Interview Prep.
Suddenly everyone is interviewing! It feels like there is real momentum building in the economy and job market. I thought it would be timely to put a few helpful notes down on interview preparation.
Before you go near the internet to research a company or apply for a job, take a moment to prepare yourself psychologically. I have two quite simple questions:
1. Are you ready to move?
2. Would you accept the job you have applied for if offered?
If the answer to either of these questions is ‘No’ then you need to think a little bit more about whether this is the right time for you or if this is the right job opportunity. There is always going to be a little trepidation around the interview process, however it should not cloud your answer to the above questions.
If your answers are Yes and Yes, then it is time!
Career progression, learning new skills or enhanced reward tend to be the catalyst for moving jobs. When you are thinking about your next move you should approach the interview process as a series of equally weighted meetings that will, with luck, end in an agreement. This will either be a job offer or an agreement between you that this is not the right next step for you or the business.
The job that you are looking for ought to be beyond your current capability, but something that you can master over the next three years. The equation in my experience is 70/30, you already have the skills to do 70% of the role and the 30% is the reason that you want the job.
You will need to be able to articulate what that 30% is and be able to defend your candidacy in a positive way.
The business will have an expectation in their mind of the new hire. This will, hopefully, be well thought through and have an element of flexibility built in. Problems occur when the job description is the CV of the outbound employee, and the expectation is that all boxes will be ticked.
Remember the Interview is an opportunity for you to sell yourself to the business, but equally the business should take the opportunity to sell themselves and their opportunity to you. Treat the interview as you would a business meeting.
So now you are prepared psychologically, it’s time to do some groundwork.
Your CV
Read and re-read your CV. It should be logical, progressive, and simple to navigate. As you rise in seniority the earlier roles become less relevant to your next move, so the content needs to be compelling and relevant to your current reader.
Make sure the typeset and layout is consistent throughout the CV, and give your reader enough information. I particularly look for: Name of company, what they do, size by employees or turnover, ownership structure (PE/VC/PLC/Private), Role title, line report.
Make sure every word counts on your CV, delete any padding. When writing about achievements make them compelling. If you were one of a team that succeeded be clear about your part in that success. Do not site functions of the job as achievements!
Job Description
This is your window to their world.
How do they structure their team? What is the division of responsibility, key relationships, strategy for the next three years etc.
The job description is a rich source of ideas for research, questions to ask in the interview and examples to highlight from your career to date.
Research
This is the fun bit. Start with the basics:
Read their website front to back, look at the board structure. Is there an Exec Board and an Operational Board? Look at the LinkedIn profiles of each of the Board members, discreetly. How long have they been in post? Where were they before? Is there a pattern between the execs?
Remember to read the last 12 months of News articles
If the business is a listed company, look at their peers. How are they performing? Look into their Price/Earnings ratio.
Read their accounts on Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/
Read any Executive statement or notes from the Chair.
If you have a connection that works for the business, speak to them in confidence.
The Interview:
If it’s a videocall, please make sure your background is free from clutter. This makes you the focal point rather than your clothes horse or bookshelf.
If it’s face to face then make sure you check if it will be formal, so business dress or smart casual.
Arrive a couple of minutes early. Hopefully you will be first there, it gives the impression you are keen.
Make sure you have researched who you are meeting and have a couple of informal, open questions in your back pocket. This could be around where they went to university or what they do in their spare time. It’s a nice ice breaker to find common ground.
When you go into the meeting, remember that most people aren’t comfortable in an interview situation, even the interviewers. If the job opportunity you are interviewing for is a CFO, for example, this role isn’t recruited for regularly, perhaps once every three or four years. Or perhaps it is a new role for the company. Relax and be yourself. There are no wrong answers (unless it is a technical question!) Be patient and give people time to relax into the meeting.
When asked to give examples of experience, limit your response to three. If you keep this in mind it will keep you attentive and in the meeting. Read the room, if you sense that they might want you to give more examples, ask them if they would like for you to continue. Keep dialogue two way. Just like your CV you want each response to carry weight.
Have some questions up your sleeve, particularly around culture and personality fit. This is always received well and shows that you are aware there will be an impact felt when a new person joins an already formed team.
Feedback
Make some notes. It is important that everyone involved in the interview process has some feedback input, particularly you as the applicant.
Please remember we are all human, some things might go wrong, trains are late, and people have bad days! If there is something that particularly influences your thoughts on the interview, share it. It could be that the welcome you received when you arrived was amazing and put you at ease. Let them know. It could be that the Chair was particularly obtuse with their questioning and had you met the team in a different order your opinion would be different. All feedback is important, good, or bad. Put yourself in the shoes of the client. Imagine if you were hiring, and you kept getting rejections one after the other. If you knew why then you might have the chance of changing the outcome.
Finally.
Enjoy the process. It is good to feel challenged and we should take the opportunity to explore what is going on outside of our respective bubbles.
If you would like any specific advice on interviews please contact me, I am always happy to help.
raynicholls@pitchhillpartners.com
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