dirk spencer - interview psychology - preparation attracts offers
DESCRIPTION
St Jude Catholic Church Allen, Texas lecture -TRANSCRIPT
WIT H D IR K S P E N C E R
S OC IA L M E D IA R E C R U IT E R
C R E A T OR OF R E S U M E P S Y C HOLOG Y©
2 0 1 3 ©
Interview Psychology Preparation Attracts Offers
PEOPLE NETWOR KIN G REQUI RIN G
BABY KISSING ,
RUBBER CHICKEN EATING &
WEARING OUT SHOE LEATHER
IS THE FASTEST PATH TO
YOUR NEXT JOB!
Disclaimer
W H A T T O E X P R E S S L I S T E N C A R E F U L L Y
H O W T O A N S W E R Q U E S T I O N S
W H A T Y O U M U S T M A S T E R
Interviews Generally-Speaking
What You Must Express in the Interview
Confidence
Competence
Capacity
Where they
need you
to be
Listen to Their Questions
Answer what they ask
Not what you think they asked
How to Answer Interview Questions
Be direct
Be concise
Be truthful
Stop Doing These Things
Deflecting, defending, demanding
Being too “honest”
Saying “the money is not important”
Dancing around being “fired”
Stuff You Must Master – About You
The money
Resume content
Career experience
Past failures
Stuff You Must Master – About Them
Industry trends
Regulatory impacts
Best practices and standards
W H A T I T I S
W H Y I T M A T T E R S I T I S A O N E - S I D E A F F A I R
Pre-Screens
Interview: The Pre-Screen I
This is a pre-qualifying process
Interview: The Pre-Screen II
They are:
Verifying your availability
Checking your interest level
Interview: The Pre-Screen III
This is how they manage their workload
They may not share much with you
They might not know much
Regardless – Act Normal
Pre-Screen Goal: Be the Normal Person
…Who is qualified
…Who sounds reasonable
…Who projects self-awareness regarding:
Skills
Experience
Scale
Market Conditions
Industry Changes
Historical Context
The Pre-Screen is Expectation Setting
The pre-screen is designed to verify your:
Rate or salary
Availability to interview
Work authorization
When you can start if an offer is made
The Pre-Screen is One Sided
Them asking about your stuff
You telling them about your stuff
R U L E S F O R A N S W E R S
D E V E L O P A N S W E R S B Y W O R D C O U N T
T H E B A S I C Q U E S T I O N S
T Y P E S O F I N T E R V I E W S
C R A Z Y Q U E S T I O N S O V E R - L E A R N Y O U R C O N T E N T
Interviews
The Rules to Interview Answers
Rule 1 – There are no wasted questions
Rule 2 – It is always about them
Rule 2.5 – Seriously it is about them
Rule 3 – Every answer must be job related
Rule 4 – Be honest
Rule 5 – Be brief
Rule 6 – Be engaged
Prepare Interview Answers by Word Count
Have a 15-17 word introductory answer
Have a second 20-30 word follow-up answer
Have a 15-17 word closing answer
Integrate relevant skills in every answer
Realize timed-answers encourage faster talking
Become comfortable with pauses and silence
The 6 Basic Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself
2. Tell me about a time you failed
3. Tell me about a time you succeeded
4. Tell me about your greatest weakness
5. Tell me about your greatest strength
6. Tell me how you handle stress
Tell Me About Yourself
Doing Great – How About You?
They are gauging pessimism versus optimism
They are measuring energy
They are measuring enthusiasm
They are calibrating interpersonal norms
They are evaluating your communication style
Tell Me About a Time You Failed
“Let me think…”
Make this work related
Failure – What They Want to Know
How you handle failure?
Want did you learn from failure?
Are you self-aware regarding failure?
Failure – All About Ownership
They want to know
1. If you own-it
2. or if you blame-others or circumstances
End the example on a “Positive” outcome
Tell Me About a Time You Succeeded
“Working with a team allows for…”
They want to know: Do you share the credit for success?
Do you work well with others?
Do you do the work?
Do you delegate the work?
Is there more to you than the resume?
Tell Me About Your Greatest Weakness
“Professionally speak there was a time…”
They want to know:
Are you self-aware of a short-coming?
Are you recovered from your weakness?
What adaptation did you implement?
Tell Me About Your Greatest Strength
“When it comes to this job…”
They want to see energy – not cheerleading
Demonstrate “relaxed confidence” about your skill
This is where you can drill down on “their” needs
This is when you can demonstrate professional commitment
Tell Me How You Handle Stress
Amateur answers to avoid:
I jog 3 miles, lift weights and do yoga
I have my black belt in karate
I never get stressed out
Answering the “Stress” Question
Answer to the best outcome: Give a work example
Share a business-case
Convey your experience managing stress using skills they care about
Interviews – Summarizing Your Career
What you have to know & know cold:
Companies – Know the value of a brand
Job Titles – Translate the jargon
Dates – Be consistent
Have 4 or more stories “over-learned”
Interviews - Consulting
What you have to share & share well: You expertise on topical matters
Products, services, methodologies
Industry best practices
Interviews - Behavioral
They are gauging your : Reaction times
Reaction consistency
Comfort level in your own story telling
Purpose of the Behavioral Interview
Break through the professional persona
Measure candidate comfort with others
Gauge candidate’s aptitude to adapt
Preview a candidate’s authentic self
Behavioral Interview HR Mantra
“Past performance is the best predictor of future performance”
The Crazy Questions
Realize
The answer is irrelevant
There is no correct answer
They are watching for “how” you answer
The Crazy Questions - What Matters
Consistent delivery
“Be Cool Under Fire”
Give interesting answers
“Participate Ethically”
Demonstrating logic
“…One bite at a time”
Purpose of the Crazy Question
Determine how you handle the unexpected?
This is all they want to know…
&
Are you normal under 2 conditions:
When things are going well & not so well
The Logic for Crazy Questions
How do you handle fake stress created by a fake question?
If you crash here you must share experiences showcasing victories over real-stress
O V E R L E A R N I N G
Interview Preparation Strategy
How to Over-learn Your Material
Stage Right!
Practice your stories like stage actors reciting scripts
Rehearse, rehearse, rehears, rehearse
Rehearse a little more
Rehears a lot more
Rehearse aloud
Rehears with others
Rehearse using audio & video technology
Why Rehearse?
Build, train and reinforce
Nero-pathways in the brain
Vocal and facial muscles
Why
Creates a superior level of confidence
Reduces stress hormones
The Goal of Over-Learning
It allows for spontaneous responses to new stimuli
Cognitive answers to unrehearsed questions
Translation
You are able to say something relevant and correct to new questions even though the response was not rehearsed
Over Learning is Not Memorization
Memorization Fails
It does not allow for integration of experience
Interruptions can break concentration
Pauses can break story continuity
Internet Resources
Google “Interview Questions”
Find samples and variations of interview questions
Find sample and variations of interview answers
Jeanine Rickson Blog
Chief Talent Officer (CTO) at Genesis10 -
http://careerpointe.wordpress.com/interview-preparation/
Lastly
Do not get bogged down in rate discussions
Showcase how you adapt to change
The proof is in the offer
- not the interview!
Dirk Spencer – Social Media Recruiter
214-295-8687
@DirkInDallas
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkindallas
Slideshare.Net/Dirk Spencer
Dirk is a former DOD Computer Specialist turned Recruiter and Social Media Tactician.
He is the creator of "Resume Psychology – Get the Offer Not the Interview©.
Dirk Spencer – Social Media Recruiter
Beyond resumes, Dirk’s expertise includes talent acquisition, deep-web sourcing, social media recruiting and linguistics.
He has worked agency recruiting, contract recruiting and corporate recruiting.
Dirk is regularly invited to speak to career groups, industry recruiters and professional organizations on resume strategies, network tactics, sourcing and communication strategies and professional branding using social media.
Information Technology
Telecomm
Semiconductor
Banking
Consumer Goods
Accounting
Finance
Project Management
Engineering
Executive Leadership
Networking
Aviation
Defense
Supply Chain
Software Development
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
International
Dirk’s recruiting experience includes:
Dirk has worked for these companies
Previous Recruiter Events & Speaker Mentions
Dallas Fort Worth Texas Recruiter Network (DFWTRN)
Executive Search Owners Association (ESOA)
Inter-City Personnel Associates (IPA) Associates Food & Beverage
Pikes Peak Recruiter Network (PPRN)
Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference
The Rick Gillis Radio Show in Houston, Texas ESPN Radio
CareerRocketeer “The 150+ Experts on Twitter All Job Seekers Must Follow
The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram
Previous Speaking Events Professional Organizations:
Colorado Association Healthcare Executives (CAHE) Annual Conference
Meeting of the Minds Conference
Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce Breakfast of Champions
North Texas Small Business Summit
TalentNet Live Social Recruiting Conference
Frisco Connect Job Seeker Strategy Summit
Texas Small Business Summit
Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference
American Society of Quality (ASQ)
Texas Workforce Commission Veterans Support Group
Intuit Women’s Network
International Institute of Business Analyst (IIBA)
National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).
Previous Speaking Events Ecumenical & Volunteer Organizations
• St. Jude Career Alliance a Chapter of the Catholic Career Development Community (CCDC)
• Career Counseling Group (CCG) of DFW Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT) • Career Counseling Group (CCG) of DFW Islamic Center of Irving (ICI) • Crossroads Bible Church (CBC) Career Transition Workshop (CTW) • Jewish Family Service (JFS) • Career Jump Start - First United Methodist Church Richardson (FUMCR) • Carrollton Career Focus Group (CFG) • Carrollton City Job Hunt 101 • Custer Rd Church Job Net Plano • Fort Worth Career Search Network (FWCSN) • MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church (MBBC) Career Transition Network (CTN) • McKinney Trinity Presbyterian Church Career Transition Network (CTN) • McKinney Workforce Networking • Preston Trail Job Network (PTJN) • Saint Philip's Episcopal of Frisco Job Ministry • Southlake Focus Group (SFG) • St. Andrew UMC Sales Group with Dennis O’Hagan