Posts Tagged Interviews
Your next career move: How not to ruin it
Posted by Frank Mortimer in CV writing, Finding A Headhunter, Interviews on January 24, 2010
A report published in Harvard Business Review suggests that even high-ranking executives make elementary mistakes when searching for a new role. In researching “Five Ways to Bungle a Job Change”, authors Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams interviewed 400 executive research consultants, 500 high level executives and the heads of Human Resources at 15 multinational companies.
“It all kept coming down to the same thing,” Robin Abrahams, research associate at Harvard Business School, told CNN.
“Five mistakes came out consistently, no matter who we asked.” she said.
Lack of research
The report identifies four areas which were conspicuously absent in job seekers’ research.
Groysberg, an associate professor at Harvard Business School and Abrahams reveal that executives fail to assess potential employers for financial stability or how they might fit in culturally to a new organization.
Job seekers also assume that official job descriptions accurately reflect the role as well as failing to properly investigate “job-market realities for their industry.”
“They really don’t do their due diligence,” Abrahams said.
“Think for a moment if you were going to invest a year’s salary in the stock of a company. How much due diligence would you do on that company before investing your money? People don’t do that when they are changing their job.”
Leaving for money
Moving jobs for a pay rise is, according to Abrahams, a result of people thinking in the short term and is no guarantee of success in the long term.
“You know when you change jobs that there are going to be some losses involved — moving your family for example — so the money helps people with feelings of loss aversion. It’s also a story that you can tell to other people and they will understand.
Abrahams, a research psychologist, has a special interest in the psychology of narrative. It’s important for people to explain themselves to other people she says.
“If you tell people you’re getting $10,000 or $50,000 more, everyone gets that. But If you are saying long-winded things like ‘it’s for my personal development’ or ‘I’m truly happier doing this’ you can only say those things to your closest friends and even they might not care or understand.”
Going “from” rather than “to”
Executives at the top, as well as people lower down the career ladder are sometimes so desperate to leave their job that they don’t plan their career moves and lurch from job to job instead of waiting for the right position.
“Ask yourself: ‘are there opportunities still left at my old company or do I really need to leave?’” Abraham said.
“It’s very easy for one or two pieces of information — whether its ‘my boss insulted me’ or ‘these people are offering me $25,000 more’ — to overwhelm everything else. Don’t make a job change based on one piece of information,” Abrahams added.
Overestimating yourself
Abrahams says that people overestimate themselves in two ways.
“They generally think they are more competent than they are and tend to have what’s called a self-aggrandizement bias — overplaying the extent to which you saved the day and your own contribution,” Abrahams said.
This “excessively optimistic” opinion of themselves leads them to underestimate how long a job search can take.
“A lot of people aren’t even thinking through the competition,” Abrahams said.
Thinking short term
A short term perspective, Groysberg and Abrahams say, can feed into the mistakes above and many of the headhunters they spoke to cited it as a “serious career misstep in its own right.” Abrahams say executives should pay attention to all sources of information available to them about a new role. If you are lucky enough to find the job of your dreams this year, Abrahams — who writes the “Miss Conduct” social advice column for the Boston Globe — has some words of wisdom. “On-boarding is absolutely crucial. When you start a job, etiquette and good career management tactics are the same really. Find out who you need to know and get in front of them. Do everything you can to start building up your social capital. Definitely come with a listening perspective, no matter how important you are.” Burning your bridges with your old company has never been a smart move. Even more so now in the modern business world, Abrahams says.
“Globalization and people changing careers will mean that today’s boss maybe tomorrow’s client or vendor, subordinate or rival for another job. You simply never know.”
Source: CNN / Harvard Business Review
Career advice for top Executives by top headhunters
Posted by Frank Mortimer in CEO jobs, Executive Search, Interviews on August 7, 2009
I had a look at businessWeek’s list of most influential headhunters and extracted their career advice to executives.
Besides a lot of open door remarks there is really sound advice in there, enjoy!
Be consistent, walk the talk, and deliver. Be open, honest, and show your passion.
In our present world, where everything is connected, there is only one possibility of saving the whole planet, including all its economic and business aspects. It is: “To be of service.”
Build a great team, be a leader, and make other people around you successful.
Surround yourself with great people –people who play to win the right way, by the rules.
Keep your character and personality; listen to and meet great CEOs; keep social life and politics to a minimum.
Create teams that are diverse and performance-driven.
Have a personal board of directors with two or three strong mentors among them. Learn from their collective wisdom and never underestimate the extraordinary power of networks.
Sense of humor and humility are sought-after qualities. If you have both, show them.
Disciplined, focused, global mindset
True success comes when you work in a position that plays to your natural strengths, is meaningful to you, and allows you to work with people you genuinely like and respect.
Drive and ambition, integrity, empathy, intellect, self-awareness
Don’t forget where you came from and who helped you get where you are.
You are never as smart as you think you are.
Always lead by example. Stay humble and hungry. Never stop learning.
Follow your heart, have the guts to involve your subordinates, put them in the limelight as they need to feel the empowerment and responsibility for what they do.
Get to know your strengths and weaknesses. It is also essential to gain international experience.
Find a mentor/sponsor who has a management style you want to learn from. Ask to talk with those who would be your peers before taking a job.
Pick your jobs based on the experience you will get. Make sure you build a well-rounded career.
Focus on integrity and the courage to do the right thing.
Successful managers need to be focused on improving the results of the business). The second key competency is team leadership. A third competency is collaboration and influencing. And finally, strategic orientation enables leaders to think beyond the pressing issues of the day.
Leadership, strategic vision of the business with a clear comprehension of current and future industry trends, balanced development of the emotional intelligence
As Gilbert & George said: “Always be smoothly dressed, well groomed, relaxed, friendly, polite and in complete control….”
Integrity, selflessness
Stand for something; fundamental values still count. Relationships count more than people realize. It’s O.K. to be a little neurotic.
Gain an early breadth of experience, and then focus on what you do well and what you are passionate about.
Gain international experience. Find a mentor.
Think about how your actions will be perceived and interpreted by those around you.
Seek out and contribute to an organization that interests you.
Adopt an open and honest approach to problems and opportunities. Be confident in your knowledge and abilities, but don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know.
Surround yourself with the best possible talent you can find. Make sure you’re including a diverse range of opinions, cultures, and backgrounds. Be confident enough to encourage constructive differences of opinion. Don’t be afraid of hiring someone you might work for someday!
Exceed expectations in every assignment; make your boss look good and he/she will want to take you with him/her.
Young leaders charge down the pathway of their strength, that is their courage, deeply learned courage. Often young leaders confuse courage with natural talent. It is not the same thing. Courage can be learned.
Tell the truth (or don’t say anything at all); distinguish yourself by doing great work (not self-promoting); keep your hands out of the cookie jar (and anywhere else they don’t belong).
Obtain international experience. Stay in contact with the leading executive-search consultants. Take risks. Balance your life.
Surround yourself with people who are smarter and better than you. Seek feedback on your interpersonal skills.
Successful leaders must be decisive and able to act quickly on their decisions. They must be flexible and ready for change.
Make sure your people respect you. Don’t forget where you came from.
Listen!
Do not be afraid to lead! Have a point of view/opinion and be passionate about it. Lead from the front for the benefit of others–not yourself–and your success will come.
Work hard, show good results, take part in continuous training.
Be humble and accept making mistakes. Leaders are neither heroes nor supermen, and they don’t walk on water. Their job is to lead others and make risky decisions to achieve results and grow profits.
Stay the course, be innovative, and build teams to work together toward a common mission and goal.
Never measure your career by positions, only by achievements.
Lead with passion, ethically execute, prioritize the interests of legitimate stakeholders vs. those of people with a political agenda, and take the time to invest in and mentor the next generation of leaders.
Expose yourself to as wide a range of experiences, academic knowledge, and cultures as you possibly can.
Be the best at what you do today; do not try to be something tomorrow.
Work hard and focus, make sure you are continuously learning.
Continuous change is the value added you need.
Build your early experience with great companies. Achieve outstanding corporate results. Surround yourself with the smartest people that complement your skills.
Get a great mentor early in your career, have annual career audits, listen.
Become global.
You need to know your area of expertise but people count in the end. You have to be a global thinker to succeed. Have confidence, believe in yourself: Trust your instincts.
Stick with it: demonstrate results. Pursue your passion: You have a higher probability of being excellent; know what you are good at and play to it; don’t be too proud to get good internal and external mentors/coaches.
Take time to listen, understand, and help others.
Create your own opportunities. The best leaders I have known took what appeared to be setbacks and transformed them into their greatest assets.
The challenges and opportunities for next-generation leaders are immense. My advice for emerging leaders is to take those experiences that will develop their skills and leadership competencies broadly vs. taking a strictly vertical career path.
Ask good questions, and do your homework.
Be exceptional and we’ll find you.
Greatness is available to you and to everyone.
Be genuine, sincere, and grounded.
Accomplish something, prove you can do it consistently, and then move on to a new challenge.
Focus on environments where you can learn and have an impact.
Be a team builder; be prepared to listen; share your strengths and work on your weaknesses.
Exceed expectations on what you are currently doing and think ahead carefully about your long-term aspirations.
Find the CEO. He or she will help you exceed your own limits.
Don’t rush, and choose wisely. Many emerging leaders push to get to the next promotion, sometimes not living with the decisions of their previous position.
Keep an open mind, keep learning, and be results-oriented.
Be consistent in messaging, so you can develop leadership skills.
Develop broad-based skills by taking assignments in different functional disciplines and leading operations on multiple continents.
Be sure to do a clear self-assessment before getting into the market for a new job (know your strengths and weaknesses), and remember, fit is everything.
Put yourself in the other guy’s shoes.
Be humble. Build strong relationships. Be honest.
Always aim for better, no matter who is on the receiving end: employees, shareholders, customers, your spouse, or family. Avoid promising too much and always surprise with your delivery!
Know yourself, and balance your work and personal life.
I believe it was John Seely-Brown who said that the best way to move forward is to look around you. We are entering a new world – global – looking ahead only will give you blinders.
Leaders need to have a vision with flexibility.
Work hard, with total integrity.
Lead by example; listen carefully; communicate clearly and often.
Tell the truth even if it hurts. Speak well of your leaders even if they are nuts. Live life with a sense of urgency. Never go sailing with a captain who has never been aground…he doesn’t have enough experience.
Have confidence in what you know but keep a constant vigil on what you don’t.
To motivate people by learning how to treat them as individuals.
Spend enough time in a position to go through the business cycle; broaden functional experiences.
Emerging leaders must understand that obtaining industry leadership requires more than just knowledge and skill sets.
Take risks and be original.
Preparing for an Interview: Behavior Description Interviewing
Posted by Frank Mortimer in Interviews on August 6, 2009
Behavioral Interviewing is used by many Headhunters and recruiters to speed up the selection process in one way or the other.
Dr. Tom Janz is considered to be the founding father of this interviewing technique that many regard as very effective. The basic idea is that the best predictor of future behavior is your past behavior.
These include questions like:
- Describe a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?
- Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
- Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
- Describe a politically complex work situation in which you worked
- Describe a situation when you were able to strengthen a relationship by communicating effectively. What made your communication effective?
- When you have difficulty persuading someone to your point of view, what do you do? Give an example.
- Describe the setbacks you have faced. How did you deal with them?
Use the STAR
In the earlier blog about preparing for an interview I’ve ended with the remark: know yourself, no really know yourself. For answering these questions this is a strong prerequisite.
On top of that a useful help tool is using the STAR method in your answers:
- The Situation or Task you were in
- The Action that you took
- The Result of that action
This will cover most of the questions effectively.
Preparing for an interview with an Executive Recruiter
Posted by Frank Mortimer in Executive Search, Interviews on June 19, 2009
There are some basic elements in every interview:
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Behind each question is a motive: Always remember that anything you tell a recruiter will contain information.
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Spontaneous responses: All recruiters ask unusual queries in hope that you’ll respond directly and they’ll learn something about your character
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Why are you here?: Make sure you have got that answered to yourself for a 100% before talking to any recruiter. It could be a very short answer or long one but the essence of it reveals your motivation and with that tells the recruiter a lot about you and your potential match with a company or job
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What others say about you?: this question comes in all sort of shapes and forms but is always asked. So what would they say about you?
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Strengths and weaknesses: If you are serious about your (long term) career and well being you don’t kid yourself and answer truthfully. However it is not necessary to dwell on your weaknesses for long of course. Your strengths have to be crystal clear and should be translated into clear advantages for the job/company
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What do you think about the Market, company or job type?: This is a no brainer, you will have to be prepared. Do research about the market, company and the type of job you are talking about and make sure that they know you know.
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Are you the right man for the job?: Always a tricky one, again being straight is the only approach. If you feel that certain areas are a clear match be sure to mention them. For elements that you not so sure about you can state that you would like to explore it more.
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All the questions you have: Every question you ask about the market, company and the job reflects your motivation and professionalism. And of course you really want to have more information.
In summary:
Know yourself, no really know yourself
The best impression you will make is when you are composed, professional and interested and that what you say and show matches your skills and capabilities.
Kind regards,
Frank Mortimer
Hunted head
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