je ne sais quoi: French, noun phrase: An indefinable quality, something indescribable or inexpressible
Recently, I conducted an experiment to improve the selection odds of clients through the job interview process. What I found in many cases that involved my clients going through a series of long, rigorous interviews at almost all levels of screening was that they were assured of their selection, only to be rejected in a single round of a final interview, typically involving the CEO or someone with a veto power. In such cases everyone involved, including the hiring manager, starting with the recruiter, were convinced that my client was a shoo-in and the final round with the head honcho was a mere formality. What I found was, quite to the surprise of all involved, my client did not receive the offer they were expecting, with little or no insight as to what happened in such a peremptory rejection.
I started this experiment about a month or so ago and of the four candidate clients that were the “use cases” for this idea, three, who were going to be rejected in the final round, were turned around each getting an offer, and the fourth one is pending as of this writing.
The experiment comprised of handling the selection process with a slightly different strategy. The strategy was to develop one or more champion(s) during the selection process starting with your immediate hiring manager. To win someone as your ally early in the process requires diligent preparation, near-flawless interviewing skills, ongoing follow-up, and building strong relationships with everyone in the interview chain, especially with those whom you want as your champions. Once you have this champion allied with you after you win their trust they will often coach you to further navigate through the interview process. They will tell you about the people you are going to meet during your subsequent interview rounds and how you can win their nods, which will take you to the next stop.
If you have come this far with someone giving you advice on how to ace the ratcheting rounds of interviews you can be sure that you have someone, who wants you to get the offer and join their team. In cases where you clear all the serious interview rounds and are told that there is yet one more final round with veto power (although no one will say that, but depending on who that one interviewer is you can infer this on your own) you need to get coached by your champion(s) so that you have the best chance of presenting yourself to this majordomo!
However, this does not mean that your winning answers are what this person is now looking for. On the contrary, they are looking for some mysterious je ne sais quoi that only that person has any calibration on. So, the best strategy you can use in this last round is to leverage all the tips your champions provided to you to ace this final round and just act normal without trying too hard to deal with the indefinable. If you go on that route to second-guess what that might be you’ll lose because it will show how you come across with your ersatz charms and you will vitiate your own purpose to get the final offer. Being aware of this is critical. With this in mind you have now completed your veto round with the head honcho. If you are concerned about knowing exactly what your je ne sais quoi is that they are looking for, don’t worry; you’ll soon find out!
When your champion loops back with this head honcho with their veto power they will hear the reason why they have decided to pass on you. Because your champion has already a vested interest in protecting their desire to hire you they will dig deeper into the reason with the big boss to find out where you came up short. It is in this discussion that your champion will uncover your je ne sais quoi that the big boss was searching for.
Let me now tell you about the four cases, each one looking for that je ne sais quoi and how we overcame the objection the big boss raised, by claiming it:
Case 1: As a VP-E candidate, my client brought every attribute the hiring manager, founder (CTO) was looking for. After my client received tips from the CTO, the veto interview with the CEO went well and was about one hour. The CEO decided that my client was not aggressive enough to deal with the fractious team he was inheriting and did not have the minatory demeanor he was looking for to hold the team accountable for the slipping milestones. He told that to the hiring manager.
So, when the hiring manager called my client telling him that the CEO wants to look for another candidate who is more aggressive and mean looking, we decided to send a “Thank-you” note to the CTO acknowledging how he (my client) may come across as a “nice guy,” but also describing instances from his immediate past where he had whipped his team into shape, including firing some under performers, who were not strong team players. When the CTO saw that “Thank-you” note, cleverly written do showcase what they CEO felt was missing, he realized that CEO was merely judging the book by its cover. After seeing that “Thank-you note” the CEO changed his mind and my client got the offer the next day.
Case 2: As an SVP candidate my client had gone through five rounds of interviews with various high-level executives at a large conglomerate. His hiring manager was an EVP reporting to the CEO who had championed my client all through these five interview rounds. He was sure that the CEO would be a mere courtesy stop to get his blessing for this hire. Once again, the CEO interview was about one hour and he was looking for that je ne sais quoi to qualify my client. After that interview my client got a call from his hiring manager, EVP, and told him that the CEO felt that my client lacked the spark he was looking for to galvanize the global team, which was mostly comprised of Gen-Y and Millennials. My client was in his mid 40s. The EVP felt that this was going to be a deal breaker.
Once we knew what the CEO felt was “missing” in my client’s attributes we wrote a detailed Thank-you note to the EVP (with the full expectation that he would pass that on to the CEO!), cleverly showcasing my client’s team, which comprised of all those age groups and how he had inspired them to deliver some awesome products during his previous stints. Sure enough, that note got passed on to the CEO and he changed his mind. My client got that offer he was expecting within the next few days.
Case 3: Lead Architect: In this case my client was interviewed for a Lead Architect role at a fast-growing software product company. She had gone through four different rounds involving both technical and management interviews and was considered a shoo-in for the role. Here, too, before the offer stage my client’s hiring manager called for one last round with the SVP and told her how to deal with any objections the SVP may present. So, my client prepared for that veto interview with all those inputs and felt that she did great with the SVP throughout that interview.
Once again, the hiring manager, who had championed my client called and apologized for the SVP’s decision to continue looking. When pressed for more details the hiring manager told her that the SVP felt that they needed a person who was more of a manager than a “nerdy” architect, someone who could build a collaborative ethos across the growing organization and who could act more like a leader than as code pusher. The hiring manager told my client that although everyone loved her except the SVP, but for that “attribute,” she was sure that the deal was off!
Taking that input we wrote yet another “Thank-you note” to the hiring manager clearly showcasing how my client had worked in the previous roles to build cohesive teams across the companies and how she had led initiatives that went beyond her exceptional architectural abilities. Here, too, that note got passed on to the SVP and they decided to move forward with hiring my client in a few days.
Case 4: In this case my client was a Biz-Dev leader in large companies where he had opened up new alliances that were breakthroughs in that ecosystem. Here, too, he went through many rounds, with his immediate hiring manager becoming his champion. When the final veto round came with the CEO my client felt that he had done well, but the hiring manager came back with the show-stopper that surprised my client: He had no start-up experience!
Here, again, in our “Thank-you note” we responded how my client had built these entrepreneurial teams in large companies, where he had worked and how he had created that start-up ethos to get things done despite the prevailing bureaucracy. This is the response that is still pending as it just was presented a few days back. We are awaiting their final decision.
Although this idea of claiming your je ne sais quoi by waiting till the veto round is in its early stages the successes so far have been encouraging. Most candidates merely take the veto input and move on, disappointed. The main challenge here is framing that “Thank-you note” in a subtle yet forceful way to not betray your champion’s confidences and positioning it in a way that it would be presented to the veto authority! It is tricky but doable as you can see here.
Good luck!