Nail It! 10 Essential Interview Tips For C-Level Job Seekers

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When interviewing for jobs, senior executives face unique challenges. Executives call the shots. The buck stops with you. People laugh a little harder at your jokes. You have teams of people at your disposal ready to act on your commands. You are in total control.

Now you’re in an interview. You’re not calling the shots. Nobody thinks you’re funny. Beyond the offer of an obligatory cup of coffee or bottled water, nobody is going to do anything for you. You are in the hot seat. You do not control what happens in the room but you must be IN control. 

For masters of the universe, being IN control can be more difficult than it sounds. When you make the rules, it’s extra hard for you to follow rules, and in a job interview - especially a high-level one - there are rules you should follow. It is to your advantage to shift tactics.

Rule #1: Do not take the position you are in charge. You’re not. The people conducting the interview are in charge — from the admin assistant who brings you that cup of coffee to the Chairman of the Board — and you need to impress them.

Rule #2: Be cognizant of your body language. Your body language tells a story. What does your posture say? Are you sitting back casually or sitting forward in your chair? The former communicates that you are aloof, the latter engaged. Body language reveals how you perceive yourself and your position to those around you.

Rule #3: Confidence – YES. Arrogance – NO. Interviewers can perceive the difference. This isn’t the time to get smug.

Rule #4: Being mindful of the “I” and not the “we”. Give credit to others. You’re a senior executive because of your leadership skills and your achievements are accomplished by leading other people to the promised land. If you come across as a one-person show with lots of, “I did this,” and “I did that,” it may turn interviewers off.     

Rule #5: Have multiple hard copies of your resume to hand out during the interview. This may seem like a rookie mistake, but it happens more frequently than you imagine. Don’t assume the search firm did it for you or the interviewers printed them out.

Rule #6: Dress and act the part. This is a delicate balancing act. You’re a senior executive. Look sharp and polished.

Rule #7: Be prepared and don’t be defensive. It’s a job interview. You’re going to get grilled about how you lead a company and affect change. Your management style is going to be dissected. Your expertise will be questioned. When you’re not used to being professionally assessed you may feel like you’re under attack. You’re not under attack. You should expect to discuss how you do things in a calm, confident, and objective manner.

Rule #8: Remember the other candidates are senior execs as well. There are many other candidates with similar education, experience, and talents as you. You are not going to automatically get a job and if that’s your attitude you have even less of a chance. Your interviewers are looking for the right piece to complete a complex puzzle. Regardless of your qualifications, “the right fit” is an intangible that will most likely be decided in the interview room. 

Rule #9: Treat everybody in the interview process with kindness and respect, from the receptionist to the CEO. Don’t come into somebody else’s office and order people around. Don’t talk down to anyone.

Rule #10: Align with your executive search firm before your interview. Don’t leave anything to chance. In advance, have a candid discussion with your search firm about what they will be responsible for what you will handle. For example, ideally, you shouldn’t be discussing compensation in your interview. Your search firm should initiate and negotiate those terms so you should direct any questions about it to them. However, if you haven’t discussed it with them in advance and they aren’t prepared when the call comes, it reflects poorly on you.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Busted! What To Do If Your Boss Finds Out You're Looking For A New Job

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Job hunting is difficult and complicated. So, you’ve put word out on the street that you’re open to hearing about new jobs. Lucky you – your boss just called you into her office to say she just found out you’re actively looking for a new job. In professional parlance, you’re busted. Here are some tips to manage this awkward reality:

1.     Don’t put yourself in this position. Manage your search with discretion. Don’t let anyone know. Don’t post your resume on job boards. Don’t activate the “Open to Work” icon on LinkedIn. Don’t use a company phone or email in contacting potential employers, since those are company property that track everything that’s on there. Conduct your search on personal time using personal equipment. Schedule interviews on a day off. There are only so many “doctor appointments” you can have before things get suspicious, so use common sense and keep your search a secret from everyone except people who absolutely must know (such as references).

2.     Assess the situation: You’re busted, but circumstances vary. Did you show up to the same job interview as your boss? Yes, that happens more than you think. Or were you careless and posted your resume on a public job board? Make as honest an assessment of all the moving parts in your particular case and proceed accordingly.

3.     Prepare for the worst. You may have no idea what kind of retribution may be forthcoming, which would not be surprising as this is a scenario that isn’t covered in most employee handbooks. With exceptions made for extreme situations like corporate restructuring that includes mass layoffs, it’s common sense that you don’t want your current employer to know you’re searching for a new employer. It’s like you’re cheating on them and hell hath no fury like a company scorned. The axe may fall.

4.     Are you the “Purple Squirrel”? If you’re one of the only people who know the secret formula for the widgets your company produces, or you’re the last standing COBOL programmer keeping the accounting software from wheezing toward a painful end, you may be the exception in this whole shakedown. It’s good to be indispensable. When they find out you have a foot and a half out the door, the company may take steps to retain you – or not.

5.     The coverup is worse than the crime: If you’re not immediately terminated, come clean. There is no reason to deny what there is clear evidence to support. Do not add, “lying through your teeth,” to the conversation. You can downplay the details but don’t lie. There’s nothing like a “moment of truth” to clarify what you want to do. If your admission rolls off your tongue easy as Sunday morning and you feel like a million bucks afterward then that is that. However, sometimes getting caught makes you realize you don’t really want to go anywhere. You’re inclined to stay, but only if your overall situation improved. For a brief moment, the door is open to that dialogue, as in number 6…

6.     If the door is open, take the opportunity to have a conversation about your career. If you’re caught looking for a new position, chances are you will need to address the situation directly. Request a meeting and express your commitment to your current role while emphasizing your reasons for exploring other options. Go in with a written career plan that spells out your long-term career goals and see if you can align on a path forward.

7.     Plan your next steps: Evaluate your options. Should you stay, or should you go? Only you can decide whether or not staying in your current position is the best course of action. Don’t make any false promises to stay. If it’s out in the open that you plan to move on, do so in as expedient and professional a manner as possible, and do your best work! Exceed expectations.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Interviewing For A Job? How to Tell If The Hiring Manager Is Bad News

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Looking for a job is like dating. After a date (job interview) or two, three, or four (or twelve), you still only have a rudimentary understanding of who the person (company) truly is. It’s a front-facing, window shopping ritual and you can’t see the whole picture. You can’t be sure what you’re going to end up with.

It’s not until you move in together that you know whether or not the match is going to work long-term. The primary differences between a marriage between individuals and a marriage to a job are that 1) you will spend more time at work than with your spouse, and 2) you’re not really married to your job. You’re married to your boss.

 Your business cards and paycheck may be embossed with your company’s name, but on a day-to-day basis you don’t report to your “company”. You report to your manager, and therein lies an overlooked vital component of how happy you will ultimately be in a job. A top reason for professionals leaving their jobs is an unsatisfactory relationship with their managers.

While far from foolproof, there are ways to gauge what life with your manager will be like at every phase of a job search – interviewing, observation days (if applicable, but still valuable information for everyone), and during the early days of a new job.

Interviewing:

• Time to hit LinkedIn, or any other resources at your disposal, to determine who the hiring manager is for the job you want and to whom you would most likely report. It may be the same person. It may not. Do your research. Learn what you can about the people behind the job listing.

• If you’re heading into an interview, tap your network to tap their network and see if you can get some first-hand information from current or former employees, or people who have worked with your most likely manager at any point. Ask around to see what their professional reputation is.

• Wondering what to say at a job interview when asked, “Do you have any questions for us?” Ask probing questions about staff hierarchy, and departmental and company-wide mobility. Is there a transparent and clear roadmap for advancement and promotion? The answers to these types of questions may give you a deeper understanding of the manager’s style. A supportive, servant-leader manager will mentor their workers and guide them toward their career goals. Other managers are a dead end.

Observation Days:

•  If you are invited to participate in an observation day, or work day, where you spend the day at a company to get insight into what it would be like to work there, prior to accepting a position, take advantage of this time. Get a sense of the vibes you get from your manager. Cordial? Abrasive? Demanding? Just a jerk? Try and get a read on their personality.

• Take special note of how the manager interacts with the other workers. Open? Defensive? With whom do they have a rapport? Why? You can’t know a person in a day, but if you’re given this opportunity, you should definitely extract what you can.

• For students, internships, which are essentially long observation days, should provide you with all you need to know about a particular company and field of work. Many people have positive internship experiences and end up working for that company post-graduation. If you do an internship, the same considerations apply. Take the time to absorb the way the manager runs things. If you wish to assume positions of leadership in the future, take note of what motivates people versus what brings them down.

The Early Days of a New Job (Yes, You Took Your Chances):

• As you’re talking to your manager, try and get a sense of their managing philosophy. If you feel they are open to it, ask point blank about their expectations. Can they clearly articulate what their vision is? That is the most direct approach.

• Listen to what your co-workers say. An indirect approach to be sure, but traditional and effective. Great managers don’t get a lot of press, but if your manager is an overbearing nut job who calls people ten times a day when they’re on vacation then chances are you’re going to hear about it. If your peers openly and honestly praise your manager take special note. That is hard-earned.

• If you’re a month into a new job and everything seems to be going okay, then suddenly your manager has an epic freak-out over nothing, what do you do? Find the workaround, if there is one. Is it fair? No. Quit or tap into however and whoever is the escape route.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.