Dealing with Some Common Interview Challenges!

After the initial job-response process is completed, including the phone-screening interview from a recruiter, you are invited to meet with the hiring team, which often includes the hiring manager. Many of my clients are looking for a change because they do not like their current manager. Somehow, they often assume that almost anybody else would be a better manager than what they find in their boss. They are often wrong! Some are also looking for a different work environment from what they experience at their place of work. Once again, they go by what they have read about the new place or what their friends, who work there tell them. Here, too, you cannot extrapolate what you read or hear into what you may end up facing in your own job in that same place.

Why is that?

My experience is that during an interview the focus is so much on knowledge/skills exploration (highly technical questions, specific to the work area) that candidates often feel victorious when they ace those questions. They do not realize that acing such questions is only half the battle. The rest is exploring what is important to them before they realize that they have made the wrong choice after joining the new company. So, what are some of the key things to remember during the interview process? Here is a list that may help you:

1. If you are making a job change, be very clear about why you are making such a change. Too many people make such changes without the required clarity and without articulating for themselves what some of the key non-negotiable items are in the new job, lest the very things you are getting away from, repeat themselves.
2. If your manager is the main reason for your seeking a change, then be clear about what characteristics are objectionable in your current manager. Then work hard to identify if the prospect manager displays the same characteristics. For example, if you are trying to get away from a micromanager then you must ask specific questions in your interview about your prospect manager’s management style. No one is going to tell you that they are a micromanager. In fact, if you tell them that you are looking for a change because your current manager micromanages you, you will hear what you want to hear: I am not a micromanager, from your interviewer, even though they may be even worse than your current boss. So, it is best to ask for specific behaviors, and not labels. To explore this, create a hypothetical scenario and ask your potential manager how they would manage in such a case. That will be much more insightful than asking questions that do not result in useful answers.
3. Now, coming back to the company culture: Even though a company may be known for its culture, the local management, specifically your immediate manager, drives how that manifests in their particular work area. I have had many clients who went to join companies because of their reputation for a great and open culture, only to be disappointed by how their tyrannical manager made their life a living hell!
4. During the interview with your manager or a peer, see if you can take a tour of the work area, where you would be working. During this tour keenly observe people’s interactions and the general mood of the place. Do not comment on anything, but merely note how people look, act, and carry out their work as a part of your observation. If something does not seem right, or you get a gut feel that something is not right, trust it. In such cases our instincts are often right on, and we must learn to respect them.
5. Visit sites like glassdoor.com where you are able to see comments about the workplace posted by employees (current and past). Try to correlate what you observed during your visit with those observations and draw your own conclusions.
6. During the interview it is perfectly acceptable to ask your hiring manager if your position is new or you would be replacing someone. Then ask about your predecessor and the circumstances for the change (why they left, how long did they stayed in that job, etc. can shed much light on the culture).
7. Learn how to finesse some of the more tricky questions during an interview: Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years, for example. A typical response to such a question is, I see myself as becoming a Senior Director in that timeframe. The problem with such a response is that if the interviewer feels stuck there as a Director for several years, they are going to see you as threat to them. Besides, who knows how an organization is going to evolve in that timeframe! So, a safer answer is to say, I am more interested in growing by tackling challenging problems and creating ongoing value, than I am going after a particular title. So, as long as I feel that I am growing, learning new things, and have increasing responsibilities, that is what I really care about. Such a response will raise fewer eyebrows than the other response. Such a response will disarm even the most cynical interviewers, allowing you to probe more openly about things that are really important for your success, before you are surprised by discovering them on the job!
8. If you have learned something that is adverse about the company, do not bring it up. If it is in the media then most people within that company are already aware of what is out there. Bringing this up in a negative way can backfire and create unnecessary impediment to your sailing through the process smoothly. If you do get an offer, you will have enough time to assess what the right course of action is.
9. Do not be obsessive about salary and title in your next job. Here, again, if you focus on the value you bring and the value you get to create in your new role, and the responsibilities you expect to discharge in that role, the salary and title fall out of those discussions. It is best if the hiring managers proposes these parameters before you do.

10.  Be clear about how you are going to be measured during your first year, and also ask what some of the key expectations are, by asking a questions such as, If you hired a perfect candidate, how would they be measured and what will their performance look like at the end of the first year. If the answer to this question is not specific enough then you may want to seriously consider not joining that company, or at least being open to working with the manager to define it with more clarity after you start working there.

Throughout the interview process it is best to assume responsibility for knowing as much about the job and the company as they want to know about you. That way you are less likely to be looking for yet another job in a short period of time after you start your new job!

Good luck!