objections and you did what he said to the best of your ability, mention it.  Tell how you backed him up.  If the outcome was good, so much the better.

Companies want to hire people who will point out problems, but still execute the company line.  Many people dissent, sabotage and destroy.  Instead, companies want people who dissent, engage, build up, and make things happen.  Vast numbers of companies succeed with mediocre plans and people who are excellent at execution.  Companies with great plans that are rife with backstabbing and contention always fail.

If you can show that you can execute even a mediocre plan to excellent standards.  You’ll get hired.

Something to do today

Make a list of the 3 times you disagreed most with a plan, but executed it well.  It may be a key to getting hired.

This “like an Eagle” series is based on the Boy Scout Law.  I am helping train a bunch of kids to be Eagles this year.

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This quote is just fun, not like an Eagle.

The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children. (King Edward VIII)

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Later: Interview like an Eagle -9

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Being kind can get you a job – like an Eagle

Posted on April 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

Why do some job candidates look for someone to look down on? How much does kindness cost?  Unkindness can cost you a job.  Here is one very real example:

“Receptionists are all idiots.  I never talk to them.”

And yet, I know companies that specifically ask the receptionist to rate each candidate. They literally give the receptionist veto power.

Kindness is taking a second to do something nice. Many people do it without thinking. Some people are so focused on helping themselves that they refuse to do anything kind.  That attitude comes through loud and clear.  People who refuse to be kind get hired by companies that refuse to be kind.

Be kind.  Help people out because you like to help. Be friendly. Smile.  Be interested.

Nice thing happen when you are kind. When you help someone out, they owe you help back. When you care that the lunch break is coming up, the receptionist tries a little harder to help.  It is the nature of human interaction.   The kinder you are, the more others try to help you.

Something to do today

Can you name 5 kind things that you have seen done today?  Find them.

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed. (Napoleon Hill)

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Later: Interview like an Eagle -8

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6 courtesies for an interview – like an Eagle

Posted on April 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

One email took him from third place candidate to tied for first place.  A two line letter arriving in the mail won the job.  Both were just courtesies.  They were thank-you’s. I have had hiring managers tell me exactly that.

The most important courtesies when job hunting are:

  • Arrive early or call before you are due if you will be late.
  • Remember and occasionally use your interviewer’s name
  • Tell them you like the company and job
  • Ask for the job or to set up the next interview step
  • Thank them for their time
  • Send a thank you email and letter

Most job seekers break at least half of these courtesy rules.

Courtesy is a set of cultural rules that help you talk productively with strangers and reduce threats. Rules of courtesy foster communication and get things done.  If you break any one of these 6 courtesy rules, your interviewer has a right to wonder if you really want the job. How many did you break in your last interview?

Be courteous.  It just might get you the job you have been dreaming of.

Something to do today

Put this list where you will see it before and after every interview.   It can be your winning edge when the competition ends in a photo finish.

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I admit the following two quotes are not about being courteous like a Boy Scout.  They are just fun quotes.

Be courteous, be obliging, but don’t give yourself over to be melted down for the benefit of the tallow trade. (George Eliot)

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone, but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. (Malcolm X)

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Later: Interview like an Eagle -7

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3 things to do to be friendly in an interview – like an Eagle

Posted on April 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

Because of the pressure, a lot of people have trouble being friendly in an interview.  Instead they are stiff and formal.  It can cost you a great job.

A friend is someone who will help you move.  A real friend is someone who will help you move a body. (Unknown)

Why are there so many books on how to be friendly?  Why are there so many books and movies about unbelievably unfriendly people? Why is friendly so hard?

Maybe it is because being friendly requires a commitment.  To be really friendly you have to look at someone as a person.  You aren’t friendly to your desk or your chair ….not unless you have a personality disorder. To be friendly you have to commit to the reality of the person you are friendly towards.  You have to come out of your self-serving shell.  You take a risk that the person will snarl back in return.

Stop.  Look at the next person you talk to.  Did you know they love someone deeply?  Someone important to them is in great need.  They want to be better and happier.  They may not know how to get out of a crisis.  Lonely?  Half the people in the world are lonely.

To interview like an Eagle, just be friendly.

  1. Stop and think of them as a person with a family and problems.
  2. Find out one personal thing about your interviewer.
  3. Tell them one personal thing about yourself.

How To Win Friends And Influence People is the ultimate book on how to start a million small but meaningful friendships.

Be a friend.  People would rather hire and work with their friends.

Something to do today

Read the table of contents of How to Win Friends And Influence People.  Check it out at the library.  Absorb a chapter each day and do what is in that chapter that day.

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Later: Interview like an Eagle -6

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2 great questions to ask in an interview – a Scout is helpful

Posted on April 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

Why do bosses hate to hire?  Here is what happens before you are hired.

“I will lose my job if I can’t get more done.  I’m working 60+ hours each week.  I have 200 responses to my ad for an assistant.  All anyone wants to talk about is what is in it for them.  In ten interviews so far no one has offered to help, but everyone wants ‘a job’.”

Hiring is a major stress. Finding someone who will help in any way needed would be nice.  Competence would be nice.  Helpful? Wow!  Helpful is often the key to getting a job.

In your next job interview, find out how you can help.  Ask, “Everyone hires because they have problems to solve.  What are the most important problems I can help you with?”

If you don’t get a clear answer then try asking, “What will I be able to do to help you meet your goals?”

Exploring needs and problems with a hiring manager may be all you have to do.  Just showing interest is more than most candidates do.

Concentrate on being helpful.  You’ll stand out like a nurse in a battlefield.  They’ll find something for you to do.

Something to do today

Put those two questions down on your pre-interview review sheet.  Go into your interview and try to see how you can help.

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Later: Interview like an Eagle -5

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Eagles are loyal, but what if your boss is horrible?

Posted on April 4, 2013 | Leave a comment

Lee’s boss yelled at him, changed project specs constantly, did not give him a raise in 3 years of outstanding service, was occasionally late with paychecks, and was basically the boss from …. you know where.

I found out about the 3 years of no raises in our first interview.  When I asked why, Lee said, “The company never did take off financially, so they couldn’t give me a raise.”  Then he refused to talk about it more.  No gossip. No backbiting.  Nothing.  Lee was loyal to him.

I liked Lee.  He had great skills and had just finished an MS in his field.  I wanted to find him a new job. I needed to call his references.  He wouldn’t let me talk to his boss, but I did talk with his coworkers. Stellar references came in.

I got a job offer contingent on a reference from his boss.  Reluctantly Lee told me about the skeletons in his boss’s closet.  The boss would give a horrible reference.  Lee gave notice to his company and I called his boss.  It was a massacre.  The boss was totally unreasonable.  Lee only gave 3 weeks notice so Lee was a traitor.  I listened to a 15 minute tirade.  Then I asked, “But how was Lee’s performance?”  I got another tirade that I interrupted with, “Fine, but you kept him 3 years.  Was he any good at his job?”  The boss slowly let me pull a very positive reference out of him.  Lee was a great worker.  His boss was terrible.

Lee was loyal.  His boss was not.  Because of Lee’s loyalty I never knew how bad his boss was until I absolutely had to know.  Lee got that new job.  And just for the record, he got a 50% pay raise at his new job.

It is easy to be loyal to great people.  Learn to be loyal even to rotten bosses you were associated with.  Don’t dump every bad thing there is to know about him and the company. Give the necessary information and stop.  Long explanations come across as gossip.

Loyalty is an important trait you can show by NOT telling everything.

Something to do today

Write down one sentence replies to questions you don’t want to delve into during an interview.  Go over the list an hour or two before the interview.  Right before the interview read the list of things you want to emphasize.  You need to be thinking positively when you go into your interview.

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Later: Interview like an Eagle – 4

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Do you have to tell the truth? How?

Posted on April 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

I had two people axed for falsifying their resumes in a year.  The saddest part is that in both cases the lie that cost them their job was not significant to getting the job.  In other words, if they told the truth they still would have gotten the job, they would still have it.  One was a lie about education.  The other was a lie about a previous job.

So how do you let people know about a problem in an interview and still get the job?  By being accurate and brief.  If you merely attended a school without graduating, say it.   They can ask you about your degrees if they care.  Don’t make up any jobs. If they care about a gap in your resume, they’ll ask.  They understand taking 6 months to find a job.  It happens.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you what to say about a job that was horrible with a boss from… never mind.  That’s tomorrow.

The way you get people to trust you is to be honest.  Gasp!  If you have to talk about something you want to avoid, say only one sentence.  Be accurate and very brief.  Get on to the next question and anwer, the one they will remember.

Something to do today

Write down one sentence replies to questions you don’t want to delve into during an interview.  Go over the list an hour or two before the interview.  Right before the interview read the list of things you want to emphasize.  You need to be thinking positively when you go into your interview.

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Later: Interview like an Eagle – 3

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