Classic Mistake at a Job Interview

The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed Jennifer Boden, a human resources executive at Amazon.  They asked Boden a series of questions regarding Amazon's recruiting efforts.   Boden offered some keen insights.  I found this particular exchange with the interviewer worth stressing here:

WSJ: What tends to trip candidates up in interviews?

Ms. Boden: Most people will trip up when they focus on where they've been, the name, and they don't focus on what they've done. Or if they can't explain to us the process of how they delivered results.

Boden's observation confirms what I have seen many times over the years.  I often tell students to NOT make the interview a recitation of their resume.  The interviewer has read the resume!  He or she knows where you went to school, what your GPA is, where you interned in prior years, and what awards you have won.  What does the interviewer not know from looking at your resume?  That's the key question.  You have to talk about the major project you accomplished at your internship or the consulting report you put together for a client company as part of a business school course.  You should describe the major community service initiative you led at your university or the honors thesis research project that you completed.  An interview should be focused on telling several stories of hard work, organization, leadership, and achievement.  Be prepared to talk about what you did, what you learned, and how you can apply those lessons to this organization.    

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What Questions Do You Have For Me?

Source: glassdoor.com

You go on an interview, and you answer all the questions posed by the interviewer.  You think that you have performed quite well.  Then the interviewer poses the usual query:  What questions do you have for me?  You don't want to appear befuddled.  You need to have some good questions to pose.  What should you ask? 

Drake Baer has some good questions over at Fast Company. 

He suggests the following inquiries:

1. If I started tomorrow, what's the first project you'd want me to tackle?
2. What are the must-have personality traits for this position? 
3. What would you like to see more from in this position? 
4. Do you like it here? 
5. Why would I not be a fit for this job?

I think that these questions may prove quite useful.  However, I have a slightly different piece of advice to offer as well.  I always advise my students to conduct some field research prior to their interviews.  For a student interviewing at Bose last year, I suggested spending some time in the Bose outlet store in Wrentham, MA.  For a student interviewing this winter at Boston Beer Company, I suggested spending time examining how the company was merchandising and marketing its products at bars, restaurants, and liquor stores.  He really loved that suggestion - what fun research!  In each case, I recommended developing some questions based upon those field visits.   The students both impressed their interviewers with this knowledge of what was happening in the field (as opposed to just what they read on the website or in the 10K).   The questions proved far from generic; they could engage in a really substantive way with the interviewer.  They both got the job that they wanted! 

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Career Advice from Chris Stevens of Keurig

Source: Notre Dame

Last week Chris Stevens, one of the Keurig co-founders, gave a speech at the Bryant University Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization conference.   He offered a tremendous mix of practical advice and emotion-packed inspiration.   Chris has a fascinating background.  He played basketball at Notre Dame, worked at Proctor & Gamble and Anheuser Busch before joining with several others to make Keurig a resounding success.  He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.  He also still serves as VP of Corporate Relations at Keurig.  Beyond his business accomplishments, Chris has done tremendous philanthropic work over the years.   He's also faced more than his share of personal adversity, including the death of his wife and two brothers in 2004. 

Chris offered some terrific practical advice for students searching for jobs.  He recommended that each student build a portfolio that they could take on job interviews.  That portfolio should include examples of the type of work that the student has done.  What projects have they completed at school or during an internship?  What presentations have they made?   Beyond simply putting the portfolio together, he recommended customizing it for the particular company at which a student was interviewing.  He told students to put the company name and logo on the front of the portfolio, and even the name of the executive with whom he or she would be interviewing.  Then they should offer to leave the portfolio with the interviewer.   It makes great sense.   Students (and all job applicants) need to be prepared to SHOW people what they have done, not just tell them about it. 

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What are the Top Five Personality Traits Employers Seek?

Meghan Casserly of Forbes reports on some interesting new research byUniversum, an employer branding firm.   The company surveyed over 400,000 people over the past year, and they tried to identify the top five personality traits that companies desire in job candidates.   The top five are:

1. professionalism
2. high energy
3. confidence
4. self-monitoring
5. intellectual curiosity

What does self-monitoring mean?  It refers to the ability to work independently.  Can a candidate figure out how to plan and complete a project without being told what to do each step of the way?  Interestingly, we know that many employees value autonomy.   Having control over the work you do can lead to higher intrinsic motivation, and ultimately, higher productivity.  However, many employees have a hard time working independently when they are given autonomy for the first time.  They are accustomed to being provided lots of direction and guidance.  Employers rightfully look for candidates who have had some experience working on their own.  They want people who have already worked through the kinks of having autonomy for the first time.

For students entering the workplace after graduation, showing that you can work independently is crucial.  Students should consider the types of projects that they have done at school.  Have they completed a major independent study or thesis?  Have they led a campus organization or planned a major event on campus?   Did they complete a project during an internship?  

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Small Groups of Smart People: Rethinking Our Meetings

Ken Segall wrote a good column for Fast Company about his experiences working with Steve Jobs.  Segall argues for bringing together "small groups of smart people" - avoid having a huge group of people attend key meetings.   He tells an anecdote about Steve Jobs:

One particular day, there appeared in our midst a woman from Apple with whom I was unfamiliar. I don’t recall her name, as she never appeared in our world again, so for the purposes of this tale, I’ll call her Lorrie. She took her seat with the rest of us as Steve breezed into the boardroom, right on time. Steve was in a sociable mood, so we chatted it up for a few minutes, and then the meeting began. “Before we start, let me just update you on a few things,” said Steve, his eyes surveying the room. “First off, let’s talk about iMac--" He stopped cold. His eyes locked on to the one thing in the room that didn’t look right. Pointing to Lorrie, he said, “Who are you?”

Lorrie was a bit stunned to be called out like that, but she calmly explained that she’d been asked to attend because she was involved with some of the marketing projects we’d be discussing. Steve heard it. Processed it. Then he hit her with the Simple Stick. “I don’t think we need you in this meeting, Lorrie. Thanks,” he said. Then, as if that diversion had never occurred--and as if Lorrie never existed--he continued with his update. So, just as the meeting started, in front of eight or so people whom Steve did want to see at the table, poor Lorrie had to pack up her belongings, rise from her chair, and take the long walk across the room toward the door. Her crime: She had nothing to add.

Ok, so the anecdote is powerful, but probably should not be emulated.  We don't want to run around throwing people out of meetings in this fashion.   However, the principle deserves our attention.  Keep those meetings streamlined.  We get much more done if we keep our teams small and focused.  As Segall writes, "Most people know from experience that the fastest way to lose focus, squander valuable time, and water down great ideas is to entrust them to a larger group."

I can hear the pushback already.  "But shouldn't we strive to be inclusive? Isn't that required to build buy-in?"  Sure... we have to worry about including people so as to build buy-in. However, that doesn't mean that everyone needs to be at all these meetings.  We can solicit input and advice in many ways, and still have a small group focusing on the key collaborative problem-solving task in a meeting.  

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Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech

I've posted this speech before, but I felt it was important to post again this morning.  If you have not seen this speech, you MUST watch.  It proves rather eerie listening to it today, but the message is so powerful.

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