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Column: Interviewing Dilemmas and Next Steps There are a number of problems that crop up in interviewing. Here are some potential ways to deal with the most common ones. A. Portfolios and Work Samples Some organizations want you to bring in samples of your work when you interview. Others ask for them before or after a first interview. When you create a portfolio, keep these ideas in mind:
Online-specific portfolios Web portfolios are an added piece of information about an applicant. They show a hiring manager how an applicant thinks about what is important. Is the applicant web-savvy? Do technical tricks take precedence over relevant content? Does the site load quickly and easily? Relevant links and ease of navigation are big positives. Links to samples of one's work are useful for what they say about what the person chooses to show, not as a real evaluation of her skill set. Anyone in the web design or development world knows that clients change websites. So, a comment about what work you did or about how it was designed when you did it is always helpful. One version of your resume is fine. B. Salary Discussions You will remember that I advised you to put these off as long as possible. But at some point you are likely to have a discussion about salary. You do NOT want to provide a salary history. Check this link for more ideas: www.asktheheadhunter.com/faqsalary1.htm You want to talk about your pay expectations in terms of the position you are seeking. This means you need to do some research about what current salaries are for the jobs that interest you. Many professional organizations do salary surveys for their members. You can ask these questions when you are networking: "What is the typical current pay range for X position?" and "What do you currently see happening to pay rates for Z?" You can ask headhunters you know for their take on the current market. Metro DC has always had a very wide range of salaries for most any job because we have such a wide range of options. Typically, one job can pay very differently depending on:
If you looked at a good local salary survey, like the one done by HRA-NCA each year, you would find that a 25-40% range in average salaries exists in many positions depending on how the data is cut (for example by the categories above.) Salary.com provides limited data. It is better used for information on relative salaries among positions than on an actual salary for a specific job. It is a useful source of possible pay ranges for a position—look carefully at the low and high ends. Salary.com uses national salary survey data and the government's salary data surveys. While they do adjust it over time, it represents rolling, large-scale averages of averages with the original data having been gathered months before. When you put in a specific location, you get national average data multiplied by a standard factor for your location relative to the U.S. average. It does not present actual local data. There is plenty of pay data available on the web. But most of it is quite generic. Note that many sites are just repackaging Salary.com, so don't think you are getting lots of data when you are getting one set via different sources. Understand that many other sites also take national data and just apply a standard factor to it when you ask for local data. Good sources you may want to look at include:
If you do find a job that really interests you and the pay seems low, check to be sure that you really understand what they want first. Second, make the case that your quality of work and knowledge will help them succeed. Bottom line: you need to decide what total compensation you are seeking and how you will consider breaking that up among base salary, bonus, commission, overtime pay, benefits, and/or services. C. Titles Titles can be quite confusing. Not only do different organizations call one job by a variety of names but also levels such as Director can have widely divergent meanings. Also, some job titles have changed meaning over time. In column 1, I talked about what you can do with your previous titles on a resume to make yourself more attractive. So, you should be looking at a wide range of possible titles when you are looking for jobs that might interest you. But what happens when the job title sounded right but in the interview the job doesn't? Ask questions!! Clarify with each interviewer what the job really entails. If it is not the right job for you, tell them so. Ask if they have other jobs that match your skills and tell them what you are looking for. Maybe a title is really critical to you. Some organizations do have very specific rules on what titles are allowed. Others may be willing to change a title if they really want you. You should pick up a feel for how regimented the organization is in the interviewing process. So if you just have to be a *your favorite title here* and you think they might be willing, then wait till they make the offer and try to negotiate your desired title. But do remember that titles do not make the job any better or worse, so don't be swayed by what the job is called; go for the real attributes! D. Been Fired? Laid-Off? This is not so uncommon as you think. No, you do not have a scarlet letter on your head. But how you discuss it when asked is what is important to the hiring manager. If you have lost several jobs because you had lousy managers, how willing do you think this manager is to become your next 'lousy manager'? Get your grief and defensiveness under control and develop a short reply for the inevitable question about why you left. Been fired? Something like this may be your best answer: After 'x time' there, we had a major restructuring. This resulted in my working for a boss with whom I had significant professional disagreements and I left. I can provide you with excellent references from people there with whom I worked closely. That is it. No more details. Most of us have been in a similar situation at some point and do not worry about it—unless it is part of a larger pattern. Repeat note: a candidate who has worked for 'terrible bosses' many times does raise red flags. Caught in cutbacks? Try something like this: We had funding/revenue/contract problems, and x% of us were let go. The company was very reluctant to take this step, but treated us well. OR, I was really happy with my work there even after we had had some lay-offs. But the company was in ever more trouble, and finally I was also let go. Been unemployed for a long time? That too is common now. But the answer again is a simple variant of: I am looking for the right opportunity to use my skills effectively. I have been actively looking, but I also have improved my skills through volunteer work/additional study/experiments with my own website. E. He Said He'd Call… OK, that sounds like a typical female lament after a date. But too many folks do get themselves into an emotional response when a recruiter or hiring manager says that s/he will call. Remember this is a business issue. What could be the reason for no call? What can you do?
And unfortunately, some people and organizations are just bad at hiring. So what can you do? You:
In all your contacts, remember to reinforce your professionalism as well as selling your skills. Be positive, be understanding. Learn what you can about the cause of any delays and add it to your decision process. While a chart of when to call to follow up on job interviews and when not to would be great—there is way too much "it depends" in most cases. But I can give you some general ideas:
Note: Few managers think of a candidate who follows up as desperate unless the candidate acts that way. Thus, if you call to follow up and you indicate you
Then the person is likely to think you are desperate—and think that considering you was a mistake. F. Thank-You Notes Do you really want to make yourself stand above your competitors? Send thank-you notes! Most candidates know they should, but only about a third actually do. And fewer still write notes that help make the case for a hiring decision. So you can stand out by:
How do you write an effective thank-you note? By reviewing the notes you took during your interviews and any other research you have. Using that information allows you to make a better case outlining what you can do for the organization. You do not need to provide a review of their business plan—just some good ideas about how you can contribute to it! Do not send the exact same note to each person if you interviewed with several—vary the new facts you give or expand upon some point you made in the interview. Many organizations gather all these notes into the same file, and the hiring manager is likely to look at them all or ask HR about them. Why bother? This is not just to prove you are smart enough to know your manners. It can make the difference between the candidate who gets the job and the one who does not. Good thank-you notes add to the hiring manager's knowledge about your skills and abilities. They make the case that you are a smart business professional who understands the organization's needs and will effectively contribute to achieving its goals. G. Follow-Up Interviews Companies vary in their interview procedures. So if you have had an interview, you may still have other interviews to come. When this happens, you should prepare for each interview as you did for the first one. Update your research; check your success stories. (See column 4 for full information.) Since multiple interviews can create problems if you are employed, do not hesitate to ask if the organization can consolidate them into one period or do them outside your normal business hours. Many will try to work with you in such cases. Sometimes further interviews are needed because a key player changes. When this happens, be as prepared as you were for the first interviews. The new player probably has very little information on you and often does not yet have a trusting relationship with the others you have met. After each interview phase, reevaluate your interest. Let the organization know if you are no longer interested. If you are interested, follow up as above. H. References Organizations ask for references to check your past work experiences. Good friends and family have no place in your references. Past supervisors are most critical; other management or clients are also good. For students, people you interned with and summer or part-time work supervisors are generally better than professors. You need to work with the people you select as references in advance. Ask them if they are willing to be a reference. Send them a copy of your resume as a reminder of the work you did together and your other attributes. Ideally you want to have 5-6 references identified and agreeable to being contacted. You want their current phone number of preference. When you provide an organization with your references, you are giving them permission to contact these people. Do not be surprised if they expand on your list and contact others who may know your work. This is a smart practice on their part and increasingly common. If you do not want your current boss contacted, say so—no one wants to jeopardize your current job. But having another reference at your current workplace is a great asset. Letters of referral are useful when a previous supervisor is retiring or the source is from another country. Those from past employers are often seen as somewhat less than useful because they are most commonly used when a person is let go involuntarily. However, you can ensure that these are useful to you if you make sure that any you get do have some substance about your work achievements in the text body. Such letters are given to a potential employer when s/he asks for references. Keep the original and give the requester a copy. |
