A short while back I had the unique and rewarding experience to participate in panel interviews to assist in the selection of a new CEO to head up a large public enterprise. Finalist candidates from all over the nation were brought in and plunked down in front of a bunch of us “community folk” and slow-roasted about until cooked medium-well.
It was interesting, amusing, maddening, informative, creative and above all – educational — to say the least. Unfortunately I am bound by an NDA which prevents me from disclosing anything really juicy! [Side note on this process: Actually – there’s not much to tell despite what the mainstream media trying to sell papers may want you to believe. And despite what the hyperbole-mongrels of community conspiracy theory would have you believe, there isn’t anything going on behind closed doors other than giving some decent folks from out of town a little privacy, respect and comfort.]
Since I am a student of the “personal branding” and “relationship marketing”, I enjoyed dissecting relationship development under the stress of an executive interview. I managed to keep some notes in the margins of these interviews that are “general enough” that they should be of assistance to any executive in the hotseat interviewing for a leadership position:
- Understand the rules and expectations of the “game”. Understand how much time you have for the interview and establish the goals of the interviewees. Only one candidate out the gate asked up front what I hoped to accomplish in the interview and that stood out positively.
- Pay attention to the time. Take the time available and divide it in to 4 parts and query the interviewer “how am I doing, how’s the pace?” If given an hour, query at 15 minute intervals. Two reasons: One, this ensures that the pace is correct and that everyone will get to ask the questions that are most important to them. Second, this gives you an opportunity to get some feedback on how you’re doing. Forcing an interviewer to say, “You’re doing great!” reinforces that you are doing just that…great!
- Answer in thirds. Give a 33% condensed and to the point answer. Solicit feedback on whether that covers it. If favorable, then proceed to embellish the answer with a STORY or EXPERIENCE for the next 33%. If the panel/interviewers are still interested in more, give additional perspective or dialog or extend to hypothetical situations you may encounter.
- Tell stories. (Here we go again, David LaPlante wanting you to use stories!) Entertain. But know the moral of the story you tell. Anyone who knows me knows that I believe life is about making and telling stories. The best answers to questions are told from a story.
- Be conversant. Be humble. Speak from EXPERIENCE not OPINION. OPINION = BAD: “I think this community should pave the parks!.” EXPERIENCE = GOOD: “It’s been my experience that when we paved our community park we enjoyed a substantial cost reduction lawn trimming services.”
- Dress for success and don’t be afraid to stand out. But don’t go overboard. MEN: A loud pinstripe suit may be OK if it’s New York and you’re interviewing at Goldman Sachs. Once you get the job, the pinstripe is a good thing. Pinstripes have ego. This can be dangerous. Someone with a very strong and overpowering personality may actually want to choose for something more subtle. The opposite is true. Wear sharp solid suit and embellish it with bright colors in the short – not the tie. If you’re interviewing for a job that pays over $100,000 a year, you can afford to wear a suit made in the last freakin’ decade! In fact, it would be your best bet to buy a new suit.
- Stage presence. Practice your stage presence.
- Hedge your criticisms with your reasoning and explore the other alternatives. Example: “From the knowledge and experience I have, this is my observation. It’s not an effective campaign. However, I’ve been a leader long enough to know that in any organization with smart folks that my observation may not be drawn hastily. There’s reasoning for everything and usually more to the story than what meets the eye.”
- Body language does not lie! Make frequent eye contact. Say people’s names. Get their attention and keep it. I kept chickenscratch notes on eye contact alone. My “strongest” candidate made eye contact with me almost 3x more than the second. The worst interviewee ranked only made eye contact 6 times. That’s only 10% of the “average”. Crazy yet amazing and true!
- AND FOR GOD’S SAKE SMILE!
Do you have any items/thoughts to add? I’d really like to get a thread going on this one!
