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How to Win the War for Jobs

Sports Stars Have Agents; Why Don't You?!

©Copyright by Up Executive Agents & Search Pty Ltd 2014. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No Patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of information contained herein.

Note: This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering professional services in this book. If the reader requires personal assistance or advice, a competent professional should be consulted.

The author specifically disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

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© Copyright 2014. Up Executive Agents & Search Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved | www.upexecutiveagents.com

http://www.upexecutiveagents.com/



Contents

Author’s Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Who Will Benefit From Reading This Controversial Job Hunting Battle Manual? ................................................................ 9

Chapter 1 : Sponsorship Qualification Criteria & Application Details ................................................................................. 11

Chapter 2 : Understanding The Economic Climate (Area Of Operation) ............................................................................. 14

Chapter 3 : Identifying Your Objective (Battle Objectives) ................................................................................................. 16

Mission - Seek And Capture ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

Understanding Enemy Candidates .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Speed, Maneuverability And Shock Force ............................................................................................................................................................. 18

Chapter 4 : What’s Holding You Back From Scoring A New Role? (Understanding Your Job Hunt Statistics & Ratios) . 19

Chapter 5 : People Who Influence Your Job Hunt Success (Battlefield Participants) ........................................................ 25

Employers (End Users) .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 26

Recruiters (Distributors) ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 27

Human Resources ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35

Line Managers ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35

Outgoing Staff Members ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 37

CEOs & Boards .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 37

Founders & Business Owners ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 38

Referees .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 39

Executive Agents ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 40

Career Management Firms ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 41

Career Transition (Outplacement) Firms................................................................................................................................................................ 42

Reading The Minds Of Interviewers ......................................................................................................................................................................... 44

Chapter 6 : Avoiding The Culling Process (Booby Traps) ..................................................................................................... 45

Understanding The Candidate Culling Process ................................................................................................................................................... 45

Common Traps To Avoid ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 51

The More Common Cull Questions .......................................................................................................................................................................... 54

Common Cull Statements – Red Flags ................................................................................................................................................................... 57

Chapter 7 : Finding Opportunities (Targets Of Opportunity) .............................................................................................. 60

Advertised Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 60

Hidden Opportunities ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 61

‘Yet To Be Created’ Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................................................ 61

Finding Key People & Their Contact Details ......................................................................................................................................................... 69

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Chapter 8 : How To Supercharge Your Network Fast (Recruiting Field Assets) ................................................................. 71

Networking With Recruiters ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 72

Networking With Employers ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 74

Networking Conversations ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 75

More Tips On Networking: .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 78

Chapter 9 : Differentiating Your Unique Value (Building Your Arsenal)............................................................................. 79

Unique Value Vs. Everyday Value ............................................................................................................................................................................. 80

Saleability .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 81

Marketability .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 83

Differentiating Your Value .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 83

Your Unique Value Proposition ................................................................................................................................................................................. 92

Chapter 10 Creating The Perfect Leadership Resume (Preparing The Battle Orders) ....................................................... 95

Resume Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 95

Some Resume Confusion To Dispel ......................................................................................................................................................................... 96

Some Case Studies ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 99

Resume Strategy For Overcoming Objections ................................................................................................................................................. 103

The Ultimate Leadership Resume ......................................................................................................................................................................... 107

Using Your Resume To Interview Like A Rock Star (Resume Critique And Checklist) ........................................................................ 109

Chapter 11: Building Your Online Brand (Mastering Propaganda) ................................................................................... 126

Building The Perfect Linkedin Profile ................................................................................................................................................................... 127

Social Media - Top Dos And Don’ts ....................................................................................................................................................................... 130

Chapter 12 : Understanding The Various Interviews ......................................................................................................... 131

‘Conversational Style Interview’ ............................................................................................................................................................................. 131

Mastering The Group Interview ............................................................................................................................................................................. 136

Mastering The Panel Interview ............................................................................................................................................................................... 138

Chapter 13 : Launching Your Job Hunt (H - Hour) .............................................................................................................. 143

Planning & Executing The Approach ................................................................................................................................................................... 143

Lodging Job Applications The Smart Way – Jumping The Queue ............................................................................................................ 145

Compiling Super Sexy Strategic Marketing Documents ............................................................................................................................... 149

Some Things To Consider In Approaching Recruiters ................................................................................................................................... 154

Common Mistakes In Approach Letters .............................................................................................................................................................. 155

Sample Letter Of Introduction To Employers (Long Version) ..................................................................................................................... 168

Chapter 14 : Preparing For The Interview (Battle Preparation) ......................................................................................... 170

Strategizing The Interview ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 170

Anticipating Needs & Objections .......................................................................................................................................................................... 172

Tips For A Successful Interview .............................................................................................................................................................................. 173

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Chapter 15 : Masterfully Overcoming Objections (Dodging Bullets) ................................................................................ 182

Handling Rejections & Objections - The Counter Attack .............................................................................................................................. 182

Strategies In Handling Objections ........................................................................................................................................................................ 182

Some Common Objections & Corresponding Solutions .............................................................................................................................. 186

Chapter 16 : Three Critical Questions To Ask In Interviews (Triangulation Questions) ................................................... 188

Chapter 17 : Adjusting Your Job Hunt Strategy Mid Interview (Re-Org) .......................................................................... 190

Chapter 18 : Interview Strategic Summaries (Counter Attack) .......................................................................................... 192

A Pre Interview Strategic Summary (P.I.S.S.) ...................................................................................................................................................... 192

Post Interview Strategic Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................ 193

Sample Post Interview Strategic Summary Letter (To Employer) .............................................................................................................. 195

Chapter 19 : What To Do When Things Go Wrong (Battlefield Withdrawal) .................................................................... 197

Life After Rejection ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 197

Battlefield Morale - How To Boost Your Confidence ...................................................................................................................................... 199

Rejection Letters .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 199

Responding To Rejection Letters From Recruiters .......................................................................................................................................... 200

Recruiter Rejection Letters Sample Response .................................................................................................................................................. 201

Employer Rejection Letters Sample Response ................................................................................................................................................. 202

Chapter 20 : Interrogating Hr & Recruiters .......................................................................................................................... 203

How To Win The Interview Before You Interview ............................................................................................................................................ 203

How To Get Recruiters To Tell You How To Interview With Their Client ................................................................................................. 204

Chapter 21 : Securing Buy-In For Your Candidature (Winning Hearts & Minds) .............................................................. 206

Removing The Threat ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 206

Building Rapport - Three Ways ............................................................................................................................................................................... 207

Chapter 22 : Surprise Attacks By Saboteurs, Aggressive Stakeholders & Internal Candidates (Counter Terrorism) ... 209

Avoiding Saboteurs (This Section Refers To Securing A Promotion) ....................................................................................................... 210

Internal Candidates & Unexpected Candidates ............................................................................................................................................... 210

Enemy Candidates ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 211

Chapter 23 : How To Negotiate A Suitable Offer (Signing The Armistice) ........................................................................ 213

Closing The Deal - The Kill Shot .............................................................................................................................................................................. 213

When To Start Negotiating ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 214

Handling The Salary Question ................................................................................................................................................................................ 214

Avoid Alienating The Parties ................................................................................................................................................................................... 214

Chapter 24 : Anti-Competition Agreements (Minefield Clearance) .................................................................................. 219

Chapter 25 : Reducing Risk – Theirs & Yours (Counter Intelligence) ................................................................................. 221

Reducing The Hirer’s Risk ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 221

Reducing Your Risk If The New Role Doesn’t Work Out ................................................................................................................................ 222

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Chapter 26 : Optimizing Confidentiality .............................................................................................................................. 224

Figure. The ‘Up Member’s Candidate Management Platform .................................................................................................................... 225

Appendix A : Logic Behind Interviewer’s Questions ........................................................................................................... 226

Appendix B : The Four Gears Of Selling ............................................................................................................................... 238

Appendix C : Handling The Recruiter’s Initial Call…………………………………………………………………………………....246

Appendix D : Handling Interview Anxiety (Battle Nerves) ................................................................................................. 261

Appendix E : Guide On Addressing Selection Criteria ........................................................................................................ 263

Appendix F : Psychological Warfare (Psyops) ..................................................................................................................... 270

Other Resources From The Author ....................................................................................................................................... 284

About The Author .................................................................................................................................................................. 285

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Author’s Introduction

Close to fifteen years ago, I was asked by a very good friend, a former mid ranking military officer to help him set up a business to help defense force members secure roles outside of the armed forces. Often these personnel were conservative and to some extent ‘sheltered’; many had anxiety as to how they would ‘survive’ on ‘Civvy Street,’ quite different to what one would expect from people ‘trained to kill.’ Due to issues with bridging the cultural gap and the lack of proper training given to defense personnel in securing jobs these job seekers had their fair share of challenges. Their learning curve was exponential and we identified a huge ‘need’ or ‘gap’ in the market. No one provided real advice or active support to job seekers especially not for those seeking leadership roles. Recruiters gave little help; Career Management and Career Transition firms would charge candidates or employers thousands of dollars for services that included basic advice only and no action to generate interviews or job offers. Candidates couldn’t afford such fees and saw little benefits in paying whereas most employers making their staff redundant cared little about the quality of help staff they were making redundant would receive. Job seekers had to, and still need to, fend for themselves. Being the only business to fulfill this ‘need’ our business has thrived. Over the following fifteen years we have had the pleasure of meeting with thousands of senior executives many of whom have become personal friends and some ‘honorary members’ of our team. The knowledge and experience we have at our finger tips is substantial as is the lessons these wonderful and inspiring people have taught us. Due to the ever increasing demand on our business amidst growing global unemployment, we have invested millions in developing our infrastructure and creating what we believe is the world’s only online platform for managing the careers and job search of our ‘stars.’ This platform gives us immense capabilities, speed and reach’; it’s an essential tool in delivering our global service. Compliments to some great business mentors and having learned from our own mistakes and the woes of thousands of executives we have created and evolved scores of strategies essential in securing senior executives leadership opportunities. Many of these are documented in this manual. With regard to success rates, these vary widely across industry, geography, management level, candidate quality etc. We don’t ever claim to make it easy for people

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to secure a role; it’s a very tough market and there are simply not nearly enough roles for everyone. Without the hype and marketing fluff; our claim is simply and honestly;

‘To make it substantially easier to secure a new leadership role.’

Today we offer a service that is truly unique (a ‘blue ocean business’) without competitors and with little comparison. If you are in the top ten percentile of candidates in your profession and are interested in our firm providing further assistance to you, we welcome your enquiry. To those that simply purchase this manual you will get immense value from it.

All the best for winning the war for jobs.

Ben West

Sports Stars have Agents, why don’t you?!

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Who will benefit from reading this controversial job hunting battle manual?

For those executives who are not familiar with Sun Tzu’s world famous book, ‘The Art of War,’ he is arguably the most widely acclaimed military strategist and tactician of all time; many feel he makes ‘Alexander the Great’ look like a strategic nincompoop. He is, however the field commander most recognized for having truly evolved military strategy and to have documented these strategies. In the same flavor and considering that the ‘War for Talent’ has now largely been replaced with the ‘War for Jobs’ we have created this manual, borrowing on many military strategies. This manual will help you win the ‘War for Jobs’, a war which depending on the length of the GFC may indeed be a long one. If you are a job seeker in search of another strategic leadership role this manual will be of immense value to you. Being a senior executive you are probably responsible not only for strategy but also for leading a team of people. The strategies, logic and examples contained in this manual are specifically tailored to differentiate firstly, your growth centric and transformational leadership, secondly, your strategic expertise in growing businesses and thirdly, your return on investment (ROI) to businesses. These three points of value (Leadership, Strategic Growth Expertise and ROI) are typically the core requirements of employers in handpicking their corporate leaders yet often the poorest points of value communicated by executive job seekers both verbally and in writing. Candidates at the senior level from General Managers to Chairs exist in a job market where there are too few roles and where the competition for these roles is much higher than for middle management roles, for this reason senior executives need to better hone their skills in securing jobs; skills relating to firstly, sourcing opportunities and secondly, in differentiating themselves from the numerous other exceptional competing candidates. As in Highlander (the movie) ‘There can only be one.’ This ‘battlefield job hunting’ manual will set the scene for you, removing much of the ‘fog of war’. It will give you greater situational awareness (battleground intelligence) and a roadmap (battle plan) enabling you to better maneuver through foreign territory (the selection process).

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You will learn how to avoid many common booby traps, how to identify and destroy competing candidates as well as how to win the hearts and minds of interviewers and stakeholders. Finally, you will learn how to command more money and better terms, capturing and holding vital ground. Our Members typically receive three to seven times more interviews using the strategies herein and with our support; the leadership value they now communicate is crisp, clear and more noticeable. We appreciate that some may find this manual controversial; we hope most will find it highly engaging and more than slightly satirical. For those readers who feel they are in the top 10% of their occupation and are genuinely in search of another leadership role you may qualify for membership to our Executive Agency. If we choose to sponsor you we will credit your account with up to $10,000 in genuine job hunt support. We will generate interviews for you and may even place you into your next role. Ours is a service very similar in nature to an Agent managing the career of a sports star or a celebrity. Membership is by invitation only. Strict selection criteria apply. Enjoy

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Chapter 1 : Sponsorship Qualification Criteria & Application Details

We offer various programs to candidates we choose to sponsor. If you read www.upexecutiveagents.com/memberintroductionEA this will give you an overview; programs can be tailored to meet individual requirements. Sponsorship means we cover the costs of securing a Member a role. This is not a charge to members in any way. We recoup our costs out of the placement fees paid to our firm via the employer who hires our Member.

Again this is a program we cover entirely at our cost. Typically for senior executives our team invest some 50 to 150 hours in sourcing and securing roles. Paying our staff $50 to $75 per hour, this usually represents a cost to our firm in the vicinity of $2,500 to $10,000 per member. Some members we place very fast in which case we avoid much of this cost.

To qualify for Up Sponsorship job seekers must be:

◉ Currently and genuinely in search of another strategic leadership opportunity, ◉ In the top ten percent of their profession (this will be determined at our discretion), ◉ At the leadership level in their careers meaning they are either responsible for

strategy and, or leading a team of people, ◉ Able to show a history of business achievement, ◉ Professional, honest and ethical, ◉ Able to supply a high quality strategic leadership resume that meets our strict

criteria or is financially able to have one compiled. We do NOT write resumes or cover the cost of having a resume compiled. Upon request we can however outsource resume compilation to our panel of external writers, a panel that we have trained and quality assure. This amount is rebated in full on paid placement.

*For candidates that are having their employer sponsor them under our career transition or outplacement program, the above criteria does not apply.

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http://www.upexecutiveagents.com/memberintroductionEA



Generally we do not ask for exclusivity in representing our members. Candidates may only apply for sponsorship once every twelve months. Candidates offered sponsorship must accept the offer within fourteen days or the available position is offered to the next in line approved applicant.

Typically, once a member has been setup on our platform it takes our team five to ten days to start generating interviews. Many of our candidates travel extensively on business so require for convenience that some interviews be phone based initially prior to then meeting potential hirers face to face.

Registration Instructions: Readers can register their interest (‘Join Up’) via www.upsonar.com our candidate management platform. Upon completing their profile they can submit their application and ask our team to assess them for sponsored membership. Either we can sponsor them (Up Sponsorship) or their employer can sponsor them. This is usually done in lieu on their existing Outplacement or Career Transition Program (Contact us for further details).

To register follow these three simple steps:

1. (If you haven’t already), go to www.upsonar.com/joinup and register, (using only Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox). Select ' Up ' in response to the question "I am being sponsored by an" (if you’re applying for Up sponsored membership) then insert your sponsorship code which is 'U2SNR3' (case sensitive). Please then continue to complete the registration page. Applicants wishing to be sponsored by their employers need separate sponsorship codes issued separately.

2. Complete your online profile (see the 'Profile' tab once logged in). There is no need to complete the Education and Employment Chronology section if this information is already provided in a word resume provided to us. Spend no more than two to four hours in completing your profile.

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http://www.upsonar.com/



3. Upon completing your profile to the best of your ability, click on the last tab in yellow ‘Profile Complete’ so our team can start assessing your application. Candidates are advised usually within one to three business days if their application has been accepted.

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Chapter 2 : Understanding the Economic Climate

(Area of Operation)

In preparing for battle, soldiers need to understand the situation, their enemy tactics and capabilities as well their own.

In preparing for the job hunt in what may be the worst jobs market in one hundred years candidates need to appreciate the changing dynamics of the battle they find themselves drawn into. Very few people will tell you the global economy is really improving. Even fewer will talk of a solution to the world’s economic woes. It may not be headline news anymore because it’s old news but there’s no one yet claiming they have a solution in sight to the GFC.

Like many governments, the US government has issues in servicing the interest on its borrowings. In 2013 parts of the US government temporarily suspended some services due to Congress not approving an increase in the debt limit to service the interest on their borrowings. This problem is not going away.

The US and many other nations are effectively bankrupt; the US may be facing an evolving cold war on two fronts (U.S.S.R and China) and possibly a lengthy war with terrorists in the Middle East. Much of this increases business uncertainty. Even those countries who have largely escaped the initial GFC blast wave are now facing the fall out.

For example, Australia this year is apparently making more people redundant than any other nation, partly because it has avoided laying people off for so long. Industries like Resources, Infrastructure and Manufacturing are undergoing substantial upheavals.

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Amidst this many companies are finding reasons to shed their staff and many have almost permanent hiring freezes in force except for hiring to replace key strategic staff lost through retirement, death or underperformance.

This is your area of operation.

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Chapter 3 : Identifying Your Objective (Battle Objectives)

This short chapter summarizes the common core obstacles in securing another role; it puts the rest of this manual into better perspective. These obstacles and

their respective solutions are covered in detail in later chapters.

Mission - Seek and Capture Today the core mission of most executives that are either unemployed or held captive in a stagnant role is to;

Secure a new and challenging role, preferably with career growth, financial rewards and job security.

Understanding Enemy Candidates Most executives are ill prepared for the job hunt. Whilst years ago, many may have enjoyed receiving more than one job offer this is now rarely the case. Often there can be more than three hundred executives applying for the same senior role, many are highly geared financially and may be forced to sell their residence in an unhealthy property market, or be forced to take their kids out of private schools. Your competition may thus be desperate and prepared to drop their salary whilst you’re trying to maintain yours.

Three core problems facing most executive job seekers are:

1. Poor knowledge of competitors. Because they tend not to interview candidates at their same management level from other notable companies, most executives simply fail to appreciate the sheer volume and quality of their competitors. In the GFC, it’s almost a case of being overrun by the enemy. Recruiter and HR often receive

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waves after waves of applicants. Many applicants run blindly into battle having done surprisingly little preparation.

2. Little differentiation from competitors. When executives are interviewed, most go out of their way to remind the interviewers why they are the same as most other candidates, and for this reason fail to differentiate their strategic value. More on this later.

3. Poor or non-existent strategy to overcome competitors. Whilst many executives

have ‘mastered’ the art of how to sell their company’s products or services to the market, they neglect to sell themselves. Executives typically spend more time and exhaust more brain calories in a day on the job than getting a job. Very few candidates possess the strategies to identify then destroy their competitors.

When many senior executives speak in meetings they host for their subordinates, their subordinates tend to shut up and listen because the boss is speaking. Many executives thus feel they ‘present’ well because everyone tends to listen to them. This gives many executives a false perception that they actually interview well, always having something important and relevant to say; a grand mistake.

To interview well, means to differentiate your value better than others rather than simply ‘talking for the greater share of the time’. Telling is not selling.

Any successful job hunt strategy is centered on two key inputs:

1. Research. An effective Research Strategy to identify either live roles or companies and individuals that have needs and who upon meeting may create an opportunity for them, and secondly

2. Differentiation. Being able to strategically differentiate their value; value essentially being broken down into three core areas being firstly Leadership, secondly Strategic Expertise in Growing Businesses and thirdly Return on Investment (ROI).

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Speed, Maneuverability and Shock Force Battles are won and lost often firstly, on a force’s speed to battle which creates an element of surprise, a key strategic advantage in battle; secondly the ability to maneuver troops and resources to overwhelm the enemy and thirdly, shock force or firepower to overwhelm the enemy with extreme violence.

As this correlates to the war for jobs, a job seeker’s success depends upon:

◉ Speed in identifying opportunities. It’s no use finding a role when the employer has already issued a contract of employment to another competitor,

◉ Maneuverability. Ability to handle objections and avoid the culling process, and finally

◉ Impact or ‘shock force’. The ability to communicate overwhelming value, what we call ‘Unique Value’.

Your objectives are thus:

To identify opportunities faster than all others, avoid the culling, communicate unique value and take your

competitors out of action!

This may seem blatantly obvious but the overwhelming truth is very few candidates can:

◉ Correctly source opportunities, ◉ Anticipate and avoid the cull, ◉ Differentiate their strategic leadership value powerfully, and ◉ Identify then ‘destroy’ competitors.

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Chapter 4 : What’s Holding You Back from Scoring a New Role?

(Understanding Your Job Hunt Statistics & Ratios)

This chapter will show you where in your ‘job hunt pipeline’ you may require help or better strategies. Bare with us, this is a basic overview only.

For those candidates already involved in the war for jobs, it’s important you can understand your battlefield statistics and ratios. Call it an ammo count or count of the missing, wounded or killed (MIA, KIA). This involves doing a simplistic analysis of the statistics and ratios that govern your success in generating interviews and job offers. Consider a job hunt pipeline which has many sections to it. You put in effort and strategy in one end and out the other end (less leakage) should flow job offers. Most candidates have many leakages. Let’s break this down further by looking at the basic problems. We discuss solutions later.

%

Lost Time spent actively seeking another role

2 - 4 months

If you’re looking for a role for over two to four months this may indicate a research issue, in that you’re probably not finding sufficient opportunities (advertised or hidden). This time frame varies widely across roles, industries and geographies. Maybe you do not have the time to dedicate to research.

Lesson. If you don’t have the time or ability to find roles, find someone who does.

Number of applications lodged

8

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If you have lodged too few applications over the time you’ve been looking it also indicates a research issue. Many candidates claim they’re being ‘selective’ in applying for roles, however if you’re only finding five to ten percent of roles that suit you, this is hardly being ‘selective’. It’s more being incapacitated. Some candidates claim they’re putting their ‘toes in the water’. The translation is usually this, “I am not really committed to getting another role now, so my research, preparation and how I differentiate myself is poor.” Resulting from this poor effort they receive very little interest and then stick their heads back in waiting for the GFC to pass not ever knowing it was largely their poor effort that resulted in little success.

Lesson. Be totally committed or do not bother. Do not go into a battle half-cocked.

Percent Lodged through online portals

80%

Typically most candidates lodge applications through online portals be it the employer’s website, a recruiter website or more often a jobs website. Parking your application on a server along with numerous other candidates’ applications usually results in a very small percentage of your applications being noticed let alone actually being read (usually less than five percent).

Lesson. DO NOT only apply through online portals.

Some naive candidates take recruiters and HR at their word when they say they have a fair and comprehensive online application system. This is one of the

biggest lies in the industry; another lie being that recruiters are actually seeking the best candidate for their clients. Ratio of applications lodged ‘via recruiters ‘ vs. ‘direct to employers’. 70/30

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The percentage of applications lodged via recruitment firms online is usually much higher than those lodged directly to employers online. The lower this ratio the better. When candidates lodge an application to a recruiter often they run a higher risk of the person they’re sending their application to, not being intellectually equipped or motivated to understand their value, simply because most recruiters have never performed the roles they’re interviewing for nor are they searching for the best candidate but rather the most saleable.

Lesson. Avoid the middlemen; go direct to employers. Again, avoid online portals if able.

Ratio of telephone call backs from those who received your applications

<50%

If you’re receiving less than fifty percent of calls from people you have sent your application to (assuming the role is a good match to you), this shows either the people you have targeted are not noticing your application (stop sending it via an online portal and dumping it on a server) or they see no unique value in speaking with you. In other words your resume or application letter is probably very poor (this doesn’t mean your experience relating to the role is poor). This may mean you’re perceived as being too hard to ‘sell’ (if recipient is a recruiter) or you represent little ‘Unique Value’ (if the recipient is an employer).

Lesson. Don’t go through online portals or dump applications on servers. Your resume of application letter is poor.

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Ratio of face to face interviews generated from these telephone calls

<90%

If less than ninety percent of people who call you in response to receiving your application actually invite you in for an interview, this usually means something you’re saying or not saying on the phone is convincing them you’re either ‘hard-to-sell’ or you have little ‘unique value’. Think about it; they rang you because you captured their interest, but haven’t progressed you, so what did you say that turned them off? How did you screw the pooch?

Lesson. Learn how to better interview over the phone. Provide a better resume with a more meaningful application letter.

Number of face to face interviews with recruiters to interviews progressed with employers

<90%

If less than ninety percent of recruiters who interview you progress you to meet with their client, this is often because you’re doing or not doing, saying or not saying something which is convincing them you are not saleable; you have no unique value offering in comparison to other applicants or your personality isn’t a good match with the team. This is more the candidate’s fault rather than the interviewer’s. If you blame your lack of success on yourself you remain in control and can fix the issues. If you blame the recruiter or the HR representative you lose control as they’re unlikely to fix the problem. It’s all about being accountable.

Lesson. Learn how to interview better with recruiters.

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Ratio of initial employer interviews to final employer interviews.

<90%

If you’re not being progressed from an initial interview with an employer to a final interview it is often because they perceive you as having no unique value. Sure, you may be able to do the job; but this is no longer the issue. They are now wondering why they should hire you as opposed to other candidates who can also do the job. You probably also lack the strategy to identify and then destroy these other competing candidates.

Lesson. Learn how to better communicate unique value and how to remove other competing candidates from the selection process.

Ratio of Job offers to final employer interviews

<80% >20%

If you’re not receiving job offers it’s either due to the above reasons or others like the employer perceived you as being too expensive (in other words, for what you’re charging they didn’t think you could return the value). You may have failed to answer the single most important question at final interviews, being “Why do you represent unique value?”

Lesson. Learn how to destroy competing candidates, negotiate better and remove the employer’s risk.

*The above figures and ratios can vary widely. They are meant to illustrate concepts only.

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Common Story - Most executive job seekers lazily search a few big job websites (which may show only five to ten percent of available roles). They will then upon reading a very vague job advertisement in many cases poorly

written, click on the ‘Apply Now’ button (‘dumping’ their application on a back office server only to be lost in the pile along with numerous other applications).

They will attach a vague and poorly compiled resume (being careful it’s not more than three pages long) and a cover letter which also poorly differentiates their value. They will then wait and see if they’re one of the lucky five percent or so of applications that are actually read. They’re then hoping the reader who has probably never done the job they’re applying for, to actually comprehend their value. The executive job seeker will then make the mistake of thinking the recruiter is actually seeking value as opposed to most just interviewing for saleability and personality (we cover this later). If they receive a phone call to veto them before a possible face to face interview, they will be poorly prepared for the phone call.

They will totally fail to do a reconnaissance of the opportunity over the phone, only to drop everything and rush in for an interview should they be invited. At the interview, having no rapport or trust prebuilt with the interviewer and having captured little appreciation of the requirements or the role (or even qualifying if there is a role), they will launch into some verbal barrage about how they’re the same as most other candidates, yet ‘still amazingly different’. The recruiter who may appear to be thoroughly engaged in what the candidate has to say (but who’s mind is adrift and floating through the Bahamas with a spouse of their dreams) doesn’t interrupt the candidate, who then eventually leaves the interview thinking the interviewer was hanging on their every word and cannot possibly not shortlist them; a very green and un-battle tested participant. We call these ‘new recruits’.

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Chapter 5 : People Who Influence Your Job Hunt Success

(Battlefield Participants)

This chapter will help you better understand what drives decision makers and people who influence the selection process as well as how to ‘get what you want

by giving them what they want’.

The job hunt is like a game of chess. Imagine you’re on a chessboard. You’re trying to checkmate the King, the CEO for example, to secure a role. Instead this chessboard has many more enemy pawns (competing candidates). To secure the role you need to out-maneuver other candidates; you need to plan your initial and ongoing strategy. To anticipate your opponents moves and to compile your own strategy you need to understand ‘minds’ or rather what drives people of influence (other chess pieces) and what ‘moves’ they are capable of. You need to understand their likely behavior. You need to understand what they think of you and other candidates. Once you know the answers to these questions you can best strategize the selection process.

Understanding the Players

Prior to interviewing, it is crucial you ‘set-up’ all interviews properly then once interviews are progressing you will need to strategize these further as the situation evolves. Interviewers generally only interview candidates who they think can do the job; whether they’re recruiters, HR or Boards. Getting the job depends not only on how well they think you can solve the business’s needs, but more importantly the extent to which you satisfy the hirer’s personal needs which vary across interviewer types.

In strategizing interviews, firstly you’ll need to identify and understand the various types of people who may influence the selection process and then the types of interviews.

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Interviewers are your ‘customers’ and like with any selling you need to understand your customer’s needs and tailor how you present your solution to them (provide a relevant and specific solution).

People that may influence the selection process range from:

A. Employers (End Users) (Smart customers. They generally understand and know what they want. Sometimes you have to show them what they ‘need’ to get what they ‘want’.)

Employers in general interview for ‘Unique Value’ not ‘everyday value’. The game has changed largely because of the GFC. It’s no longer “Can you do this job?” but rather “What’s so unique about you that we should hire you instead of other candidates that can also do this job?” There’s no shortage of candidates that can do the job in this market.

The vast majority of candidates waste an employer’s time in an interview or by detailing in their resume what the employer already assumes they do or have

done instead of focusing in on what’s unique about them.

Our team of Agents spend much of their time interviewing some of the world’s best executives and time after time we can almost word for word predict what someone is going to say in answer to the question “What would you say to a Board if they asked you what is unique about you?”. Now to be realistic, saying you “Work hard, have international experience, get results, are likeable, have an MBA, know how to grow businesses” or a range of other words describing common attributes of most other candidates at your level isn’t going to illustrate what’s unique about you. Go ahead, ask yourself this question now and see how you stumble. How well do you now think you interview?

IMPORTANT Lesson. The trick here is how can you communicate your value in a unique manner so that the perception of your value becomes much more

relevant or seems more ‘UNIQUE’. Restricted content. See www.upexecutiveagents.com/battlemanual

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http://www.upexecutiveagents.com/battlemanual



B. Recruiters (Distributors) (‘Poorly informed’ customers – they often possess a lesser understanding of the role or company)

Recruiters generally only interview people they know can do the role. Keeping in mind the vast majority have never performed the role they’re interviewing for, they often cannot tell the difference between a good or exceptional candidate; who they shortlist is largely a gamble. Any honest recruiter will tell you this.

As distributors their needs are:

1. Saleability: To find highly saleable candidates (products); products they can move fast; those that have preferably something unique about them and those who will face minimum objections from their clients; and secondly

2. Personality Fit: To put forward a candidate which will ‘fit’ in with the personalities of the team and importantly the personality of the person they may be about to report into (commonly called ‘cultural fit’).

For a recruiter to recommend you to their client you will need to be better than other candidates at satisfying the above two requirements. Obviously you need to be able to convince the recruiter you can do the job as well; this is a given.

In some cases a good recruiter will be able to sway the employer into hiring you, but often employers only use search firms to find candidates rather than to intimately assess candidates. Convincing recruiters you’re the easiest product to sell will often persuade them to go into bat for you over and above other candidates.

Before speaking with any recruiter or search consultant read Appendix C. ‘Handling the Recruiter’s Initial Call’. The process explained therein is crucial in

setting up interviews.

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Recruiters, whilst often a source of roles, are not the only source. Your Executive Agent should be able to generate numerous interviews for you without involving

recruiters. Conducting a comprehensive job sourcing program will identify more companies with needs and live roles than running the gauntlet with recruitment firms and online job websites.

Recruitment is like many professions, there are good and bad recruiters. Generally they are just a misunderstood beast. Candidates put too much faith in them expecting them to have a comprehensive way of assessing their value.

When candidates find out this is not the case this creates disappointment. Do not put them up on pedestals. Recruiters simply want easy candidates to sell not necessarily the best candidates. To be successful with them you need to convince them you’re easier to sell than others.

A very sad joke. Candidate Craig is interviewed by Rod, the recruiter. The recruiter at the end of the interview tells Craig, “Unfortunately my client wants more industry experience than you have. Is it OK if we stick you on our database and keep an eye out for you?” Craig replies, “It’s OK“. Craig then asks Rod, what he thinks of his resume; Rod replies “It’s OK”. Craig then asks Rod what he thought of his interview performance to which Rod again says, “You did OK”.

Now Craig repeats this process with numerous other recruiters and before he knows it he is drowning in unemployment and he has now drifted too far away from the shore to swim back. Rod, the recruiter then sails by on his motor yacht and yells out to candidate Craig who is now taking his final gasps for air, “Craig, is that you? Are you still OK?!”

Moral of this story. Next time you meet a recruiter or HR and they tell you you’re ‘OK’, they mean to say you’re just average and unfortunately average in the GFC means you’re definitely ‘NOT OK’.

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If a recruiter doesn’t jump on the phone, introduce you to their network or try and generate interviews for you, it’s because you’ve failed to interest them. In other words you appear very average. Your resume and interview performance is not ‘OK’.

What’s been your experience so far?

Why do recruiters say this?

Many senior candidates become hiring managers who can potentially refer future business to a recruiter. Now if a recruiter is honest with you and tells you that you interview like a wet bag, most candidates won’t react well to the honesty. When the recruiter then calls you 6 months later to meet for coffee (thinking that one of his competitors may have placed you), you’re hardly likely to want to meet with them or refer them business. Recruiters exist to get business not to get you a job and certainly not to find the best candidates for their clients.

Many naïve candidates assume recruiters are interested in only the best candidates. Nothing could be further from the truth. Doubt this?

A true story. This author once had lunch with the Managing Director of a large global recruitment firm who wanted to buy his share in the business. The author said to the MD he would not contemplate selling it because the MD

cared little for his own clients and even less for candidates. The MD responded having taken the remark offensively objecting “Our whole business, all of our systems, our vision and our whole reason for existing is to find the best candidates for our clients”. The author responded by asking “When was the last time you interviewed for a General Manager?” to which the MD replied “a month ago”.

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The author asked the MD how many applications had they received and did the best candidate have the best resume? The MD replied saying around three hundred candidates applied and the best candidate probably did not have the best resume. He didn’t really know. The author then asked how many applications the MD’s team actually read and how many candidates did they actually interview. The MD responded, “Well we pulled down off the server about five percent of applications, took out those who came from leading brand names, interviewed ten and shortlisted three; typically what we do.” The author replied, “That’s the point, if you were really passionate about finding the best candidates wouldn’t you read more applications and interview more people than a mere five percent?!” The MD responded sheepishly, “You’ve got me. We have limited resources and are more concerned with just finding a few saleable candidates that can do the job rather than the best.”

Recruiters are not interested in the best candidates!

Recruitment firms are distributors of candidates, not actual ‘users’. The same as with normal distributors, they are more concerned with selling products fast

(filling roles fast) and thus interview for saleability (and personality) more so than experience or skills.

Personality vs. Cultural Fit

Candidates are not really knocked back because of cultural fit, but rather ‘lack of personality fit’. Doubt this? Then think about this.

If you speak with the CEO, Chair, Clerks and Customers of Citibank and ask them to describe the culture some may say its ‘corrupt, retardant’ whereas others will claim its ‘progressive, respectful, aggressive, focused, and laid back’ etc. How can

you be rejected on the basis of poor cultural fit if there is no one clear definition of the culture? It’s impossible. Also you may have a conservative board who are seeking aggressive more focused board members to bring about change clearly in ‘contradiction of the board’s culture’.

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The real reason many candidates are rejected by HR and recruiters is a lack of personality, or to be frank the interviewer thinks their personality, in the worst case ‘sucks’. This may mean the candidate is perceived as being too conservative, lacking ethics, too relaxed, anal (often the case with many academics now pursuing private sector jobs), progressive, arrogant or too ‘aggressive’. For example, a candidate may think of themselves as being ‘focused’ but to a conservative recruiter or hiring manager the candidate may seem ‘aggressive’. The interviewer may feel that some team members will not enjoy working with the candidate and thus the candidate may be knocked back on grounds of ‘poor cultural fit’ because it’s more appropriate than telling a candidate “We’re rejecting you because of your personality ; it is not well matched to the company”. Candidates tend to not respond well to criticisms of their personality and will often quiz the interviewer “What exactly about my personality do you seem to have issues with?!” Creating conflict generally isn’t good for business.

We meet a few candidates who do not know ‘who they are’ and are confused as to ‘who they want to be’. If your personality is fragile or is undergoing a period

of apocalyptic change do not advertise it.

I. Top Recruiter Tricks to Understand & Avoid

◉ We have the role exclusively (they often don’t) ◉ Our client is interested in you (often they are yet to speak with the client about you) ◉ We’ll stick you on our database and keep an eye out for you (as soon as you walk out

that door, we’ll forget you even exist. “When did you say we met?”, “This morning?”) ◉ Your resume and interview performance is OK. (If they’re not shortlisting you, this is

generally a lie). Did you represent well enough in writing and in person to have them shortlist you or simply well enough for them to stick you on their databases with thousands of others only to be ignored?

◉ Our client has rejected you (often the client hasn’t even seen your details. This avoids the recruiter having to handle any candidate backlash)

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II. Testing Recruiters Interest & Loyalty

The simplest way to ascertain if a recruiter is genuinely interested in you is to have them verbalize what they or their client really likes about you. If they 'umm' and 'err', and cannot verbalize it, you’re in strife. You’ve failed to convince them. Alternatively, if they wave their arms about and mention numerous reasons they probably are interested.

III. The Job Hunt from a Recruiter’s Perspective

Many candidates become extremely frustrated at recruiters or search consultants for a whole range of reasons. Read the following and then with a greater understanding of recruiters, you may like to cut them some slack or approach them from a more understanding frame of mind. This should in turn reduce some if your own frustration.

Satire. I go to work day after day knowing that any day now, my employer may go out of business, or my colleagues or I may be made redundant. We work very hard to find assignments in the GFC but most companies aren’t

hiring. Our competition is strong and numerous and we all provide basically the same service. It’s very hard to differentiate ourselves.

If after considerable work and some luck we score an assignment, we then work long hours then filling it for a fraction of the fee we used to be able to charge.

We advertise a role and are inundated with hundreds of candidates from the son of the local fish and chip shop owner, a two man business. The son thinks because he empties the oil vats and closes the shop he is the Operations Director so he’s been applying for the Senior Operations role we’ve been advertising for a multinational client. Or we receive an application from a guy that should be retiring, (a nice old gentleman) - if we shortlist him HR will criticize us for being stupid. We only make this mistake once.

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We get scores of candidates applying for roles they’re totally unsuited for or have no chance of securing. Most think they’re the only candidate applying and that we’re sitting in the office late at night waiting for their application.

Often we’ll receive applications from people totally unsuited for the role they’re applying for. For example, applications for Finance Director roles from Financial Controllers who have never been in the Finance Director’s chair. When we ask these Financial Controllers why would we shortlist them when we have over fifty other Finance Directors who have applied for the same role and who have over ten years ‘experience in the chair’, we get abused or receive vague assurances of how ‘different’ they are or requests to ‘just give them a chance’. If we were to shortlist a Financial Controller for a Finance Director assignment our client would doubt our professionalism and this would put future assignments at risk.

At the other end of the spectrum we may receive applications from senior executives, some with Fort Knox egos who have never been unemployed in their life and are cocky about securing another role.

They apply with poorly written, ambiguous and simply boring resumes, which we wade through; some are polite enough to keep it to fewer than three pages so as not to extend our pain unnecessarily. Many think they’ll shine when they interview, (that their resume is just a tool to get in the door), then they still interview poorly.

We receive scores of calls from candidates wanting to know about the role before they apply for it. We cannot return these calls because we simply have no time yet get abused because apparently we have ‘poor follow-up’. The callers could be competitors for all we know trying to find out who our clients are so they can market their own candidates to them in competition to ours.

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Candidates will at times lie about their background, employment history, credentials or other. After they bore you to tears, they’ll call you too often to find out if they’re being shortlisted. We cannot answer because we have been waiting on a very slow and indecisive HR Manager to give us feedback. Hurry up and wait is the term that comes to mind. Often we then have the regretful task of informing interviewees they’re unsuccessful. We’re constantly the bearer of bad news; we become in-sensitized.

Candidates then call us claiming they want honest feedback and when they get it will often abuse you. You learn quickly not to waste your time giving feedback. Never tell a candidate the client thought they weren’t smart enough or they interviewed like a wet paper bag; just tell them they’re ‘not progressing because of poor cultural fit’. Most candidates accept this, thinking our client must have a poor culture.

Some candidates will even obligate us to get them a role, not understanding that it’s not our job. Some candidates will tell you your assignment is the only job they want; your client is super keen on them, you then find out the reason why the candidate is not returning your call is because they accepted a role elsewhere and we didn’t earn sufficient respect for a simple email or text informing us of this.

The above sums up some of the challenges and frustrations many recruitment professionals are forced to endure in the GFC. Most recruiters are hardworking honest people who are passionate and caring. We hope this satire may persuade some candidate to better empathize with them.

There are some exceptional recruiters out there but they are few and far between. Do your research.

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C. Human Resources (Semi–intelligent customers – they often possess an understanding of the company but not always the role)

Different to recruiters and search consultants HR Interviewers aren’t usually commission driven and they’re often more conservative and risk averse. Despite ‘selling the reasons to join their company’ to a candidate, they’re generally not great sales people. Their needs are to find someone with a personality fit (good ‘cultural fit’ as they say) and to find someone with the required skill set. More importantly they also have a need to feel important and ‘look good’ in front of their Line Managers and other staff they’re employed to serve. Similar to politicians, they often forget this.

In interviews it’s important you show respect for their authority, compliment them as to their ‘professionalism’ (preferably in front of their peers) and bond with them. Rarely will a HR person recommend a candidate they do not like, as they will probably have to report into them or at least deal with them regularly; this may not make them feel terribly secure in their role or give them a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Thus it’s crucial you make HR like you so they support your candidacy and do not ‘hang you’ on every short coming even if you are the company’s best candidate.

D. Line Managers Line managers are similar to CEOs in choosing who they hire but often they are more insecure. Different to CEOs, they are not so high up the mountain that they cannot be easily replaced. If they hire someone that outshines them some peers may notice - a risk is that maybe they will hire someone that exposes their mismanagement. Ideally they will find someone they can look upon as a confidant, someone to fit the team, someone with whom they will enjoy working with. The last point being the most important.

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Often HR and Line Managers will have the/their team meet with the potential new team member for two quite different reasons, firstly to ensure team fit, and

secondly so they can part blame the team should the new team member be a poor choice. Often the team will take the recruit to a bar in the first week to work this out.

True story. We met a 6’8” South African CFO who had immigrated with his family to evade the conflict in his homeland. No recruiter would touch him because he looked intimidating, spoke with a Hitler Youth accent and had no

local knowledge (in his own words). After three years lost walking in the wilderness he decided to start affiliate marketing shampoo from home with his wife to pay the bills. His self-esteem was at an all-time low. Fundamentally he was a grade ‘A’ candidate in that he was the previous CIO of one of the top two brewery groups in the world, and then the CFO of one of South Africa’s largest manufacturers. Considering how dependent the finance function is on technology, he represented unique value if communicated well, which he did after some intensive coaching. He was in my office discussing how he had just been knocked off the perch at final interviews, (the CEO had hired a personal friend from Asia - we had been strategizing intimately how to place him; many other search firms were also showing their candidates). The Chairman rang his cell and said the decision to hire the CFO was done without his consultation. He asked the candidate if he was busy, the candidate answered “Not really” (understatement), to which the Chair replied, “Because you’re our new CFO!” Later after a bottle of Grange later we staggered home. A few months later the candidate revealed the current managers had been quite negligent and deceitful; his new employer was independently verified as trading whilst insolvent. His peers certainly did not appreciate him exposing their short comings.

Moral of this Story. Line managers do not always like to hire smart or inquisitive team members.

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E. Outgoing Staff Members If you’re interviewed as a replacement for an outgoing staff member (maybe someone who is retiring, dying or accepting an opportunity elsewhere) expect one of two things. Either they’ll be confident in handing the keys to the division over to you being proud of their work, “No skeletons in my closet”, or they may be thinking, “I hope he doesn’t audit the books” or “Find out how I secured that major contract in China”. They may be concerned the new recruit will find evidence of their mismanagement and this may in the worst case impede bonuses owing, share options or references should the outgoing person be still hunting for a role.

F. CEOs & Boards (Intelligent customers – they often have a good understanding of the role and the company)

CEOs are generally very ambitious people. Their first priority, at times more important than their own family and company profit is their own career progression. If given the choice between hiring one of two candidates; one with a hundred percent skill-set who they do not really have a personal connection with and the second, a candidate with a seventy percent skill-set, who they have a very strong connection with; the second will usually be hired. CEOs thus like to hire a candidate who:

1. They can imagine enjoying working with on a daily basis,

2. Can further their careers, won’t challenge their authority and help them look good especially when it comes to company performance, and

3. Someone who can remove their ‘pain’. Pain generally refers to issues, problems, frustrations and challenges which restrict them from achieving their vision and business growth objectives.

Selling at this level is thus about ‘Visionary Selling’ which means in brief, “If you hire me I will help you achieve your vision faster, easier with less cost than any other candidate”. Typically its bigger picture; less about operations and more about strategy.

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G. Founders & Business Owners Founders and Business Owner’s needs are similar to CEOs. In interviewing with Business Owners (there are some large private companies out there with a single owner) one thing is generally different to interviewing with a CEO; that is the candidate will impact on the Business Owner’s wallet more directly because most Business Owners personally fund their business and thus they are a lot more sensitive to fluctuations in revenue and costs.

“Will hiring this candidate personally drain my income or will they ‘fatten my wallet’?”

Also, different to CEOs a Founder or Business Owner does not fear being ‘replaced’ as may a CEO that is not the business owner or who does not have majority shareholdings. This is the difference between ‘recruiting for talent’ and ‘recruiting for personal security’.

Founders, depending on their personal connection with the business may not appreciate someone who is likely to sell it off into tiny parts. They may want to leave a lasting legacy.

Thus when interviewing with Business Owners you need to place a greater emphasis on:

1. How much money you will make them, and

2. What will you cost them - in other words their ROI

As Business Owners start businesses to make money not save money, emphasis how much money you will make them; usually this will be substantially more than what you will save them.

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H. Referees

Testing Your Referees

Usually when a company calls your references they are close to the end of their selection process and are likely to make you an offer. Be careful as an unsatisfactory reference can destroy your chances. Fuzzy Bear may not burn you but if they sell you like a cold fish the interviewer may think they were not really impressed by you.

Aggressive Referees

If the references you’re giving are possibly hostile towards you, have a friend call them prior to the recruiter or HR doing a reference check to do a ‘test reference check’ for you. This will enable you to identify those people not to list as references in future.

Training Referees

Passive referees often need to be trained in how to best provide a reference. If for example you’re being reference checked for a sales leadership role, call the person about to give the reference beforehand and:

◉ Ask them for their approval in putting them on your list of references ◉ Inform them of the key responsibilities of the opportunity you’re being interviewed

for ◉ Ask them, bearing the above point in mind to keep their conversation as relevant to

these responsibilities as possible. For example, it may be no use talking about your technical attributes if you’re going for a Sales Leadership Role or talking about your management attributes if you’re going for a specialist role requiring no management experience

◉ Ask them to walk you through some examples they may give the caller as to how you performed with respect to various tasks or responsibilities

◉ If you’ve put in your Resume your ‘Unofficial Title’ which you feel is a more honest title than your actual official title make sure they understand the reason for this (if applicable)

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◉ Forewarn your references if there are any sensitive areas they’re to avoid, for example any personality clashes you had with previous members of staff or grievances you may have had.

Your Executive Agent will be able to test and train your referees for you if required.

I. Executive Agents An Executive Agency (EA) performs a role similar to that of a manager or agent in managing the career of a Sports Star or Celebrity. An EA is very different to a recruitment agency, a search and selection firm, a career coach, career management or career transition (outplacement provider).

In short ‘full service Executive Agencies’ holistically manage their candidate client’s careers, providing intimate and extensive support on everything from job sourcing (especially those in the hidden market), PR, networking, research, generating and coordinating interviews, interview coaching and strategy, mentoring, negotiating for and representation of their client.

The role of an Executive Agent can be very demanding. We’ve invested over $2.6 million in creating and patenting a global research and management platform to give our global team huge capabilities, without such tech savvy infrastructure our role would be near impossible to do.

Often EAs work across many different time zones. They are expected to always have their head in the game whenever a client should call them, even when their client is drunk as a skunk in Vegas having just lost a few hundred thousand (you know who you are!)

Before you hire or ask someone claiming to be an Executive Agent to help you ask them if they provide the full service outlined above or are they rather just a recruitment firm that does some light networking or spams you out to the market; there are many.

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J. Career Management Firms Career Management firms are very different to Executive Agencies. They typically provide very basic job hunting advice. They will often facilitate networking meetings. Their catch cry is “We give people the skills to get a job!” This may be true if you’re a recent university graduate and cannot read a bus timetable to get to an interview.

Most career management firms are largely ineffective for these core reasons:

◉ Flawed Business Model. Their business model is usually based on charging the candidate up front, different from actually profiting from securing a placement fee paid by an employer upon securing their client a role. They then optimize their profit by underservicing the client to cut costs. Most promote ‘great’ networking functions. When you go to these you will witness a surreal occurrence.

You will see Patrick Fitzgibbons walk up to Rohen Fitzpatrick, introduce himself and ask Rohen if he can introduce him to anyone who may help him secure a

role. To which Rohen Fitzpatrick replies, “What a coincidence, that’s exactly what I was about to ask you!” Almost all the others at the networking event will be walking around in the chicken coop and following the same theatrics wondering who and when they pop the big question, “Do you know of anyone who you could introduce me to?” Almost as if it were a South Park cartoon, blank stares continue for a few seconds until reality kicks in and other participants realize most of these people here are unemployed, have little or no network and are here to see how you can get them a job which is the exact opposite of what you wanted to hear.

Having said this you can make some good friends. So these networking functions often turn into mere social events. It’s like ‘Big Broke Bear’ and ‘Long time Unemployed Bull’, two Indian chiefs traveling many moons to a reservation council meeting only to smoke the peace pipe rather than to discuss anything meaningful. We constantly ask executives, did they get any value from these networking functions and most just respond with “Well I did meet some nice people”.

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Generally people with good networks that can help you secure a role are working and too busy to attend these types of networking functions. In fact most avoid them like the plague knowing if they go, they’ll be jumped upon like seagulls to fish and chips.

◉ Poor Strategy. Secondly, career management firm’s strategies are so poorly

thought out they rarely work, and thus the reason why they take their money upfront and do not generate interviews for their clients. We spend a lot of our time consoling their victims. We call them ‘fix-it’ jobs because often they are so disillusioned with finding work; it takes effort to get their confidence back up even before we begin our work. Many have burned their network so thoroughly they would give an Amway salesman a run for his money. If their strategies were effective surely they would make more money from earning placement fees paid by hiring employers than from charging exorbitant membership fees to their clients.

◉ Basic Advice. Thirdly, most career management firms have basic training courses,

to few support staff and insufficient infrastructure to adequately help candidates. One of our Members who headed up a large global career transition firm said if ever a candidate squealed about wanting a resume done they would have the receptionist do it in between telephone calls.

K. Career Transition (Outplacement) Firms Career Transition firms are similar to Career Management firms except the employer pays the membership fee for staff they’re making redundant. These firms also have a flawed business model (as far as the job seeker is concerned) because they do not profit from securing you a role rather only by selling a membership program to your employer. They have no real financial motivation in securing candidates roles.

Their advice is very dangerous. Most career transition professionals will tell candidates their resume is fine and they interview well. The candidate then goes

to market thinking they’re OK under false ‘illusions of grandeur’. They generate too few interviews and are often flagged by recruiters as being very average candidates.

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Sad Joke. Nick has just been told by HR he is being made redundant. Very upset and about to jump in the elevator for the last time, HR yells out to him, “Nick,

before you jump in that elevator go into the meeting room; Kevin from ABC Career Transition Services wants to talk to you”. So Nick shuffling his feet goes in to meet Kevin, shakes his hand, sits down and asks him, “Why am I meeting with you Kevin?”

Kevin clears his throat, combs his castor oil covered hair back and replies, “Your employer, (clearing his throat)…ex-employer has hired my firm to help you get a job!” Nick then exclaims, “Wonderful! So are you going to source roles for me; especially in the hidden market?”, “No” Kevin replies. Nick then asks, “Are you going to build my brand, write my resumes, compile my marketing documents and rebuild my online profile?” Kevin, beginning to sweat replies, “Ah…no”.

Nick now clutching at straws asks, “Are you going to market me, generate and coordinate my interviews?” Kevin now squirming in his chair sheepishly says, “Err…no”. Now Nick is getting frustrated and feels he has been the butt of a cruel joke by HR; he finally asks, “Kevin, I suppose you are also not going to coach me for each and every interview, represent me or negotiate my next package for me?”, Kevin is now looking at the door and contemplating his escape; he replies softly “nooo”.

Nick stands up and asks finally, “Kevin, again. Why am I meeting you?” Kevin now half chokingly on his sales pitch replies, “Because I am going to help you get a job?”

If your employer has hired a brainless consultant from a cartoon corporation who is more motivated to tie his shoes in the morning than help you get a job,

you need to be insisting they substitute the zombie with a professional from an Executive Agency. Do not take no for an answer. Your employer probably owes you this much in reciprocation for your years of service.

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L. Reading the Minds of Interviewers There are three key questions, which we refer to as ‘triangulation questions’. You need to ask interviewers these questions to identify where you are in their minds. Have they ‘bought’ you or do they have major concerns about you? More importantly how do they think you stack up against other competing candidates? In brief these are “What concerns do they have of you?”, “What do they like about you?” and more importantly “What skills or experience do they like about other candidates that they’re also wondering if you possess?” (We study these questions in more detail in Chapter 16). If you consider there is an abundance of candidates, and on this basis most interviewers really only interview people they know can already do the job, (people do not like to interview people they know cannot do the job when there are so many candidates), the only real question is “What’s unique about you?” or “Why should they hire you over anyone else?”

It’s no use finding out the answer to this question after they’ve made the decision not to hire you. Very few companies will call and say, “Tom, we’ve decided not to hire you, would you like to rebut our decision and try again?” It doesn’t happen this way. A decision is usually final unless the successful candidate rejects the offer.

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Chapter 6 : Avoiding the Culling Process (Booby Traps)

This chapter will help you understand how the various decision makers cull, how to avoid these and the various traps as well as some of the warning signs.

A. Understanding the Candidate Culling Process

‘Like cattle to slaughter’

Think of an abattoir where the cattle are unaware of their predicament. Line after line of cattle follow each other to their sudden death. Now imagine a single file line of candidates, all doing the same thing, all searching for advertised roles, all lodging applications via that dreaded ‘Apply Now’ button, all receiving little or no response or that dreaded rejection letter, all wondering yet again what they are doing wrong, totally unaware of the rules of the game they’re playing and their part in it, all receiving contradicting and confusing advice.

It’s kind of like being the last person in a long line of candidates seeking entry through the interviewer’s door, a small entry in a brick wall one hundred meters high; insurmountable. With each knock, a small window opens through the door of which an unknown person tells them the wizard is busy and to go away.

Then one day a smarter candidate looks to either side of the line in front and realizes the brick wall is only one meter wide. What do they do? They simply walk around the brick wall thereby jumping the queue of all other candidates and bypassing this previously thought insurmountable obstacle or difficult selection process. We call this going through the side door or a ‘flanking maneuver’. This is in part how you can literally jump the queue of candidates.

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Most candidates think more ‘outside of the square’ in their job than actually in getting a new job!

Point being, candidates need to be aware that most of the processes employers and recruiters use in assessing them for employment are designed for no other reason than to cull candidates, simply because the list of applicants is too long. Knowing the purpose and process behind these culls and associated booby traps will benefit your job hunt immensely.

How Recruiters Cull

As mentioned earlier in Chapter Five, recruiters, different to employers do not actually use (hire) candidates. Recruiters are only distributors looking for easy candidates that can do the job but then are ‘easy to sell’. They are looking for two attributes in particular in a candidate that is ‘saleability’ and ‘personality’.

Looking at the recruiter cull from a simple viewpoint, it can be assumed that in most cases recruiters only interview candidates they know can do the job. Why? Because there are so many qualified candidates capable of doing the job in this market that recruiters (and indeed HR) only interview those they know can do the job rather than to see if you can do the job.

Their biggest question of candidates is not “Can you do this job?” but rather, “What’s so unique about you that makes you one of the easiest candidates to sell to our client?”(Experience and knowledge is useless if you cannot sell it).

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The Job Advert Portal

Recruiters usually ask candidates to apply through an online portal usually on a jobs website or through the portal on their own website. Contrary to what they tell candidates and their clients they do not have a comprehensive or fair way of assessing candidates at all. Most will simply pull down five to ten percent of applications sitting on their servers (at times they will use keyword search programs, though rarely).

They will then cast their eyes over these resumes for less than a minute and select those candidates that have recently worked with blue-chip or well-known brand named companies in their client’s industry. They will then look at the candidate’s employment stability, discounting those that are perceived to have been unemployed for too long or jumped jobs too often. Many recruiters will often totally disregard reading cover letters, knowing most cover letters are ambiguous and boring. They know most candidates do not sell themselves well enough to over-compensate for having little industry experience, not working with an industry leading name or having employment instability.

‘Industry experience’ is the new fad word, ‘transferable skills’ now plays second fiddle.

How HR Cull

Many line managers and candidates feel that HR are comparable to giving administration people a loaded gun (trigger happy with little weapons training); many employees see HR as being the company’s internal ‘security force’. More often than not they are the CEO’s henchmen or the local constabulary for the organization. It is not the author’s intent here to demean HR but rather to highlight two main types of HR. Some HR are exceptional business people.

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There are generally two extremes in HR being:

1. Firstly those in HR who have rarely been line managers, who may lack experience in anything but HR (some have only worked in recruitment firms previously), and who have very little commercial acumen or understanding of how to grow business or what it takes to identify a candidate that can.

2. Secondly, those with strong line management and commercial experience. Some HR people and often the most successful ones have acquired substantial line management experience in other functions, having acquired an eye for identifying business growth strategy and strong growth centric (and often client centric) transformational leaders.

If you look at the psych of many people in HR they have an administration mindset, their typical day sees them being overwhelmed with policies, procedures and legislative requirements. Their world is one of following processes rather than actually growing revenue, or the wider business, different to for example a CFO or a Sales and Marketing Director.

HR will often accompany a line manager into an interview to be there for backup and more to assess team fit (culture), candidate behavior and compliance. Their personal drivers are not to really grow the business (as are sales people who earn bonuses) but more so to look good in front of their peers, and other functional line managers. Often there is a tug-of-war between HR and line managers, whose support they usually require. Often it’s a love-hate relationship; a tug of war or power play.

The best way to win the hearts and minds of many in HR is thus complimenting them for example on the interview process they follow, the culture they have helped establish or their ‘business acumen’. Revealing to them how your wizardry grows businesses more often than not won’t hit their love buttons, making them look good will. Most HR cull in a similar way to recruiters, except that they do genuinely read more resumes and assess more candidates then recruiters as they are in fact end users and thus are concerned with the quality of the candidate more than ‘saleability’.

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The best way to avoid the HR cull is to avoid applying online (regardless of what they tell you), and going direct to the person you would be reporting into.

Upon meeting and impressing this person, they may then recommend you to HR, telling HR you have their strong buy-in and you would be a great candidate for job ‘X’. Chances are HR will now support your candidacy more if you secured the support of their boss or other peers.

Often HR will email executive job seekers suggesting they review their online jobs page for current or upcoming roles. In reality very few senior executive roles

are advertised on the employer’s web career pages as the roles are often market or team sensitive and the recruitment process is hush-hush and farmed out to one of the myriad of search firms.

Your Executive Agent will help you compile strategies to bypass HR.

How Government HR Cull

The culling process that candidates endure for government jobs is particularly torturous. One may consider that many departments in government are overly bureaucratic and riddled with unnecessary processes often merely to give people a job or a feeling of importance. Government HR departments are the epitome of this.

Different to most private enterprises, candidates in applying for government roles are usually given job descriptions and a long list of selection criteria to read and answer in reply to their application rather than only if and when HR feels they are a candidate of high interest.

Often we’ll have excited candidates calling our firm claiming they are being considered for a government role and totally unaware that everyone who applies receives the same info packs and request to complete selection criteria. Kind of like the politician that fakes interest in everyone but is really interested in no one. Unaware candidates may spend hours compiling answers to selection criteria thinking they are actually a person of interest. A lot of our time is spent educating some very green candidates.

Restricted content. See www.upexecutiveagents.com/battlemanual

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Now imagine a HR manager for some government department who is more process driven than outcomes driven, walking into her boss’ office and saying, “Boss, have you seen the complexity of our new selection process and the sheer volume of questions candidates have to answer before we interview them?” (Thinking they’re an administrative legend and having a real talent for processes). Their boss responds by saying “Well done, and how many applications are we going to review?” to which they reply “Oh…between one and five percent”. (Unconscious incompetence).

These same candidates who have gotten their hopes up and spent hours answering selection criteria eventually receive an overly formal and diplomatically correct rejection letter (similar to recruiters); a letter saying the quality of candidates was quite high and unfortunately others had a closer fit to the role requirements; a common lie. But in government it appears to be OK to lie if you do not discriminate?!

The probability is their application has not even been noticed let alone read and that the department has not found anyone resembling the best candidate.

Strategy. Go direct to the person you would be reporting into.

How CEOs Cull

There are two types of CEOs; those that are confident in their own abilities and genuinely recruit to build a talented team around them, different to those who recruit for ‘self-security’. In other words they are interested in hiring quality talent as long as those candidates are not likely to challenge their authority, outshine them or potentially shed light on the their ‘mismanagement’.

Generally CEOs only interview those people who they know can do the job, they then cull by assessing personality fit with both themselves and their leadership teams, then by taking into account the candidate’s leadership, strategic expertise in growing businesses and likely ROI.

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If a candidate can differentiate themselves across these three criteria, it’s likely the CEO will think the candidate can help them achieve their vision, (and make them look good) or they won’t in which case the candidate could cost the CEO their job. Often CEOs do not recover from being terminated in this GFC market. Thus hiring a candidate may come at an immense personal risk to the CEO.

How Business Owners Cull

Business owners (and at times Founders if they have a majority shareholding) different to CEOs aren’t as threatened by great candidates, as they themselves usually have the power to hire and fire. Due to this, founders/owners are often far more concerned with the answer to this question; “What is this person going to cost me and how much are they going to make me?” In other words it’s a financial need they’re largely interviewing for rather than need for ‘fit’. After all, it’s my way or the highway.

B. Common Traps to Avoid The following are common questions and requests designed to trap candidates.

‘Please apply through our website’ Trap

At times you may receive an email in reply to your letter of introduction or read in a job advert, ‘Please apply through our website’. If you do this you probably won’t get noticed. This is more often than not a polite way of telling you not to bother them. If you were of interest they would ask you to interview not tell you to bugger off and go through their portal. A very small percentage of job applications that are ‘dumped’ on a company’s server via an online portal actually are noticed let alone read…let alone actually understood. It’s kind of like putting your name on a piece of paper in a hat, with three hundred other candidates hoping they’ll pull your name out.

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The ‘Keyword’ Trap

There’s a lot of fear mongering about how recruiters use keyword search programs. The program is called ISYS; apparently it was created by the CIA to search a large number of files and document types on and offline for keywords. Most recruiters have this program but very few use it. If you’re a conspiracy theorist and if you’re still concerned about this program and want for example a ‘CFO’ role in manufacturing widgets in Sydney or Seattle, simply load up the below paragraph in white font size one in the footer of your resume. Make sure you PDF the document. The program will pick up on the word repetition and you’ll go to the front of the queue. CFO, Sydney, Seattle, Manufacturing, Widgets, CFO, Sydney, Seattle, Manufacturing, Widgets, CFO, Sydney, Seattle, Manufacturing, Widgets, CFO, Sydney, Seattle, Manufacturing, Widgets, CFO, Sydney, Seattle, Manufacturing, Widgets, CFO, Sydney, Seattle, Manufacturing, Widgets, CFO, Sydney, Seattle,

Please ‘Complete this Selection Criteria’ Trap

This is a favorite used by government HR. (See ‘How Government HR Cull’ prior page).

The ‘Initial Telephone Call’ Trap

We could write chapters about this method of culling. But in simplicity, recruiters like to speak with candidates often to simply work out, prior to wasting time interviewing them if they are ‘saleable’. Saleability again comes down to your ‘personality’ (not cultural fit) and ‘What is so unique about you that makes you an easy candidate to sell?’ A recruiter is wondering, can this candidate sell themselves if I stick them in front of my client, because if they can’t, no matter how good they are they won’t get hired so why should I bother. Secondly, so what if they can do the job; their personality sucks so people won’t like the idea of working with them so why should we waste our time shortlisting them.

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Further to this point, many candidates are frustrated with recruiters and find it hard to hide their disdain for them even when being interviewed. Recruiters can

smell disdain a mile away. It can be a look out of the corner of the candidate’s eye, or the candidate that says good-bye with their back turned or one with a less than enthusiastic handshake. Recruiters fear placing a candidate that doesn’t like them into their client’s company only to infect other staff with their disdain eventually putting their future business pipeline at risk. We, ourselves as Executive Agents desperately try and avoid candidates with chips on their shoulders and there are many. The initial telephone call with the Recruiter or HR is really the first interview rather than a simple meet and greet call for the purpose of arranging an interview. Candidates live or die often by how they perform in the initial telephone call.

For a detailed outline of how to interview over the phone with recruiters refer to Appendix C ‘Handling the Recruiter’s Initial Call’.

The ‘Junior Team Member’ Trap

Candidates who approach companies direct may be asked to meet with a more junior member of staff. Often meeting with this junior member of staff is entirely inappropriate. This is usually HR’s way of protecting the brand of the company as one day they may need to hire this person or this person may end up working with their customers or suppliers. Rarely are these meetings of any benefit. The only real benefit to be gained is by probing the junior member of staff for information about the company and who you should be really speaking with. Do not alienate these junior people as they will give you a bad report. Simply give them compliments and tell them how impressed you are with their knowledge. This way they are more likely to help you by giving you key information or by putting in a favorable report. (See Chapter 8. How to Supercharge Your Network).

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C. The More Common Cull Questions

What salary are you seeking?

Probably the most common cull question of all. Here interviewers try to work out if you are going to be too expensive. Recruiters will wonder if they’re going to have to put in extra effort to sell you at your higher price. HR will wonder if you’re within budget. Frustrating for a candidate as often the interviewer doesn’t first ask them what value they can bring to the table before asking what salary they’re seeking.

Strategy. The best way to handle this trap question is by answering, “Mr. Recruiter, something that represents common sense both to my family and to your

client. May I ask, having read my resume, what salary range do you feel I should be targeting?“ No matter what they say, keep your poker face on. If they are persistent and really want a figure, just give them a wide range.

We’ll discuss more on negotiating in Chapter 23; however the general rule is,

Never be trapped into stating your specific salary until the employer is well aware of your value. This is usually late in the interview process. The longer you can delay this discussion often the better.

How are your interviews progressing?

Recruiters do not like to shortlist candidates that are already at offer stage with other employers or progressing well with other interviews. They wish to avoid embarrassing themselves in front of their client by putting forward a candidate that is unlikely to accept an offer because they already have another or even worse the candidate that negotiates harder for a higher salary because they know they have a fall back option.


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HR may ask you this question to see if you have other likely offers that they need to compete with. They can more likely low ball a candidate that has no job offers than one that does. So letting HR know (without being obvious about it) early in the job hunt that you’re interviewing with other firms (maybe even competitors) may avoid them low balling you later. The later in the selection process that you let them know you have other offers the more likely they are not to believe you. Be careful bluffing as you may be called out. “Mr. Candidate, you obviously have other offers. I am not sure we can compete with those!”

What made you apply for this role?

This question is asked to clarify motivation and points of commonality between the role being applied for and the candidate’s previous experience. The best answer is, “Well it’s almost identical to my previous roles which I’ve excelled in...” as opposed to “…it’ll be a good step-up for me...” in other words you haven’t done a role of this seniority before. This makes you look like a risk compared to the person who has already done the role before. Recruiters and employers aren’t there to develop your career, rather to interview for value and fit, in other words put that round peg into that there round hole.

Years ago employers were prepared to bring people on and train them up, knowing they’d retain them for a long time. Now in this economy where tenure of employment is shorter, they just want someone that can do the job, someone

they do not need to train. No more jobs for life.

Why did you leave your last employer?

This is one of the more common questions and one which when asked receives the most dishonest answers. Common reasons people claim to leave are:

“I was made redundant” (which results in some candidates cringing as they feel it makes the interviewer think they were ‘of little value’ especially if you’re in sales)

“There were no more challenges; I achieved all my objectives” to

“I’ve been at the company for too long”

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Now truth be told the second most common reason candidates leave their employ is either frustration with senior management or something else which results in the inevitable personality clash, something that happens when we humans do not get what we want. These clashes may result from disagreement over strategy, the budget being cut or other changes. Often its money related. We come across very few exceptionally well paid executives that want to leave their employ. Assuming their companies are not better, it can be presumed ‘money buys silence’. If someone opens their mouth to complain give them a money-burger.

“If you pay me enough I will have whatever personality you want me to have.”(Often called ‘towing the line’)

We’d like to tell candidates to be honest herein expressing why they left their previous employers but the problem is if you tell an interviewer you had a personality clash, they in most cases automatically will assume you were at fault or in the least, you lack relationship skills as ‘it takes two to tango’.

What motivates you?

Here the interviewer is assessing what your drivers are or more precisely, “Do the inclusions in this role, be it money, mental challenge or career growth or other feed the candidate’s desire?”

What made you apply to/approach our organisation?

Here the employer is wondering “What’s in it for them?”, “What does the candidate think we can give them?” not necessarily, “What value does this candidate think they can bring to our organization”.

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‘Think not what our company can do for you but what you can do for our company’ (to borrow from JFK)

What are you looking for?

This question is often asked by recruiters and is really designed to see if the candidate knows what they want; if they are decisive or all over the shop and have no idea. If you haven’t figured it out already recruiters are not career counselors. They do not care about helping you shape or build your career.

The best thing you can say to a recruiter in response is “I specifically want this…or have done this so want this type of role…” as opposed to , “Well there is very little I cannot do, so what have you got…?” which is usually an interview killer. ‘Jack of all trades master of none’. It also makes the recruiter think you’re desperate, in that by this logic you may also be interested in very junior roles.

D. Common Cull Statements – Red Flags These are statements people make in interviewing you that should give you some concern, usually indicating they either are not progressing you or are not convinced of your value.

‘We’ll get back to you’

It’s safer to assume they won’t. If you were of strong interest (and you need to be in this market) the recruiter or employer would ask you to interview ‘now’. Very few candidates that receive this response actually get a call back. Retrace your steps. Work out where you went wrong. Maybe you gave them a crappy answer when they asked what’s unique about you; ninety nine percent of candidates we ask this question of, do.

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If the approached person does not respond after a week or so, start engaging other people of influence in the company (large corporates only; obviously do not do this for two man operations).

If you know ACME Corp want a CFO but the recruiter given the assignment is not making you feel confident that they are short listing you for the role, then approach the CEO direct. Invite them out for coffee. Do not mention anything about the CFO role you applied for rather just approach him for the purpose of discussing financial challenges they may be facing.

Upon meeting you they may tell you they are actually seeking a CFO, (act surprised). He may then tell HR to meet you, thereby cutting the process short enabling you to jump the queue of many other candidates. We call this ‘going behind enemy lines’, the more senior the person you meet with the deeper into enemy territory you have gone. Oorah!

If the recruiter has a swipe at you when he finds out you went direct just say you thought they weren’t really going to shortlist you and considering the company is sizeable you’d thought you’d approach them to see if they had other opportunities. “Of note, Mr. Recruiter I didn’t mention the CFO role we spoke about as proof of this”. Recruiters are often super skittish about this. Make a judgment call. No risk no gain. Sometimes you have to burn bridges in war.

Often candidates fail to read between the lines, others do not know there are any lines. If a recruiter tells you you’re a preferred candidate but they do not return your calls and yet they know you’re also out interviewing with their competitors; this means they’re really not interested in you; they are unlikely to get back to you. Alternatively actually returning your calls may indicate they want to keep you ‘close’ and are still optimistic about placing you.

Likewise if your better half is not returning your calls someone else has probably captured their heart.

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The ‘Please send me your resume in word’

This isn’t necessarily a cull but, may be. It can mean one of two things: ◉ In the negative; the recruiter wants a copy of your resume to dump on their database

for future reference in the coming years, (this is just a process they go through) or ◉ In the positive; they want to remove your name off your resume and float your

details to an employer to see if they’re interested. Often recruiters do not trust HR so do not want to disclose the candidate’s name. Whilst this is not entirely honest, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it may actually result in a job for you.

Typically, for senior executives that are successful in securing an interviewer’s interest they won’t give a damn if your resume is in word or not, they’ll just ask you to meet with them pronto. In other words, are they more concerned about if the resume is saved in the right format or if they’re going to lose you to a competitor?

‘We’re still shortlisting candidates’

If you apply for a role, and the recruiter or HR calls you to discuss your application, you may then ask them “When can we meet?”. Now if they respond with, “Oh, we’re still developing a long list of people to interview”, read between the lines; you have not impressed them sufficiently.

Why? Because if they thought you were an outstanding candidate they’d be concerned that someone else, maybe even a competitor will pick you up if they do not get you in fast and ‘secure you’. Basically they’re not bothered if a competitor interviews you.

This is kind of like asking a girl at a prom for a dance. She says she’s tired or dizzy, but is really casting an eye over other suitors, being careful not to be seen dancing with second best, should her first choice think she is already taken.

A common trick played out by recruiters is to tell a candidate they’re the preferred candidate in order ‘to keep them close’. When they tell a candidate

this, the candidate often will stop looking elsewhere, thinking they have a role in their hand, only to find out later on they were not even on the shortlist but rather were only a ‘fall-back’ candidate should the three candidates already shortlisted not work out; sometimes recruiters may need to scrabble around for other candidates fast.

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Chapter 7 : Finding Opportunities (Targets of Opportunity)

This chapter will enable you to more easily find opportunities especially those that are unadvertised, in the ‘hidden market’. It will also help you to create

opportunities for yourself.

There are three types of employment opportunities:

A. Advertised opportunities These appear in papers, industry journals, online job boards, career pages of employer websites or ‘jobs’ pages on recruiter websites. These opportunities are usually specialist, junior or middle management roles that aren’t market or staff sensitive.

Often HR will respond to candidates who have emailed them saying “Please check our career page on our website for available roles”. This statement is in fact their way of saying, “Go away".

We review thousands of website’s career pages and we can count on our hands those that advertise senior roles on their websites. Most of the senior roles, because they are often market, team or customer sensitive will not be advertised. Only junior or middle management roles are often advertised.

Companies also tend not to advertise a senior role that is available, preferring to instead fill the vacancy quietly, often through a search firm to minimize business disruption or bad press. A ship without a captain concerns investors and customers. It is also disruptive for an incumbent to find out from a junior member of staff that their job has been advertised on the business’ website or the local job board.

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Very few senior roles (like CEO opportunities) are advertised, unless it is for companies involved in the Not-for-Profit space where partly because of the lower salaries offered, the employer has to advertise to attract a satisfactory pool of candidates.

Many Not-for-Profits are frustrating places to work. We put this down to two core reasons. Firstly many NFPs put well connected people on their Board to attract attention for fund raising reasons, and secondly many executives request a

position on the Board so they can show more Board experience in their resume. Often NFPs will appoint a leader that is a well-known activist, advocate or religious leader but has little experience in running companies.

Your Executive Agent should have a sizeable database of advertised roles avoiding you having to spend numerous hours searching hundreds of different websites for these.

B. Hidden opportunities As noted above hidden opportunities include those that are currently available but usually are quite senior and by virtue of this are either market or staff sensitive and thus are not advertised for fear of creating issues with an incumbent, investors, staff, customers and other internal or external stakeholders including the dreaded press. They often result from a senior member of staff retiring, being terminated, being promoted, dying, MIA or fleeing the tax office.

C. ‘Yet to be Created’ Opportunities These are roles that are created upon meeting an extraordinary candidate. Frequently relating to the Sales and Operations function in a company, if the employer meets an outstanding candidate that can solve a critical problem or embarrassment or bring unique value to the business they may then create a role.

For example if they are losing sales revenue or having their costs blow out, and they meet an extraordinary sales performer or someone with advanced knowledge in reducing particular costs (this may involve turning a major and failing project around), they may create a role because not to do so may result in a larger financial loss.

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In marketing our members employers will often create new roles for them when the value the candidate exhibits is perceived as being ‘Unique’. Quality packaging of the candidate’s value is required to create the leverage and sense of urgency for the employer to create the role. Unfortunately very few professional resume writers can really communicate their client’s value well.

Musical Chairs

Adults play musical chairs more often than minors

Imagine a game of ‘Corporate Musical Chairs’ - the CEOs of the top 200 companies are invited to an event and amidst much drinking and banter; the host proposes a game of musical chairs. The music starts, everyone stands up and chairs become suddenly available. Listening for when the music stops, partygoers then scramble for a chair before they are all taken. By keeping your eyes and ears open for signs, (what we call ‘musical chair events’; events, often being simply bad press or rumours) you will receive prior indication when some chairs or positions are now becoming available.

For example, an underperforming company hires a new CEO. Doing some research you suspect the first order of day will be ditching the existing leadership team who have too many ingrained relationships with saboteurs and cannot bring themselves to accept new leadership.

How to identify positions becoming available

Reading the Signs

There are often signs, usually in the press or network ‘chitter-chatter’ of an upcoming chair becoming available.

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Bad Press

Set up Google or stock exchange alerts which will send you emails informing you of current events, such as a company incurring major losses, or corruption being found or other. Often there have been pressures boiling internally which could very well culminate in someone senior getting the boot.

True Story. One of our staff members rang up and spoke to the leader of the opposition party and asked him if we could help him get another job. They said they weren’t looking and hung up but not before we told them we felt

they would be shortly! They were terminated a few weeks later resulting from some inappropriate behavior that we had previously read in the press.

As another example, we read about a large website being hacked into. The CIO had been given his marching orders. The employer had already hired some search consultants to find a replacement.

More Senior Roles Becoming Available

Often when you hear of a firm seeking a new COO for example, if you do some careful research you may find that the Board is doing a clean-up and that there are C-level roles up for grabs as well.

Mergers and Acquisitions

The sum of two parts is often more than the whole - too many chefs in the kitchen. When companies merge or are acquired, often they will have too many staff and someone has to go. In these cases the employer will take the opportunity to do a complete review of other roles during which many roles can come up for grabs.

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Floats (Initial Public Offerings)

Often when a company is gearing up for a float they’ll terminate staff to make their books look better but then rehire if the float is successful.

Building War Chests

Some companies can be seen to be selling off assets. They may be on the lookout for acquisitions or to jump into new markets. If you’ve worked with a competitor which is a potential takeover target you may provide unique value having intimate knowledge of the target company. Heck you may even become your old boss’s boss.

A new CEO

You can set up email news alerts receiving notice when a CEO is newly hired. Especially if the company’s performance has been poor, the CEO’s first task will often be to replace the existing team.

A Restructure or Transformation

These often represent ideal opportunities with many seats becoming available. Usually a firm advertising middle management roles is often finding replacements for more senior roles that they are not advertising.

Watch lists

Setting up keyword searches for ‘Restructure/ing’,’Transformation’, ’Merger/ed’,’Acquisition/ed’,‘Float’, ‘IPO’ etc. on watch lists will bring to light the companies that are having their ‘trees shaken’. Also try stock exchange watch lists, they’re usually quite good.

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Databases

Looking at the average tenure of a senior executives role most senior executives move on every 4.6 years (See www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm).

At an educated guess, five to fifteen percent of the companies that meet your criteria (turnover, staff numbers, geographic spread or location, industries, to range of products or services etc.) may have a role now or in the next two to three months that probably meet many of your requirements. Now based on this guess there are still many roles out there despite the GFC. The problem is that most candidates either through laziness, being too busy, or having little access to research and meaningful databases cannot find these.

Databases are critical in rolling out a comprehensive job search campaign. Corporate databases are the best but they are expensive (we pay over $20,000 each p.a. for many of ours). Other online networking sites are OK except that it’s thought by many that as much as thirty percent of people advertising their profiles are not who they say they are. Why?

Very few candidates when they become unemployed change their on-line position as advertised to ‘Unemployed’ or similar. They tend to retain their old title. The person you’re sending ‘in-mails’ to or inviting to a network or group may not quite be who they say they are.

Excusing this we still find networking websites a valuable resource. We use these often in searching for roles becoming available etc. You’ll need a corporate account however or access to an Executive Agent with a corporate account to get real value out of these sites.

If your Executive Agent is running a true ‘end to end’ agency they should have a high quality database of who’s who in the corporate zoo, as well as at their

fingertips the recruiters and search consultants all categorized into the types of roles, industries, geographies and management levels they specialize in.

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RSS Feeds

RSS stands for ‘Rich Site Summary’ (see above figure); originally RDF Site Summary; often called Really Simple Syndication, uses a family of standard web feed formats to publish frequently updated information: blog entries, news headlines, audio, video. An RSS document (called "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or summarized text, and metadata, like publishing date and author's name.

RSS feeds enable publishers to syndicate data automatically. A standard XML file format ensures compatibility with many different machines/programs. RSS feeds also benefit users who want to receive timely updates from favorite websites or to aggregate data from many sites.

In short, RSS feeds bring a lot of information on a particular topic to the attention of the job seeker.

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Networks

Networks are great but unfortunately in a GFC market there are much fewer roles so the probability of an average candidate’s network bringing them sufficient notice of opportunities is much less than pre GFC. Candidates now often need to either work their network harder; many candidates are uncomfortable in doing so many have already ‘flogged to death’ their networks (Amway style). The trick is often to capitalize on other people’s networks such as those of Recruiters or Executive Agents.

Recruiters will often boast about their network but will be quite standoffish when it comes to introducing candidates to them. Their networks are after all where they receive much of their business from. To continually be introducing candidates to their network is against their policy and business practice.

True story. A candidate unemployed for many months once stated to a member of our team, “I have everything taken care of. I have a recruiter from ACME Recruitment in my back pocket that has a large network and they are

keeping an eye out for me “. We cringed at this comment.

We told the candidate, ACME Recruitment does have a large network, but that may not mean from the candidate’s perspective a ‘good network’. We asked the candidate, “Over the past nine months how many interviews has the recruiter generated for you?” to which they responded “Zero”. Hmmm. Large network but not a good network! Large networks do not get people jobs; good networkers do.

In an economy when many recruitment firms are going out of business most recruiters will still boast they have a great network; some naive candidates will still buy the recruiter line “We have a great network; we’re keeping an eye out for you. You’re in good hands”.

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It’s kind of like the car salesman who says to the old lady on the phone, “Honey come in and we’ll take care of you”, only to find out she gets screwed by paying the full retail price with added optional extras like a spoiler and eighteen inch wheels that she doesn’t need.

WHEN SOMEONE SAYS THEY’LL TAKE CARE OF YOU, IT USUALLY MEANS THEY’LL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.

Most recruiter’s networks are typically only in the industry they specialize in. If you’re seeking recruiters that specialize out of your current industry because you want to jump industries, then they won’t be of much use. Often they won’t like to connect with you because they do not like to try help candidates jump the industry gap, especially not in the GFC; most consider it too difficult. More bluntly, they may be thinking, “Why should I embarrass myself in front of my FMCG network to introduce a CIO who has never worked in FMCG especially when there are so many CIOs who have?”

Recruiters

We’ve covered off on recruiters earlier. In short, recruiters are distributors and thus are looking for two attributes in interviewing candidates, those that can sell themselves and those that have a likeable personality.

Executive Recruiters and Search Consultants can be the source of many roles, but understand, in this market most are running dry. They are more likely to invite you in to compare coffee notes, to find out what other companies you’re interviewing with (so they can cross float candidates in, in competition to you) or to build a relationship with you so that when you get the job, they can reconnect with you to hopefully ‘feel the love’ and secure business off you. In other words you may think you have an interview with a recruiter; they’ve marked in their diary ‘Business Development Meeting with Joe Bloe, CFO ABC former candidate’.

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Current Employers

This is an interesting one. If you’re on good terms with your current employer (and if they know you’re leaving) ask them to keep an eye out for you in conversations with their suppliers or customer organizations. Some smart CEOs would love to have a valued former work colleague able to be implanted in an organization of whom it’s essential they maintain good relationships with.

Strategy Maps

Strategy mapping is a process we have developed in working out where in the market place with relation to potential hirers and networks our members are situated. What are their relationships, what is the type and strength of these relationships and what do these people like about the candidate? We then overlap these with our own network, and by joining the dots we strategize ‘a way in’ to a business.

CEOs are more likely to interview a person, who is well known to someone in their business as opposed to someone who is not. Some people refer to this loosely as the ‘circle of trust’.

D. Finding Key People & Their Contact Details Our staff have spent thousands of hours working the phones, securing research, confirming information, identifying who has responsibility for particular areas of business to following up on the hundreds of interviews we have arranged for our Member base. There are scores of strategies to do this.

Finding Key People

Search company website pages for Board, Executive Teams or Leadership Teams. Especially for large corporates this information is readily available.

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Alternatively you can send what we call an ‘Investigative Email’ to someone in the company using words like,

Dear Eric,

Currently the COO of ACME, a regional leader in the Widget space, I am trying to organize a luncheon with the person who heads up Widget production but despite reading your website, I am unable to identify that person. I found your details online and thought I’d reach out to you for your help. Would you be so kind as to point me in the right direction? Deeply appreciated.

Maybe one day I can return the favor. I will treat your reply as confidential.

Finding Email Address Protocols

If you have an Executive Agent, they will have most of the email addresses on file for people you’re wishing to correspond with. In the alternative if you do a Google Search for keywords e.g.‘*@companywebsitedomain.com’ this will often bring up emails of some people in the business identifying for you the correct email protocol to use.

If you see a generic email for example ‘[email protected]’ the email will then be ‘[email protected]’ in most cases. If you’re unsure also put other emails in the blind copy (BCC) field of your email ‘[email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or for smaller companies maybe even ‘[email protected]’. Many corporates that are global will have an email domain being ‘@abc.com ‘ and if you are in a region or country this may change to ‘@au.abc.com’ Australia), or say ‘@apac.abc.com’ (for the Asia Pacific region).

You can also by process of elimination discount incorrect addresses by recording those that have ‘bounced’. This can be time consuming however and not always accurate as some companies can have catch all functions built into their email servers so no emails bounce. Often a company website will disclose the email of the ‘Media Enquiries’ contact.


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Chapter 8 : How to Supercharge Your Network Fast (Recruiting Field Assets)

This chapter will enable you to build your network faster as well as secure more results from your existing network.

Networks are great but they are often overrated. Whilst in a booming economy your network may bring to your attention a lot of roles, in a depressed economy your network may only cover one to three percent of the opportunities out there. If your best strategy is relying on your network to bring you sufficient notice of roles, this may be quite a high risk strategy. We continually get approached by exceptionally well networked job seekers who haven’t heard ‘boo’ from their network in a long time. In fragile economies, CEOs do not hire a strategic level executive purely if they are known by someone they trust, unless that candidate also represents unique strategic value.

Are you a hunter or a gatherer? Sitting back as a ‘gatherer’ and waiting for someone to bring you notice of an opportunity may be high risk whereas hunting for opportunities is often lower risk.

Think of it this way. Often the most effective strategy for a business to grow is simply to let potential customers know you have a product to sell. Or as a candidate, to let potential employers know you’re available to hire. Do not hide

yourself behind a rock sticking your head up only when someone in your network brings a rumor or a role to your attention.

Unfortunately by the time an average candidate rebuilds their network to a level where it can secure them a job they may have been unemployed for six to nine

months and then unemployment is also working against them. To many interviewers they now appear ‘stale’ from having been unemployed for too long. Recruiters do not like to interview and shortlist candidates who have been unemployed for too long; one of the reasons many candidates hide unemployment by claiming to be ‘Consulting’ in their employment chronology.

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A. Networking with Recruiters Here’s a super effective sample letter to send to recruiters to build your network with them; you’ll usually get a response fast. (Please put in your own words).

Subject Heading: Potential new business – compliments from Craig Cartwheel Dear Rod, A short email. Apologies for the brevity, but I am flat chat working on a major project about to run over time through no fault of my own. (I was made redundant; I am at home half-drunk watching my soon to be cancelled cable TV which I haven’t paid for in 3 months). I understand you specialize in finding senior finance people. I have heard a lot of great things about your firm and thought I’d help you build your business by telling you about some potential opportunities you may be interested in filling. I have heard that ACME is looking for another Finance Director; maybe you can secure this assignment. (Optional; Call me if you would like to discuss this further or talk about other opportunities I am aware of). Keeping you very much front of mind. I’ll let you know when some other roles come across my desk (coffee table). P.S. My resume is attached. Appreciate you keeping me front of mind. (Hint)

We are hoping 2 million job seekers do not flood their local recruiters inboxes come Monday morning with referrals.

A sample Letter to a Recruiter who has rejected you reads


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Dear Rod,

Recently I applied for a role that your firm was advertising, unfortunately I was unsuccessful. Nonetheless I’ve heard some good things about your firm and thought I could help you make your great company better. I’ve come across some opportunities; some companies seeking some Finance Directors that I thought may match the assignments you’re seeking. Drop me a call or email if you like and I can explain further.

P.S. I will keep you front of mind when I hear of any other opportunities coming up that I think you would be interested in.

Or a sample letter if you have not applied for a role through their firm,

Dear Rod,

Well done. I have noticed that ACME Recruitment has picked up many more high end assignments this year than last; evidence you’re doing something well that many others are not.

The purpose of my email is to organize a time to buy you coffee next week. I suspect you work on roles in my field (Finance) and I know a lot of great candidates and many notable people in the industry that may be able to help you. Maybe we can meet and compare notes? I’d welcome the opportunity of helping you build your brand. Once I better understand what roles you’re seeking in more detail, maybe I can bring some business your way?

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Strategy. We won’t bore you with the psychological strategy and subliminal thought control embedded into the above letters. It is highly unusual for

candidates to think about how they can help their local recruiter build their business. You’ll be sure to be the first and the last thought on their mind morning and night. Best of all this strategy will not cost you a dime! We use this strategy a lot in building relationships with recruiters for our career transition clients in particular.

B. Networking with Employers Similarly, for employers; email a Hiring Manager in another company you may want to work for, informing them of a great colleague who is on the market (on a side point if an annoying colleague of yours is not looking for another job this may be a good strategy just to get rid of them). The hiring manager will usually be grateful you are thinking of him and quite taken by surprise by this random act of kindness, thus you’ll be at the front of their mind. Now this simple act didn’t cost you anything but you have now started to build a relationship that you can now nurture.

Now to be realistic, it is still more common for Boards to want to meet candidates that are well known to members of their team than those who are not. You are either in their network or you are not. So how do we place ourselves in someone’s network fast?

Strategy. Let’s say there are one hundred companies out there that you would like to work for. Let’s assume you don’t know the CEO but you would like a role

reporting to them. Do this.

Send an invite to a more junior person, requesting a meeting with them. Most people jump at the chance of meeting someone more senior from another company especially in the same industry as they also feel it’s great for building their network. For example if you’re a Head of Operations, approach a middle to senior manager in say another function (Finance, Sales or other – In other words preferably not the same function as you’re in or that person may think you’re competing for their role).

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Now after you’ve had a good chat with that person over coffee (or worst case over the phone), after you’ve built rapport, gained a better understanding of their business, the industry and their CEO, then ask that person, (only if you have impressed them) if it would be fine for you to mention to their CEO should you ever speak with them that you know them.

Most people if impressed with you will say this is fine; some may even respond by suggesting they introduce you. You can now approach their CEO, noting one of their staff members knows you and has a good understanding of your value. You’re now closer to being in the ‘circle of trust’ (See Movie ‘Meet the Fockers’), something better than being outside of it. The CEO may even ask their staff member what they felt about your value. Now how many people can you do this with?

Note this strategy won’t work if you cannot communicate your value exceptionally well.

Your Executive Agent will have a very large database of specific people you can be approaching saving you a lot of time.

C. Networking Conversations Here is an easy way to turn dreaded networking into super effective bonding:

When you are networking, ask for a reference, not a job. Whether you are doing catch-up drinks or grabbing lunch to reconnect, your primary need is to get an ally, not a tally of job listings. Recruiting a helping hand to your search is your goal. So do not ask your college buddy if they know of any jobs for people like you. How would they? And do not ask your boss from two jobs ago if they know of any people who are currently looking to hire somebody like you. It puts them on the spot, uncomfortably.

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Instead, ask for a reference. Mention that you are going to be moving on, or you are already looking. Let them know the type of positions you are and are not suited for, and what you are hoping to achieve in your next opportunity. Then ask them if - when it gets to that happy place in your search - it would be OK to use them as a reference. By not putting them on the spot about specific job openings, you reduce the awkwardness inherent in the networking conversation. By letting them know that you hold them in high enough esteem to potentially use them as a reference, you are actually paying them a compliment. You are also making it easier for them to say "Yes" and to feel good about themselves for being a good friend and helping you out with a little favor. All of which means that you have a new buddy in your search, one who is going to be thinking about keeping an eye out for new opportunities and an ear open for fresh possibilities for their reference-able friend; it's wins and grins all around. Now, this doesn't work for just any old person you meet on the street. There is probably a pretty good match between people you would take to lunch and those you could ask to be a reference. So my advice would be to stick to asking those you know well enough. Being realistic, the widely offered and wrong advice from the past decade that you should try to extract favors, concessions, names, jobs, and career assistance from people you have only met over the phone is not only useless, it can be counterproductive to your aims by antagonizing your broader network. I’ve lost count of the number of morons that infest networking sites and contact me asking me to endorse them. I suspect this is a strategy by the networking sites to boost their member activity and subscriber numbers. Do not get sucked in. It’s just bad practice.

See sample ‘Letter to Network’ below.

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Subject Heading: Request and thoughts from XXX

Hello

A short email to let you know that I have made the decision to secure a different career opportunity. (Optional inclusion; I thought writing to you may keep me ‘front of mind’ in case in your travels you hear of any opportunities that may suit my expertise; I am told some eighty percent of roles aren’t advertised so let’s see how this approach works). I may need a reference and would be most appreciative if you can provide some if required.

If you hear of any opportunities which may match my experience below I’d appreciate you dropping me a line.

My expertise in brief can best be summarized as:

(Insert your unique value proposition from resume here)

Previous achievements to give you an understanding of my expertise includes (I give full credit to my teams):

(Insert ‘Claim to Fame’ paragraph from resume)

I am very happy to consider xxxx opportunities ranging from (insert some typical job titles)

Again, I sincerely appreciate you keeping me front of mind. Contact me on my mobile or email; even better we can chat over coffee at some point. To reciprocate

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this, if you need me to keep an eye out for any roles for you please also let me know what you’re looking for.

P.S. Attached is some further information outlining the value my teams and I have brought many previous employers.

D. More Tips on Networking: ◉ Avoid the intimidation. Change your mind-set to helping other people rather than

seeing networking as only getting a job. ◉ Understand the needs of others before telling them about your needs. ◉ Focus in on speaking with the most relevant people not the most people. ◉ Avoid the emotional rollercoaster by not expecting anything; be pleasantly

surprised instead. ◉ Consciously network; be on the front foot. Do not wait for your network to contact

you. ◉ Seek opportunities also outside of your industry. This reduces your competition as

most other candidates will be only looking in their own industry. ◉ Also target companies that are not perfect. If you for example target a smaller

company in your industry, the Chair maybe connected and on the boards of larger companies. If you’re looking for a Chief Operations Officer role, they may ask you to come on board as a Chief Executive Officer; a smaller firm, but a superior role; net benefit is positive. They may also offer you equity.

◉ Give compliments, build rapport and make people laugh. ◉ Start helping other people network. That way networking will become second

nature to you. ◉ Follow-up. ◉ No means ‘not yet’ not ‘not ever’. ◉ Make telephone calls, emails are easy to delete. ◉ Take notes about people you meet. ◉ Don’t dominate the conversation. ◉ Don’t appear desperate or frustrating. ◉ Importantly; have your Leadership Story ready to tell.

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Chapter 9 : Differentiating Your Unique Value (Building Your Arsenal)

This chapter will arm you with killer strategies to better differentiate your value from the hundreds of other candidates.

Department Store Analogy

Consider if you were a product out there in the market somewhere. Would you be in the gutter, a $2 shop, a Louis Vuitton or a prestigious department store? Let’s say a department store. What isle would you be in? Would you be at head

height for the adults to see you or would you be on the bottom shelf for only the toddlers to notice?

What happens if you put a great product in a boring cardboard box on the bottom shelf? It probably isn’t going to be noticed and even if people did they wouldn’t understand its value because the packaging is poor.

Let’s say you’re a General Manager located in the General Management isle. Are you at the premium end with all the blue-chip candidates or are you at the ‘sales of the day’ end with all tech-start-up General Managers?

Imagine now a CEO walking in the store. The recruiter, (the friendly shop assistant) runs up to them and asks, “Hello Sir, can I help you?” to which the CEO replies, “My business is undergoing a major period of change, about to partake in an aggressive expansion, I am losing key clients, I am undercapitalized and my culture has gone to the dogs…I need a General Manager; what have you got?”

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So the recruiter walks down the General Management isle. There are hundreds of GMs sitting on the shelf; some are snoring, sneezing, laughing, shouting etc. And the CEO points at you on the shelf and asks the recruiter, “Why would I buy this one?” The recruiter scratches his head and says “Don’t worry about him. Come down here and I’ll show you a better product”.

Moral of this story. Are you making it easy for recruiters and potential hirers to notice you and understand your value? Are you motivating recruiters out there to want to sell you?

A. Unique Value vs. Everyday Value It is now an employer’s market, no longer a candidate’s market as it was in many booming economies pre-GFC. Employers can now be incredibly fussy about who they hire, whereas pre-GFC they may have had to settle for someone that may not be able to do the job and would need to be trained up. In this market employers only interview and hire those candidates they are confident can already do the job. Following on from this, employers are now seeking ‘unique value’ as opposed to everyday value (only ‘sufficient skills’ to do the job).

Imagine you are at final interviews with a Board, CEO or even a Chair. You’re at the final interview because they know you can do the job. Out there in reception there are five other great candidates and some come from larger companies with bigger budgets that have had more aggressive growth plans; as a result of this their achievements may dwarf yours. The CEO is scratching his chin, looking earnestly at you, then them, then back at you. What do you think is the biggest question on their mind? No, not ‘Can you do the job?’ You are at final interviews so they are confident you can do the job already. No, not, are you a good team or personality fit. This is already evident otherwise you wouldn’t be at the final interview. The only real question on the CEOs mind is “Why you?” or more specifically,

“What’s UNIQUE about you?”

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Analogy. Seth Godin wrote a world famous book called ‘Purple Cow’. The idea behind it goes like this.

Imagine driving to work one day, down the same road you’ve travelled for the past five years. You pass a farm with hundreds of boring every day brown cows. You think nothing of it. These are like your average candidates. Now today you drive down that same road, past that same farm, and you screech to a halt. What’s the fuss? You’ve just seen your first purple cow! That’s right, a purple cow. Its tongue is purple; it’s a genetically mutated purple cow! You jump in your car and race into work to tell everyone. Within hours, it has hit the radio. Hundreds are lining the fence, cameras snapping, all transfixed on the world’s first purple cow. It’s outstanding, remarkable; it’s UNIQUE.

Moral to this Story. If you’re perceived as being just another candidate (a brown cow), not something that’s unique or remarkable, it means people are going to think you’re just average and being average in this market means you’re ‘invisible’.

B. Saleability This refers to, how well you can sell or rather differentiate your value from other competing candidates. The problem with thousands of executives we have interviewed is that they all think they interview quite well. We have thought in-depth about why this is. We think it’s because when many senior executives speak in their daily activities, everyone shuts up. Subordinates go quiet at the sound of their boss speaking; it’s rude to speak while the boss is speaking. From this, many executives feel what they have to say is more important than what it actually is. Leading on from this, most senior executives correlate this to interviewing well! The problem is these executives rarely interview other senior executives at their same management level across other companies; candidates that are applying for the same roles they are.

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Most hiring managers only tend to interview people that are junior to them. Resulting from this senior executive job seekers have very little idea of the volume and quality of their competitors. How well can you differentiate you’re value? Ask yourself a very simple question. “What’s unique about me?” If you answer along the lines of, “I get results, I overachieve, there’s only one me, my personality, my international experience, the value I deliver, the credentials I hold”, or a long list of other vague personal affirmations, well….unfortunately you’ve just described over ninety percent of the people we interview at your level. There is no uniqueness in saying this. None. Zero. Zip.

Let’s say you’re a CEO, walk up to some colleagues and ask them, “What would you say is unique about you?” Listen to their answers. Ask them the same question three times and watch them get flustered. In short, executives find it very difficult

to communicate their unique value in a unique manner so that the perception of their value becomes more relevant or has the ‘perception of being unique’.

The reason behind this question

By asking this question we’re not really trying to find out what’s unique about you, because truth be told you’re not unique. We’ve interviewed thousands of executives and have only really met three that are truly unique. What we’re testing by asking this question is three things: 1. Your confidence, (because confident candidates are easier to sell), 2. Your speed of reaction simply because it’s not good to appear indecisive in

interviews, to ‘umm’ and ‘err’, and lastly and most importantly, 3. Can you communicate your value in a unique manner so that the perception of

your value becomes unique or is perceived to be more relevant?

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It’s not the quality of the product but rather how the product is packaged and delivered that matters.

C. Marketability Following on from part B above, this refers to the number of roles out there that are reasonably thought to meet your criteria. This is reduced if the candidate is considered niche; if they’re seeking niche opportunities in niche industries in limited locations for example. Few recruiters seek to market niche candidates.

D. Differentiating Your Value So how do we communicate your value in a unique manner so that the perception of it becomes more relevant or is now perceived as being ‘UNIQUE’?

You may agree, at the strategic leadership level the core value offering of most executives is firstly their leadership, secondly their strategic expertise in growing business and thirdly there specialist expertise be it financial if they’re for example a Chief Financial Officer or Operations if they’re a Chief Operations Officer.

Now in the reverse order, in interviewing you, the Board, Chair or CEO is probably looking for:

1. Firstly, Unique Leadership. They may be undergoing a restructure, experiencing major cost blowouts, losing key clients, have a culture that’s not conducive to growth, or other issues created from globalization or the GFC. So they are probably looking for someone with transformational, growth focused, client centric leadership, not just another middle manager or specialist,

The CEO interviewing you is likely to be thinking “I need a leader first, above everything. I wonder if this candidate can lead? If I give them leadership of a division or the business what journey will they take them on, to what destination?”

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2. Secondly, Unique Expertise in Growing Businesses. It’s of little value to hire someone who cannot strategically partner with the CEO or Chair in growing their business, and

3. Thirdly a higher Return on Investment (ROI). You may be more expensive than other competing candidates but can you make or save more money for us? Is your ROI higher?

Whether they ask this question of you or not you still need to be able to read their mind, anticipate their needs and provide evidence as to how you meet these three criteria. Many important questions need to be answered in interviews that are not always asked. Now, if you can differentiate your leadership better than other candidates you may very well get the job as ‘leadership’ is their core requirement. Now leadership is something most people consider an ‘intangible’. So how do we communicate your leadership value so the CEO can really feel, smell, see, grasp, and ‘GET IT?!’ Simply telling the CEO ‘that you’re a born leader, have been on a lot of boards, you can motivate or inspire, you are a great strategist, or you get results’ isn’t going to convince them…really! These claims are ambiguous, subjective and without proof. We’ve interviewed a lot of people on Boards that have no character; they’re not leaders. We’ve interviewed a lot of analysts that are great strategists but they are not leaders. We’ve interviewed salespeople who can motivate and inspire who aren’t leaders. These are only attributes of leadership not PROOF of leadership. So again, how do we PROVE your leadership to the CEO, Chair or Board so that they really ‘GET IT’? Leaders you may agree by simple definition take businesses or a team on a journey, so isn’t the best proof of your leadership to the Board, rather than going on about mere attributes that leaders commonly have, simply instead to share with the Board a simple short story about the journey, the ‘A to B’ and all the challenges in between that you took another team or business on? This is what we call a Leadership Story. It is a story that strategically sells your leadership. A fictional example of this strategy being used in an interview with Frank a CEO follows,

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“Frank, correct me if I am wrong but your core requirement for your next Sales Director is Leadership. You may also agree with me if I say that I believe the best proof of leadership isn’t possessing mere attributes like being able to strategies, motivate and inspire; I believe the best proof of leadership is simply the journey you took another business on. Do you mind if I share with you as testament to my leadership the journey that I helped Joe Blue the CEO of ACME Widgets to take their business on?” An example is, “Frank I do not know what you know about ACME Widgets but it’s an industry leading business renowned for x and x; they’re quite complex and sophisticated in having developed multiple channels of distribution, moving no less than six thousand products across thirty five countries. Their product ranges from x, to x, widgets to transformers. Joe, the CEO personally brought me on-board with the full backing of the Chair at a time in their business when very similar to yours they were also experiencing issues with identifying new markets and unionization; they were facing problems ranging from having expensive and out-dated products, inability to grow their sales team and new distributorships, to revitalizing their sales culture. Joe hired me after recognizing my track record in growing and performance managing industry best teams, enhancing products suites, promoting brands, strategizing growth and establishing high performance sales cultures. As a result of this they gave me the mandate to simply grow market share by ten percent across SE Asia and to capture a further thirty percent in revenue. Joe was especially looking for a Sales Leader who could help him attract higher margin, high volume customers and someone who could also reduce their loss of customers. Giving credit to a very passionate and geographically dispersed team, three growth highlights that stand out were: ◉ We expanded distribution across SE Asia bringing on-board ten new distributors

generating another $100Million in sales, ◉ We established the business as the most recognized brand in the widget industry, and

we

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◉ Slashed staff attrition by ninety percent.

(Legacy). Looking back Frank on ACME Widgets, I am very honored to have evolved a business now clearly recognized as the industry leader; the sales division now possesses an arsenal of business development strategies and a library of client nurturing know-how making it easier, faster and more enjoyable for the clients to keep coming back for business; the culture is now centered on profit, innovation, accountability and most importantly the customer. This is the journey I helped the CEO take his business on; I’d love to help you Frank take your business on your journey should you decide to invite me on-board.

As opposed to “I am a leader because I can motivate and inspire, so hire me.”

For a complete explanation of leadership journeys read www.upexecutiveagents.com/crashcourse .

Differentiating Your Strategic Expertise in Growing Businesses

Many executives we interview know how to grow businesses but they more often than not cannot articulate this. Nor can they differentiate how they do this better than other candidates.

True Story. We met a CFO who had just been made redundant from a large global funds management group. They were struggling with securing another role at the beginning of the GFC. Recruiters they had previously referred a lot

of business too, now refused to return their call now that they could no longer refer them business. Their own network treated them like a person with a contagious disease.

Now this chap really knew how to grow businesses but he couldn’t articulate it. As part of prepping him for his interview we asked him, “What are you going to talk to the CEO about at this upcoming interview for a Chief Financial Officer?”

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http://www.upexecutiveagents.com/crashcourse



He replied basically “Oh, just finance stuff!” He didn’t know how to communicate how he grew businesses using finance as a catalyst so we showed him how. He got the job.

We asked him to ask the CEO why he hired him to which the CEO replied, “You were the only CFO that demystified how you grow businesses, all the other CFOs we interviewed spoke only about the generic risk and finance stuff.”

Now senior technology candidates are even worse. If you ask most what sets them apart from other technology leaders they will tell you something like ‘they align IT Strategy to Growth Strategy’, or ‘they’re highly commercial’ etc. But if you ask them how they grow businesses and if you peruse their resumes you’ll only hear/read achievements relating to ‘creating or instilling new software, building platforms, moving to the cloud, introducing applications, abbreviations and codes’; largely technical ‘geek speak’. You will rarely read of or hear how they used technology to grow businesses. Now CEOs mostly aren’t IT guys. They do not hire CIOs to instill technology for the sake of technology; they hire CIOs to grow their business through using technology.

So how do we differentiate your strategic prowess in growing businesses better than those countless other candidates?

If someone asked you how you grow businesses what would you say? By better analyzing the market, selling more services, upgrading to the cloud, offshoring, changing the culture, using technology, improving CRMs etc.? Whilst not incorrect, there are better ways of communicating with more clarity how you grow businesses.

Again ask yourself how you have grown previous businesses. Write down the answer. To demonstrate how poorly people communicate how they grow businesses; ask three of your colleagues how they grow businesses and write down their answers.

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Now did you or your colleagues communicate with clarity how they ever have implemented strategies to enable a business to:

1. Acquire more customers by mergers, acquisitions or organic growth?

2. Increase margins by either reducing its costs or buy improving the perception of the value of a product or service s they can charge a higher price?

3. Increase the frequency of repeat purchases from existing customers, and lastly

4. Reduce the loss of customers to natural attrition (In other words the customer doesn’t feel they need the product anymore), or to competitors.

Now with your hand on your heart, does your resume communicate the above four ways; more importantly in interviews do you communicate how you have grown businesses across the above four ways using for example finance, technology or sales and marketing strategies? Or do you just bore interviewers with generic answers that have no relation to growing businesses?

Lesson. If the Board is convinced of your transformational growth leadership and if they’re convinced that different to all those other candidates, if we hire

this person, they’ll get us more customers, buying more often, at higher margins and we’ll lose less; this represents clear unique value.

We understand businesses have different dynamics and that not all businesses are grown by the above four methods. For example Not-For-Profits may be

‘grown’ by raising more funds and increasing their capacity to help people instead of generating sales; a hospital may grow by providing more services and accelerating the recovery of patients rather than having them come back repeatedly for one bypass after another. A mining company will grow especially through increasing its price and improving efficiencies or economies of scale rather than always reducing its loss of customers.

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Be careful however if you’re a CFO of a mining company and are trying to secure a role in Retail. Many CFOs that you will be competing with from retail companies will be able to show greater experience in growing revenue through financial strategies.

Differentiating Your ROI (Return on Investment)

Many executives waste their time, bore interviewers and burn opportunities by ambiguously communicating their achievements relating to revenue growth, improving efficiency, reducing staff or customer efficiency, maximizing market share or capturing a greater share of a wallet or other.

They are vague as to the dollar or percentage improvement attributable to these achievements. By not being clear they leave the interviewer or person reading their resume wondering if they actually grew businesses or merely ‘kept a chair warm’. The following are examples of some ambiguous achievements in some resumes we’ve read:

◉ “Grew market share”. (Was this from $1 to $2, over five years or by 25% up from $400Million to $500Million, in two years?)

◉ “Rolled out a new CRM package and cross trained teams in its use”. (Was this a waste of money? Did it actually result in a measurable increase in customers? If so why not mention it?)

◉ “Opened up distribution in the US”. (Did this make money or did they sell in this new market at a loss? Did they open up a kiosk or set up over a hundred branches across five states, capturing a further $50Million in revenue?)

◉ “Developed 20 new products”. (Were these ever launched? Were they excessively costly? Was one an ejection seat in a helicopter or a cushion made from steel? Did they actually sell at all?)

◉ “Wrote the 5 year strategic plan and rolled it out”. (Was it a bad plan? Was it a successful rollout? Did it get more customers? Increase margins? Increase repeat purchases from customers? Or reduce the loss of customers? You’d think if it did the candidate would bother to mention it…wouldn’t you?)

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Another common mistake is that candidates simply describe in their resume what the interviewer already presumes they do, instead of telling the

interviewer why they’re different or unique. If you do this you will bore the interviewer and they will respond with, “Hmmm, this person compiled the sales and marketing plan. Hmmm, he says he also introduced a new CRM. Hmm. I think that’s what most sales and marketing directors do unless I am mistaken. What’s his title again? Oh, here it is, ‘Sales & Marketing Director’ just as I thought. Let’s put this resume in the bin. Next resume please.”

Lesson. If the best you can do in an interview or in your resume is to confirm what the interviewer already knows you do, not why you’re different, then

you’re in strife. Telling an interviewer that you’ve done the same thing as most other candidates they’re reviewing without telling them why you’re unique in growing business, only results in your application being discounted.

You need to be highlighting how you grew businesses using words like, ‘catapulted revenue by, uplifted ROI by over, boosted cash flow by, cut costs, slashed overheads, increased market share, reduced staff or customer attrition by; in excess of or around x% or $x amount. If these figures are confidential or not in the public domain just use approximates (worst case you can have someone sign a non-disclosure agreement but this can be cumbersome).

Defining the Obstacles to Growth You Removed

CEOs do not care so much about what you have done nearly as much as they do about what you can do for them.

Most CEOs have a vision, are under a lot of pressure to grow shareholder value (especially if newly appointed to the role) and they’re usually frustrated by the obstacles they’re experiencing in growing their business. They are more likely to hire the candidate that can remove their obstacles to growth. Common sense.

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Now ask yourself where in your resume or in an interview have you communicated the obstacles you can remove? Again, NOT your achievements but rather the actual obstacles you remove. Have you inserted a section in your resume that highlights this like:

‘Removed Obstacles to Growth like:’

◉ Lack of funds ◉ Insufficient market & customer analysis ◉ Poorly communicated vision & business strategy ◉ Inadequate product suite ◉ Retardant sales culture ◉ Incorrect corporate structure ◉ Poor delivery of projects ◉ High customer attrition

Now you may say a reader will not bother reading this in your resume. Well this may be the case, but when it’s in your resume, it’s now front of mind for you to discuss and refer to in interviews. How do we use this in interviews? Here’s an example.

“Mr. CEO, correct me if I am wrong but you are seeking a CIO who can remove the obstacles you’re facing in growing this business rather than just instilling technology for the sake of it. If you refer to page 3 in that resume in front of you, I’ve listed ten core obstacles I’ve enabled other CEOs in businesses very similar to yours, remove. Obstacles like x, x, and x. Is this the intimacy of experience you’re looking for?”

Strategy. Join the dots between the employer’s needs and your value by asking a question. Again, the art in successful interviewing is to communicate

your value in a unique manner so that the perception of your value becomes much more relevant or ‘unique’.

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E. Your Unique Value Proposition

What is a Unique Value Proposition?

When an employer interviews you for a position they are looking for ways that you could add unique value to the business; why you are so much more valuable than any other candidate they’re interviewing. Why would they regret not hiring you? Many candidates fail at interviews because they cannot sum up their Unique Value. It’s important to develop a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) that reflects your skills and experience for the role being offered. Once you have a clear picture of your UVP, refer to it at various stages throughout the interview when answering questions. At the very least, end the interview by taking the opportunity to tell your prospective employer what value you can add by summing up your UVP. Sample way to present your finishing UVP statement: “Tony, now that I have a better understanding of your vision, the obstacles and issues you’re facing in growing this business and the requirements of the role, I’m feeling very comfortable and confident in being able to inject unique value into the Leadership Team. Then for example; A. Give a General Point; “I am confident my unique value to (name of company) is my

proven leadership, strategy and management skills in combination with well-developed Banking (mention your primary specialty e.g. Logistics, Operations, Sales, etc.) expertise.”

Or B. Be more precise: “I am confident of being able to build distribution for you across the

Asia Pacific, as well as rolling out a host of new x.”

Think on this. Ever watched one of those legal drama series on television? (LA Law, Boston Legal, SVU). At the end of a murder trial the prosecuting and defence attorney give a very strong summary statement to the jury who then go away to

deliver and eventually come back with a guilty or innocent verdict largely swayed by the quality of the attorney’s closing statement.

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Now imagine the Board getting together a month after they have finished interviewing candidates for their next Global Finance Director. Around the table sits the Chair, the COO, CIO, CRO, Head of HR, the Search Consultant they’re using, the outgoing Group CFO etc. The CEO asks them all, “Well team, a great selection of candidates… who do you feel should be our next CFO?” To which the COO replies “Well I was most impressed by Tom”, to which the CIO exclaims, “The short fat South African?” to which the COO replies, “No that was the Englishman, Tom was the Canadian that worked for ACME!” Point being, memories get very hazy over time. Do you want to run the risk that the interviewers just forget the value you can deliver? Or do you want to be remembered by the Board as though they only interviewed you yesterday. Do you want to leave them with a crystal clear clarification of your value offering? …

If you buy this product or hire this candidate this is exactly what you get! (So remember it)

The idea behind presenting your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) at the interview end is to leave a very positive powerful statement of who you are and what your benefit is to the company and the interviewer. When the interviewer discusses the pros and cons of various candidates with the board it may be the first thing they remember of you, whereas they may have only ‘fuzzy’ memories of the value other competing candidates may bring. Remember, you’re a business person looking at creating opportunities for businesses and creating shareholder value. You’re not just another candidate looking for a simple job. So do not interview like other candidates.

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Features, Benefits & Meaning

Where did this UVP idea come from? A product usually has a feature, benefit and meaning. For example as it relates to a simple household iron; Feature: It’s rechargeable Benefit: You do not need to find a power point. Meaning: You can look professionally dressed wherever you go. Or a car: Feature: It has an LPG Gas tank Benefit: You save money Meaning: You can now spend money on other more important things now that your car is more affordable. ‘Meanings’ are company specific and vary from one company to another. One candidate may have many different meanings to different companies. How does this relate to candidates? A simple example; Feature: Candidate has an MBA majoring in Change Management Benefit: They can deliver change to an organisation Meaning: This means a lot to an organisation that needs to change, but it may mean nothing to one who doesn’t. The UVP sums up your ‘relevance’ to an employer. It should be delivered with confidence, decisiveness, and clarity and with no more than three points. Do not introduce any new ideas or points of value. It is the last thing the employer experiences of your business value prior to leaving the interview. Your UVP is the overarching theme of what you can bring that business.

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Chapter 10 Creating the Perfect Leadership Resume (Preparing the Battle Orders)

This chapter will enable you to craft a powerful and distinct strategic leadership resume. It covers some twenty principles and key items to include. This document then acts as your ‘product manual’ enabling you to better

understand yourself as a product and then in knowing this, how to better strategically differentiate yourself in interviews. We have writers available through an outsourced service should you require someone to create your strategic leadership resume. It’s more important here however that you understand the principles in better defining your strategic leadership value.

A. Resume Purpose

Resumes are possibly the most common document written in the world and often the poorest written apart

from love letters, that is unless you’re French.

There are many incorrect assumptions about resumes, from how short they should be to what they should include. Most of these ideas are spread by people who simply have no idea and make off the cuff statements purely because they do not have any real advice to give. Most people are taught to write resumes by their friend, parents, school career counselor or even worse their local recruiter. They then may hire a so called professional resume writer who basically with a bit of wordsmithing input the basics of Employment Chronology, Responsibilities and Achievements. This is a case of the blind leading the blind.

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As job seekers climb the corporate ladder from ’gofer’ to leadership roles, few actually appreciate that they now need to communicate different things like strategic leadership, visions captured, transformations, leadership style, branding, mandates to strategic growth expertise, essential ingredients your local online resume writer cannot fathom.

B. Some Resume Confusion to Dispel

How long should a resume be?

Simply put, it’s about quality not quantity. If the quality is there why keep it short. Harry Potter, the children’s book is around a nine hundred pages long; its target market is eight to twelve year olds, yet it’s the best-selling book when most other books for eight year olds tend to have less than fifty pages.

So why do recruiters tell candidates to keep a resume short?

Put yourself in their shoes. If you were forced to read fifty resumes a day and they were all boring, ambiguous, poorly written, some downright misleading, you would be emphasizing to candidates to keep them short, very short. So what do candidates do? They then give a short three page boring resume entirely missing the point. The point is, make it remarkable, then if people enjoy reading it, it doesn’t matter how long it is (within reason). Why cut a good book short? Why cut a resume short if it is selling you? Imagine having just completed the panel interview for a dream job. The CEO is now reviewing who his next right hand man is. The other two candidates have five to seven page resumes exuding value and yours is only two pages long. Well at least you kept the recruiter happy even if not the CEO. Most candidates who shorten their resumes overly dilute their value, cutting all the meat off the bone. The real and only issue is how do we write a resume of compelling value that captures the reader's attention and presells you powerfully so that the interview is merely a matter of protocol rather than an interrogation to assess your value. Ever been to an interview where the interviewer tried to sell you the role because they were already convinced of your value?

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Contrary to the bad advice spinning around in the market place, the purpose of a resume is not merely to get you an interview but to powerfully sell you and knock out the competition, as early as possible in the selection process. If you are leagues out in front of other candidates they won’t interview many other candidates. If your resume is poor but you do not care because you think you’ll shine in the interview, the interviewer may interview a lot more other candidates. Point being, if you can get a head start by knocking out some competitors, why wouldn’t you?

Getting a job is not a ’gentleman’s sport’

Most CEOs spend more time in a day on their job than they spend in strategizing their job hunt and compiling their resume.

There are hundreds of different strategies one can incorporate into a Leadership Resume depending on who you are and what you’re hoping to achieve. For example you may be a consultant who is tired of chasing contracts and is now seeking another stable full time corporate job.

Why then do Recruiters Tell Me My Resume is OK?

'Basically because some are not intelligent enough and most do not care enough to tell you anything different, also it’s bad for business to critique people you may one day be asking for business from.

Think on this. If you were a candidate in a parallel universe where candidates had remarkable resumes, a recruiter may tell you your resume is poor; assuming they were being honest with you (rarely the case). But alas, we live on the planet Earth

where Earthlings always write poor resumes all the time; heck even so called professional resume writers write poor resumes.

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Now the recruiter who only knows what a poor resume looks like (poor is now the new average), upon seeing your poor resume in answer to your question, ”Is my resume OK?” replies, “Yes it’s OK” (meaning it’s comparable to all the other poor resumes).

Now back to a previous point; a resume is designed to sell you or to convince the recruiter to sell you. After reading your resume are they now prepared to sell you? Are they jumping on the phone calling their clients telling them they need to meet with you? No. Because even though they said your resume is ‘OK’ what they really mean is its poor, and you haven’t convinced them to spend a dime or lift a finger in helping you, let alone critiquing your resume. Is this not sheer logic?

Now presuming you are a quality executive, where have you communicated your value sufficiently in your resume?

Scientists actually tracked the eye movements of recruiters in reading resumes. The average time to view a resume was one to three minutes and the recruiters most commonly looked at employment chronology wondering if the candidate

had worked with well-known companies and is their employment history stable. They also looked at the titles of roles held (some seventy percent of titles are actually misleading).

Whether your resume is two pages or seven pages long the recruiter is only going to read about half a page so does it matter how many extra pages there are?!

As mentioned elsewhere in this manual, recruiters unlike employers are distributors not end users like employers are. As they’re not concerned as much with your value as is their client they won’t spend much time reading your resume, whereas differently a Chair or Founder may take your resume home and sit in the bath tub for an hour with a bottle of the finest reading through your resume trying to get a better feel for their next right hand person, considering this hire could make or break their career or business. They want to read quality and are less concerned about the number of pages on proviso the content is high quality and easy to navigate through, instead of being something akin to a ‘Bruce Gray’ painting.

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Recruiters love the structure in the resumes our writers produce. Whilst they are longer than some, they're considerably more meaningful and enjoyable to read; importantly they ‘sell’ the candidate which in turn makes their job much easier.

As a business we generate typically three hundred to four hundred interviews a month. Many of these interviews are through recruitment and search firms (for our career transition members). Recruiters love the structure in the resume which are longer than most but considerably more meaningful and enjoyable to read; importantly they ‘sell’ the candidate which in turn makes their job much easier.

Let’s not flog the ‘how long should my resume be’ horse any longer!

C. Some Case Studies

Consultants wanting to jump back into a fulltime corporate role

Now many may agree that these days, consultants are a dime a dozen. There are now so many. In part this is because when full time executives are made redundant they start their own ‘Consultancy’ often to hide unemployment. Many consultants, after walking in the wilderness for too long apply for a corporate gig again only to have HR ask them “Are you applying for this role because consulting has been unsuccessful for you?”

Many companies are tired of consultants. They are also often fearful of hiring a self-employed person (who’s largely been working alone) for a leadership role where they may need to manage a team. They may have fears as to whether they can lead a team if they have been doing self-employed consulting for so long. So often in strategically ‘packaging’ a consultant’s value a writer needs to ‘de-brand’ the consultant from being a consultant as well as emphasize their interactivity with teams.

There are numerous strategies. For example, if Joe Blue consults through his own business ‘Joe Blue Pty Ltd’; this business means little to interviewers as it is not a brand name.

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Now it’s commonly assumed that,

‘Great companies hire great people then give great people great experience that CEOs want to cash in on and that

recruiters find easy to sell’

So for Joe Blue we’ll ask him, “How many clients do you have and how much time to you spend with them?” Joe replies, “I have three clients, one is responsible for eighty percent of my revenue and I work with them some thirty hours a week. This client is Citigroup; the other two clients are not brand names but smaller companies”.

Now what strategy can we incorporate here? Well Citigroup is a respected brand name and people are more likely to want to interview someone from Citigroup than some company they’ve never heard of like Joe Blue Pty Ltd. We ask Joe, if he could give himself a job title that more honestly communicates his responsibilities to Citigroup what would it be? (Because ‘Consultant’ is vague and misleading).

In his consulting role Joe said he heads up the Transformation for New Technologies at Citigroup. So we take him to market as the, in inverted commas ‘Head of Transformation – New Technologies – Citigroup’ which is a hell of a lot more meaningful and honest than ‘Consultant’. Joe can put in his resume if he wants ‘*Official title was consultant’ at the bottom of his resume or he can mention both his official and unofficial title in his Chronology or Professional History.

For example:

Consultant/’Head of Transformation – New Technologies’.

Citigroup January 2010 – December 2014.

Or

’Head of Transformation – New Technologies’.

Citigroup January 2010 – December 2014.

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As long as they can justify this title to an interviewer. When the interviewer does reference checks Joe can tell them (or remind them) the official title was ‘Consultant’, but the responsibilities were leading transformation for their New Technologies.

All job seekers should go through their resumes and correct or list both their official and unofficial titles.

Also some companies do not like to hire people that have done years of ‘contract work’. Now obviously most executives fulltime or other, are on a ‘contract’, so why set up a booby trap for yourself by listing your roles under ‘Contractor’? Only list this if your roles are intermittent, so people understand you were a contractor rather than assuming you could not hold down a role.

Misleading Job Titles

Around seventy percent of candidates we help have misleading job titles. HR often gives a CIO a title ‘IT Manager’ or ‘General Manager Technology’ (even if this person heads-up technology and reports into the CEO). They do this due to neglect, contempt for the candidate, lack of thought, to keep their salary down (if we have this candidate do the CIO role but give him a junior title they won’t be so expensive), or simply because other managers would have complained if his role sounded more senior than theirs).

Now if you go to market perpetuating that lie, “I am not a CIO but only an IT Manager” and you’re applying for CIO roles and people do not interview you because you say you’re an IT Manager not a CIO, than whose fault is it?

If I am a mechanic but my employer gave me some overalls with a title stitched on saying ‘Electrician’ I need to correct this and tell people I am actually a mechanic, otherwise I am misleading people.

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Lesson. People want to understand what you do/did for a job, your management level, responsibilities, mandate etc., not really what your job title

is…..

The worst people to put in politics are politicians. The worst people to put in recruitment are recruiters and the worst people to compile your resume are so called professional resume writers.

Why? Because traditional resume writers are very conditioned beasts similar to traditional recruiters. Typically a resume writer will wordsmith how to communicate your career chronology, your achievements and responsibilities; little else. They have no idea as to how to differentiate your leadership, your strategic prowess in growing business or other.

We read hundreds of professionally crafted resumes each week and most are absolute nonsense, most are in actual fact very damaging. Resume writers do not market their clients, they do not read replies, and they have no idea if the resume is achieving results or not. They are not going to earn thousands should that resume help place you nor are they going to invest thousands in helping you secure a role. In short they have very little motivation and experience.

'Here are some of the more common mistakes in writing resumes by both candidates and resume writers; there are many more ranging from not adequately:

◉ Aligning the candidates name to the name of leading brands ◉ Defining the management level the candidate is at or is seeking ◉ Defining the functions the candidate works across ◉ Highlighting the blue-chip nature of the candidate’s experience ◉ Capturing sufficient attention in the opening paragraph ◉ Listing the candidates highest profile endorsement ◉ Highlighting Team or individual awards ◉ Clarifying the candidate's education; if high list high in the resume, if poor put it

last ◉ Describing the visions the candidate has helped other Boards or Leadership Teams

capture ◉ Describing the Transformation/Change Programs the candidate has conceived or

rolled out

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◉ Highlighting Scope of Industry Experience or Knowledge ◉ Highlighting Diversity of Functional or Specialist Expertise ◉ Emphasizing international experience ◉ Highlighting international reporting lines ◉ Communicating the Values they instil in cultures ◉ Their Leadership Style ◉ Describing the quality of previous employers ◉ Highlighting who previously hired them by name and title ◉ Describing the issues and obstacles the candidates previous employers were

experiencing at the time they hired or promoted them ◉ Communicating why other people hired or promoted them instead of other

candidates ◉ Describing previous mandates ◉ How they grew businesses ◉ What obstacles they removed ◉ Describing the ‘Legacies’ they created or helped other CEOs build

Ask yourself what are the top five reasons why someone won’t hire you?

It’s best to anticipate these objections and overcome these in your resume prior to someone making the decision not to interview you or later, to not hire you. As you know companies do not call you back and say, “Joe, we’re about to send you a rejection letter, but before we do here’s our objections and here’s your chance to overcome them”. It’s too late.

D. Resume Strategy for Overcoming Objections You may have moved jobs too often, have worked with unknown companies, been unemployed for too long, lack certain credentials, have little knowledge of an industry or product or have a poor network or distribution channel built. You may be fat, skinny, pink, black, and too white or have a lisp, pierced ears, a hysterical laugh, little dress sense or a ghastly tattoo from your one night in Bangkok. Let’s face it, people have always discriminated against others and they’re not going to stop just for you. We need to understand this and implement strategies to combat discrimination and reduce the occurrence of objections.

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So how do we overcome (kill) or reduce the severity and recurrence of objections?

Firstly understand what you are/aren’t com5municating in your resume.

If people do not think you have led large teams then make sure you write about your team leadership in your resume. If they think you have moved jobs too often than highlight that you achieved your mandates faster than any other staff member, or even highlight your rapid history of promotion.

Industry Experience vs. Industry Knowledge

Importantly the biggest objection to candidates in this market is lack of industry experience

Recruiters prefer to interview candidates from the same industries that their clients are in, frustrating for candidates who have great transferable skills and want to jump industries but are constantly hitting the brick wall due to perceived minimal industry experience. To overcome this you need to educate people as to your cross industry experience or know-how in your resume to then highlight it in your cover letter and interview.

True story. We once spoke to an IT Leader who was getting knocked back for jobs outside of the IT industry. We asked him what industry experience did he have and he was adamant ‘only IT’. We asked him who were his corporate clients, to which he replied, “The Federal Government, The Department of Defense, Walmart, Boeing and Leighton”.

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We asked him; “In dealing with these companies how much knowledge did you acquire of the industries in which these companies exist?” to which he replied “Substantial”. Go figure. He previously said he only had knowledge of the ‘IT industry’? He can now successfully apply for roles across other industries, but he needs to highlight and insert a ‘Cross Industry Experience & Knowledge’ section in his resume, marketing documents and refer to this in interviews. He can now highlight that he's acquired knowledge across industries including: Government, Defense, Manufacturing, Aerospace, and Construction to Infrastructure.

Another similar example re Government Applications. You know the recruiter is looking for someone with experience in government and you have not worked

in government; you have only ‘dealt’ extensively with government. So ask a question confirming the need (put it in your cross hairs) then give an answer (take the shot). For example ask,

“Mr. Recruiter, how important is it that your client brings on-board a CIO who has considerable knowledge of government operations?” (Note we’re not saying experience in working for government but ‘knowledge of’).

“Well very important” the recruiter replies, to which you reply, “The reason I am asking this is I possess considerable knowledge of government; everything from their departmental structures, their procurement strategies, the players, the key people, the issues they’re facing relating to IT, their IT tendering process, to their operational challenges etc.”

The recruiter then thinks, “Wow, contrary to what I thought, this person has extensive government experience with government” You however picked up this perceived experience (knowledge) through 'dealing' with government departments rather than working for a government department.

You’ve just killed or reduced the severity of this objection. If unsure if you have killed the objection, ask the recruiter, “Mr. Recruiter do you now have any concerns as to my knowledge of government?”

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This strategy is part of what we call ‘Interview Judo’; Judo being martial arts predominantly made of throws, or using the opponent’s stance against them.

Year of Experience

Some recruiters may say their client is looking for someone with five years’ experience in FMCG. It may however be the case that you have only spent one year in FMCG but you have picked up more knowledge of the industry than someone with five years. Frustrating!

So how do we kill this objection and others like it?

One shot one kill. We put the objection in our cross hairs (by asking a question) and we take a precise shot (by giving an answer). Kill it or it will kill you.

Lack of a Particular Expertise

Let’s say an objection to your application is that you lack experience in acquisitions and you’re applying for a Finance leadership role. Now prior to the interview do some extensive reading on acquisitions or even talk to some friends with extensive experience in acquisitions. Tell them you’re interviewing for a role where knowledge of acquisitions is preferred, and ask them what you need to be speaking about in the interview to convince the interviewer you are knowledgeable in acquisitions (please note we are not saying that you should mislead an interviewer that you have extensive experience in acquisitions, merely that you have some knowledge of acquisitions rather than none).

Now ask the recruiter, “Mr Recruiter, I understand you’re preferably seeking someone with knowledge in acquisitions? The reason why I ask this is that my knowledge encompasses, due diligence, integrations, transformations, funding to governance requirements relating to acquisitions”.

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The more you talk about acquisitions the less they will think you know absolutely nothing about acquisitions. Besides the probability is that the employer will have specialist analysts who do the nuts and bolts analysis and due diligence etc., you’re merely giving leadership to the team. Your job is to provide leadership not specialist acquisition experience.

On the other side of the coin, if you have a fair knowledge of acquisitions (but no experience in doing one) and you let the recruiter think you have no knowledge in it, is this not misleading the interviewer?

Start thinking of reasons to get a job not always reasons not to get a job. There is no perfect candidate and candidates do not communicate their knowledge equally.

E. The Ultimate Leadership Resume You may agree, for leadership Executives your core offering to businesses is firstly your talent for People Leadership followed by your ‘Strategic Expertise in Growing Businesses’ followed lastly with your Specialist Skills for example specialist finance skills if you’re a CFO or specialist technology skills if you’re a CIO.

Many people claim we’re in the toughest leadership market in one hundred years. Apparently there are in excess of two to three hundred candidates on average applying for most senior roles all claiming to have outstanding leadership, usually the core requirement of the job.

Many of your competing candidates have managed larger teams, had greater responsibilities; they may have come from better known organizations with bigger budgets and with more aggressive growth plans and thus may have more notable achievements to speak of. Many will have MBAs and already be from the same industry in which the job is that you’re now competing for.

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Some are likely to be facing bankruptcy if they do not secure a role fast. In short your competition is savage leaving you with little room for error. It’s no longer the ‘War for Talent’; it’s now the ‘War for Jobs’.

As highlighted previously four core observations of many candidates in this market are:

1. Most candidates do not interview other competing candidates at their same management level and so usually have no real understanding of the sheer number and quality of their competition. For example a CFO interviews financial controllers or finance managers but not other CFOs.

2. Most candidates spend all their time at interviews telling the interviewer why they’re the same as every other candidate then walk out scratching their heads wondering why they didn’t secure yet another role.

3. If you’re not securing interviews with recruiters it’s usually something you’re doing or not doing, saying or not saying which is convincing recruiters you’re not one of their most saleable candidates. If they ignore you, take this as a criticism of how you’re not communicating value. Not always the case, but often the case.

4. If you’re not securing interviews with or offers from employers it’s usually something you’re doing or not doing , saying or not saying which is convincing the employer (whilst you can do the job) that you do not bring any unique value.

An industry analyst recently commented, for every hundred candidates on the market there are only one to two jobs being offered. If a CXO is unemployed for

say one to three years whilst they wait for an economic recovery they may no longer be employable in the same role when the economy recovers.

Many CXOs unfortunately may be forced prematurely into retirement as Boards are less likely to employ CXOs who have been on a sabbatical, working in other possibly more junior roles or who may have been running their own small business waiting for the economic storm to pass and thus now have apparently little up to date experience.

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A question asked of you may very well be, “If you’re a quality candidate why have you been unemployed for so long?”, or if you’ve been consulting, “Are you seeking this role because consulting has been a failure for you?”…..

It’s essential in securing Leadership Positions that you ‘sell’ your Leadership. We encourage candidates to incorporate their leadership story in their resumes, marketing documents and interviews.

We caution candidates in using traditional writers. Most traditional writers have little experience in generating interviews for candidates especially at the leadership level. They tend to regurgitate basic ideas that simply are not effective in a GFC economy.

F. Using Your Resume to Interview like a Rock Star (Resume Critique and Checklist) It’s impossible to list the numerous mistakes leadership candidates make in communicating their value in a resume and in interviewing. We've briefly listed some previously in this manual. Here we discuss them in more detail. Contact your Executive Agent for advice on numerous others.

Importantly, it’s not only Recruiters who will be reviewing your resume. The Board will be as well. They’ll be more reluctant to hand over the keys for a Division or Group to someone who hasn’t detailed the points below.

In reviewing your current resume consider:

The Management Level of Interviewers You’re Targeting

Leaders that interview candidates for leadership roles think about things at the ‘leadership altitude’

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For example they think about things like visions, cultures, trends, markets, brands, competitors, governance, board performance, profits and so on.

Quite differently, middle managers think about more operational specific things that are more industry related like systems, tasking’s, events and processes. Now if your resume speaks of these operational items more than strategies and leadership, you cannot blame the reader thinking you’re just another middle manager, someone that can’t cut the mustard for senior leadership roles.

Some leaders rewrite their resumes for every different role. Generally the problem here is that their resume just does not communicate overwhelming value at the strategic leadership level (their level), so they need to change it more often. Doubt this?

You may agree that leaders across industries and companies generally think about the same things, like profits, building the brand, anticipating changing local and global trends, revitalizing the culture, restructuring, transformations, business growth (organically or by M&As). Now in consideration of this, why would you need an individualized resume for each leadership role?

Functions/Positions Seeking

Are there any reasons why you haven’t detailed the functions in which you’re seeking to work in, in your resume? For example: Sales & Marketing, Finance, Operations & Systems, Technology & Innovation, Human Resources, Governance, Company Secretarial, Legal or Strategy etc.

Candidates are kind of like ice-creams. You can have a chocolate ice-cream with streaks of vanilla and bubbles of strawberry.

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Many CFOs are also COOs. Some CIOs are also Acting CEOs (for example in small to medium technology based enterprises). Some General Managers also head up Human Resources.

Most recruiters do not have an hour to analyze your resume to determine what functions you sit in. They will often presume you’re just the same as your last title, a problem if your last title is not an indication of the spread of functions in which you’re seeking to work. 'How many CFOs are open to Operations Leadership positions (for example Chief Operations Officer) but miss out because the recruiter mistakenly thought they were not also interested in these roles but rather only CFO roles? (The larger the business the less these roles overlap. In a small to medium enterprise managers tend to ‘wear more hats’).

Seniority of Roles Seeking

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed the seniority and range of roles you’re seeking in your resume? Are you seeking a General Management level role and/or a Board position? You may like to insert;

‘Seeking senior operations roles from General Manager to Chief Operations Officer, including Board, Non-Executive or other contract or advisory opportunities’.

A smaller company may think they cannot afford you for a fulltime role but when you highlight that you’re also seeking non-executive opportunities, contractual roles and or other advisory roles both in your resume and approach letter they may think you’re affordable. Upon meeting you and seeing your value they realize they cannot afford ‘not to have’ you and offer you a fulltime gig. Now you would not have had this opportunity if you didn’t highlight the range of opportunities you were open to.

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Endorsements

Why haven’t you detailed endorsements or recommendations you or your teams have received; or even your awards? Do you not think that CEOs like to hire candidates that are well thought of by other CEOs? Is there a reason you haven’t highlighted your highest profile endorsement at the top of your resume so it’s one of the first selling points someone sees? This can be inserted into your cover letter and also referred to in interviews.

‘Claim to Fame’

'Why haven’t you detailed your highest profile career defining achievements at the top of your resume? When you merge your top ten achievements together in one paragraph and insert it at the top of your resume we call this your ‘Claim to Fame’ paragraph. It’s a super powerful attention grabbing paragraph that’s designed to almost shock the reader; to get people’s attention and keep it.

Most candidates make the mistake of boring the reader with a generic blurb at the top of their resume like their profile, career outline or what they’re seeking only. It’s not a great strategy to bore the person you’re trying to get to interview you.

An example of a ‘claim to fame’ paragraph reads…

FORTUNE 200 LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

Conceived the vision, secured the funds and the buy-in for the most aggressive growth plan ever contemplated by the ACME Group, a global diversified MNC manufacturer. Catapulted growth across APAC by 150% …captured a 60% increase in market share. Bailed out 2 major acquisitions …Identified and integrated 7 others totaling in access of AUD $450M. Negotiated a 35% discount off group supply costs. Seized 22% SE Asia market share. Strategized and established beachheads in China, Singapore and the UK resulting in US $1.5 Billion uplift in group revenue. Rolled out 13 new product lines capturing around 20% of the ‘Gen Y’ market. Listed 4 subsidiaries on the ASX shot-putting share price by over 20%.

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If you get their interest early in your resume, you can then slow down and spend time unbundling your value further, as it's now less likely they’ll only want to skim read your resume. You've captured their attention. It's like giving someone a good book they can't put down.

Unique Value Proposition

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed your Unique Value Proposition to businesses (UVP) on your resume’s front page? Most candidates insert on their resume’s front page ‘Career Objectives’ etc. Many candidates fail to appreciate that most recruiters do not care about what you want out of your career. Many only care about how saleable you are or rather assuming you can do the job, “What makes you more saleable to their client when compared to any other candidate?”

Sample Career Highlights

This is a bullet point sample list of your better Career Achievements, different from your ‘Claim to Fame’ paragraph mentioned previously. This section lists more achievements and each achievement is listed in full. You’ll notice we recommend you list your achievements three times; firstly in your detachable appendix (Professional History), secondly in your ‘Sample Career Achievements’ and thirdly and most importantly in your shortened ‘Claim to Fame’ paragraph that leads your resume. We use this alliteration of value to drive home your value; also knowing most people only skim read a resume. Mentioning high value achievements three times simply reduces the risk of readers not seeing your value.

Is there any reason why you haven’t prefixed your achievements with the actual percent or dollar improvement? For example do not write “Developed new distribution channels…” which is vague and lacks any credibility; be specific. For example “Catapulted distribution by over 1M units resulting in uplifting revenue by 50% from $50M to $75M in part through bringing on 4 new distribution channels in Asia”.

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Did you increase profits, cut overheads, uplift ROI, shot-put EBITDA, capture a greater share of the market, or more ‘share of wallet’, slash overheads or reduce customer or staff attrition? If so, by what amount or percentage and over what time-frame? Again, be specific.

Employment Chronology

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed in your Employment Chronology your exact month and year of employment? Ensure you include months otherwise recruiters will presume you’re being misleading by hiding unemployment or tenures that ended badly. Most recruiters have had candidates play every trick in the book. Many are very skeptical.

Detail your Official Title and Unofficial Title, your Employer’s name, its Parent Group if a subsidiary, the industry they operate in or their ‘line of business’ etc. Many employers sit across many industries not just one.

Scope of Industry Experience

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed the industries you’ve worked across?

Listing industries your previous employers competed in may help you jump industries easier. Do not expect a recruiter to analyze your resume to work this out. If they’re looking for Transport experience but this isn’t sticking out they may presume you do not have it. You need to facilitate the sale of yourself as a product. Make the sales process as simple as possible and idiot proof.

Scope of Functional Experience

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed your ‘Scope of Functional Experience & Know-How’? Have you done Strategic Planning, General Management, Financial Management, Sales and Marketing?

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If you’re familiar with Sales and Marketing insert it as ‘Knowledge’; you do not necessarily have had to have been hired as the ‘Head of Sales and Marketing’. Not mentioning this is even worse, it communicates that you do not have knowledge of this function at all which may not be entirely true.

‘Transformations Helped Roll out’

Often the core requirement of CEOs in hiring candidates is ‘Leadership’ or more to the point ‘Transformational Leadership’. Thus if you share with a CEO the ‘transformations’ you’ve helped other CEOs roll out this will usually be of high relevance in interviews. This is just another way you can communicate your value (which may not be unique) in a unique manner such that the perception interviewers have of your value effectively becomes ‘unique’.

Values Instils in Cultures

Most companies are undergoing major cultural issues in the GFC. They’re downsizing, restructuring, merging, losing clients, experiencing cost blow-outs etc. The probability is your next employer is going to be facing some fairly severe cultural issues; the Board will need someone who can help them solve these issues.

Strategy. Insert your values in your resume. If you can convince the CEO you’re an emotionally intelligent person, with an understanding of people/cultural

dynamics and importantly are a catalyst to cultural transformation, the CEO may see unique value in you.

Ask the question, “Frank, you may agree with me, I believe leaders instill their personal values in cultures and that cultures often make or break companies. May I ask what types of values would you like to see your next ‘title’ instill in your culture? (Let them answer). The reason I ask this is I have a lot of pride in the values I have instilled in cultures previously; I believe this is one of the reasons why Boards have hired and promoted me. I’ve listed some of these in my resume in front of you. Values like….. (Mention a few):

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◉ Building businesses around customers, ◉ Seeing change as evolution critical for industry leadership and corporate survival, ◉ Appreciating the contributions of all stakeholders no matter how small, and ◉ Investing trust and faith in managers, turning them into leaders.

Are these the types of values you would like your next (Title) to further instill in your culture?”

Personal Strengths

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed your Personal Strengths? These may overlap to some extent with your Scope of Functional Experience, but why not add this section to further emphasize your value?

Leadership Style

Have you outlined your leadership style in your resume? Many CEOs hire or fire candidates based on their personality or leadership style. Don’t leave it up to an interviewer to simply guess it.

Strategy. If you agree that your core offering is leadership, then define and differentiate it in your resume and again later in the interview.

Ask the CEO,

“Frank, I see leadership as being my core offering to business. May I ask you what leadership style do you most enjoy amongst your leadership team? (Let them answer). The reason I ask this is my leadership style has been described by others as being akin to …..” (This should be written into your resume).

People may not read this section in your resume, but this is beside the point. If it’s in your resume it will then be front of mind for you to then inject in conversation.

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‘Your Professional History’ Appendix (Add-on Section)

This section can be added on to your ‘short resume’ to give a more detailed resume as you progress towards final interviews where the competition increases and it becomes more important you show more value and that interviewers become more familiar with you.

Think of it this way. Your company is looking at buying a new piece of equipment. There are a hundred competing products. You skim read one hundred product brochures, take out your top three then you read those product brochures in detail. Same process happens when people review resumes.

Your Professional History section relates to your leadership story which is a short story about the journey you actually took another business or team on as testament to your leadership. The ultimate test of your leadership and thus the best way to communicate it in interviews is by telling a story.

For example ask the CEO, “Frank, you may agree with me; I believe the best test of leadership isn’t simply possessing attributes like being able to motivate and inspire, but rather by sharing the journey you have taken businesses or teams on; the ‘A to B’ and all the challenges in between. Do you mind if I share with you as testament to my leadership the journey I helped the CEO of ACME take their business on?”….. (Then describe your leadership journey).

Another way to show more unique value is by mentioning individual parts of your leadership story, constantly reinforcing the theme. Some examples follow.

Quality of Employers

Great companies quite often hire great people that they give great experience to; experience that other employers want to cash-in on. If you’re going up against candidates from well-known companies and you’re from a little known organization, educating the reader on the quality of your previous employers is an absolute must.

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Putting this information in your resume then places it front of mind so you can refer to it in interviews for example by asking the CEO,

“Frank many CEOs feel the quality of experience individuals on their leadership team bring with them is often acquired through working with other quality organizations. Do you mind if I share with you the complexity and sophistication of my previous employers to give you an indication of the experience I’ve picked up that I can now inject into your team?”

Renaming Titles & Creating Unofficial Titles

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed your previous roles correctly? (A big frustration of ours).

If your official title is General Manager but you spend most of your time 'acting as' the CEO, than you’re an ‘Acting CEO’ as well.

People interview you to understand your responsibilities and experience more so than what your title was or is. If you’re the Chief Financial Officer but you also head up Operations, you’re the CFO/COO. If you’re an IT Manager but you’re the most senior technology person in the business, you report directly into the CEO, you oversee technology and strategy; the chances are you are actually the CIO not the IT Manager. Quit misleading the market.

As long as you can justify this change of title to the interviewer it’s fine. You are what you do not necessarily what your job title says.

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Highlighting Specific Country Experience

If you currently reside in the USA (where you are seeking work), but most of your previous titles include ‘India’ or other, you can in many cases remove the country specific words, so as not to highlight your minimal ‘local’ experience. Do not do this however if you’re trying to highlight your Asian experience.

For example if recruiters see ‘Mumbai, Mumbai, and Mumbai’ jumping out at them you won’t even get to first base so stop highlighting 'Mumbai' Let them read and understand you’re value first, then insert maybe in smaller print (*Mumbai Head office or *Official title was ‘State Head – Mumbai’) at the bottom of your resume.

We’re not discriminating against candidates here rather educating candidates on how to combat discrimination.

(The following is in relation to creating your Leadership Story)

Who hired you?

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed who hired you previously by name and title?

For example most CEO’s seeking to hire a CFO are wondering what other notable CEOs hired that respective CFO. Ever considered before buying an expensive product who else bought it? Ever asked a seller before you purchased a product, “Who else has bought this product? What made them buy the product? Why did they choose this product instead of many others?”

Strategy. Introduce the person who hired you in your resume. If they’re villains (some former CEOs of the corporations that were ‘too big to fail’) just mention

their title not their name.

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For example you may insert into your resume, ‘Personally hired by Joe Blow, the Group CEO with the full backing of the Executive Team,…’ Now this sounds sexy; it makes the reader think some high quality people hired you; surely they can’t all be wrong? As opposed to your competing candidates who simply do not highlight who hired them.

Commonality of Issues & Obstacles

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed the top three to five issues and obstacles your previous employers were facing at the time they hired you?

Don’t you think the Board interviewing you would like to know how similar the issues and problems you helped other Boards solve are to those they are currently facing? Listing these will emphasize your relevance of experience.

You may then ask a CEO in an interview,

“Frank, would you prefer to hire a CFO who has worked in other businesses that were facing very similar issues and challenges to those you are currently grappling with?, the reason I ask this, (if you refer to page 4 of my resume), ACME were facing issues with x and challenges with x. Are these not very similar to those you’re experiencing right now? Is this the intimacy of experience you are seeking?”

Why you were hired

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed why other people previously hired or promoted you instead of other candidates?

You may agree if you’re a CEO looking for a Regional Head and you have five exceptional shortlisted candidates, the obvious question you’d have on your mind, is “What’s so unique about you that if we do not hire you this business would regret it?”

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This question probably won’t be asked in this way but make no mistake it is the question you need to answer. Most questions unanswered become objections. If you put in your resume under ACME Corp:

‘Recognized as having a strong track record in opening up distribution for widgets across SE Asia, in off-shoring manufacturing and establishing high volume high margin SE Asian distribution channels”, you can then ask the CEO in an interview,

“Frank, I understand this interview process is really about who best to hire as your next SE Asia Head. Would it make our conversation more meaningful if I took a few moments to reflect back on why other CEOs with similar visions and facing similar challenges as you, hired and promoted me instead of other candidates? The reason why I ask this is that ACME Widgets hired me after recognizing my strong track record in opening up distribution for widgets across SE Asia, in off-shoring manufacturing and establishing high volume high margin distribution channels. Is this not the same mandate you’re looking at giving your next Regional Head?”

You’re now strategically communicating your value in a unique manner making your experience more relevant. This is what we call ‘Interview Judo’. You now should have a much greater awareness of the power of words and phrases. It’s

about reading people’s minds, understanding their needs and being intimately aware of how your words and body language are programming thoughts into the reader’s or interviewer’s mind. Humans have a brain. Some are aware we can program our own brains. Smarter people understand we can also program others.

Mandates

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed your previous mandates?

Mandates are different to responsibilities, they’re also broader. Do you not think the Chairman or CEO interviewing you is wondering how similar your previous mandates are to the mandate they may be giving you? The trick here is most mandates for most CXOs are very similar across most companies. Mention previous mandates in interviews to highlight ‘fit’.

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“Frank, would it reduce your hiring risk if you hired a Regional Head who has excelled in achieving mandates similar in nature to those you’re about to give your next Regional Head?”, “The reason why I ask this is, if you refer to page 3 of my resume, my mandate at ACME was …” etc.

Business Growth

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed how you have ‘Grown Businesses’?

Most candidates fail to demystify how they grow businesses. The reason we point this out is most senior executives have been driving profit and growth for so long it is just something they do and not think about. This is no excuse for not communicating your ‘Expertise in Growing Businesses’ to interviewers. Interviewers need to ‘GET’, not just hear ‘why’ you’re a ‘catalyst to growth’.

How many interviews or offers have you lost because you have not clearly communicated how you previously grew businesses?

Strategy. In your resume highlight your intimate experience in growing businesses by giving short case examples that cover how you have:

◉ Increased the acquisition of customers by M&A or organic growth, ◉ Increased margins by slashing costs or for example increasing the quality of output

to justify a higher price, ◉ Increased repeat purchases from existing customers, and lastly ◉ Reduced the loss of customers to natural attrition or competitors.

Legacies

Is there any reason why you haven’t detailed in what ‘condition’ you left previous businesses in?

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If you were a CEO interviewing for a right hand man, say a CFO, wouldn’t you be wondering in what ‘state’ has this candidate left other businesses? Did they bail out when things got tough? Did they achieve their mandate? Did they leave the business a lot better off than when they first started? Did they remove the obstacles to growth that the business was grappling with at the time they hired him? …or did they only leave behind a trail of destruction?

What are your legacies?

For example an excerpt from one resume (a long one) reads:

“With the full support of a talented Leadership Team all unified on a common vision and plan, honored to have turned around a ‘Titanic’, to have successfully stabilized and grown the balance sheet, to have integrated numerous acquisitions and to have restructured divisions to capture continued stretch and unequalled profit achieving market domination.

ACME is now cemented as the industry leader with a product diversity and global brand awareness that is reaping benefits akin to a global monopoly. It now has the people, structure, capitalization and capability for continued long-term success”.

In interviews after describing your legacy to a CEO, you may ask them, “Frank this is the legacy I helped the CEO of ACME build for his business. I welcome the chance to help you build yours should you decide to invite me on-board”.

Again, please note, legacies are in the ‘Add-on’ Professional History section which is a part of your Longer Detailed Leadership Resume not your ‘shorty’ version.

Half the reason this information should be inserted into your resume is to keep it front of mind so you can then recall it in interviews to better strategically sell

yourself.

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Tricking Keyword Search Software

As mentioned earlier some recruiters and HR due to the sheer volume of resumes they receive use key-word search programs which search for specific criteria. So how do you exploit these programs to be ‘found’ much easier? How do we do this without appearing to be overly repetitious in our wording?

Strategy. Simply put a section with keywords repeated many times in ‘white font size 1’ in your resume before saving as a PDF’. Our candidates rank very

high in keyword searches. See Chapter 4 - The Keyword Trap.

Pictures and Photos

Simply, do not use these. If an interviewer looks at your photo and thinks you look ‘uptight’, ‘too conservative’ or ‘like someone they just sacked’, this may result in them making a biased judgment of your personality (‘cultural fit’) even before you get the chance to have a conversation with them. Unless you’ve overseen major infrastructure projects for example where only a picture can adequately describe the magnitude, do not use pictures. A picture of a factory to communicate you work in manufacturing isn’t necessary.

A picture of yourself hoeing into an ice-cream because you worked for Peters Ice-cream is only going to make you look stupid. It’s kind of like the thousands of real-estate agents that stick photos of themselves in newspaper advertorials thinking their smile makes them look trustworthy. Contrary to this there are some ghastly and humorous photos.

Optimal Interviews

How many interviews has your current ‘professionally’ written resume not captured for you? How many offers have you not received because the Board felt your Leadership, Expertise in Growing Businesses and your ROI was unclear?

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It’s rare that the best candidate gets the best job, but more often the most strategic, those who are best at selling themselves.

‘Unique Value Proposition’ (UVP) Summary

Introduce this at the end of the interview for example by saying, “Frank, I understand your time is just about running out. Do you mind if I take a few moments to sum up what I am confident is my unique value to your business?” Now simply state three to five key points of value you can bring to the team. These points are usually outlined in the Unique Value Proposition section in your resume. The points can vary across employers you’re interviewing with. A UVP is what your value ‘means’ to an organization. Candidates like products have ‘features’ that deliver ‘benefits’ that may ‘mean’ different things to different organizations.

Overloaded with information? Ask your Executive Agent to instruct a professionally trained writer to compile your Strategic Leadership Resume and marketing

documents for you.

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Chapter 11: Building Your Online Brand (Mastering Propaganda)

This chapter will show you how to best use online networking sites to your advantage.

Websites that list public profiles like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Xing etc. are powerful websites and an essential tool in marketing oneself, some people do feel however they have their short falls like attracting spam, to risks regarding ones confidentiality etc. Some articles online claim for example that up to 40% of the key information posted on some sites by individuals is incorrect. Why?

When you consider that a high proportion of candidates on professional networking sites are there to find a job opportunity the last thing someone who is in between jobs does is advertise on their profile that they’re ‘unemployed’ or being made redundant. Most just list their previous role even if they have left their employer. These sites often don't give a factual account of a candidate’s position, history and skills.

True story. We once interviewed a CFO from a leading global FMCG group. In answer to the question, “What’s unique about you?” he replied quite adamantly, “My integrity”. Now I hear quite a lot of B.S in my job and can see it

coming a mile away. Again I asked, “Most candidates claim to have integrity. Really… what’s unique about you?” Raising his eyebrow, he exclaimed as he leant further across my table, “Ben, you need to understand, my integrity defines me. It sets me apart from most other CFOs. It defines who I am!”

Now raising my eyebrow even higher than his, I replied, “I am confused because your LinkedIn profile says you’re still the CFO of ACME but you’ve just told me you were made redundant nine months ago?; a woman can meet a man and start a family in that time.

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Did you wake up every morning and forget you were made redundant?” (I was trying to help him save face by suggesting he was forgetful not dishonest). You would not believe the sheepish grin on his face.

The B.S. factor is so high with some candidates you’d swear there was an invisible ‘shitosphere’ one foot above our heads that people just continually pull shit down from.

Most candidates ‘unknowingly mislead’ interviewers. Why do we say this? Simply because they always under-communicate their value, even when they are trying to over-communicate it.

Regarding LinkedIn, understand it is a sales website. Everyone is selling ‘at’ you, so use it to sell yourself. It’s not meant to be a factual account of your career, skills or aspiration. Think of it being a ‘teaser’ only. When updating your profile on LinkedIn, understand readers of your profile have limited time, are looking for unique value (especially if they are employers) and ease of selling you (if a recruitment firm). We suggest you update your profile to include:

A. Building the Perfect LinkedIn Profile Below is a non-conclusive list of items you may like to show on your LinkedIn profile.

(The list presumes you have had a Strategic Leadership Resume compiled).

◉ Your current official and ‘unofficial title’ in format ‘Official Title / (‘Unofficial Title’)’. If your current or previous title does not adequately reflect your desired occupation, then list a former title. For example if you are currently a Financial Controller but only accepted this job to pay the bills, when previous to this you were the Chief Financial Officer of another business, it may pay to put ‘Former CFO’ of the other business. You do not need to put down dates of your employ just because LinkedIn insert the fields to do so. If they had a field for your credit card details, would you also put these up for public viewing? Common sense is all.

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◉ Any relevant suffixes e.g. MBO, Dr. Etc. A candidate once had ‘RIP’ creating some confusion.

◉ Insert full first and initial of last name only. No need for middle names. You need

to be careful of identity fraud; too much information is not always a good thing.

◉ List your current or last employer (or even the one previous to that if in the last 3 years), whichever is the better known and revered company. If you were the CFO of a top 100 listed company two roles previous but are now the CFO for a $2 garage start-up, put the ASX 100 Company first. Be sure to insert (‘Former’ or ‘Fmr’ before or after your title). Not doing so is dishonest and may create unwanted attention from the current CFO of that company if not their legal team. You can also insert an asterix and put at the bottom of your profile *Previous role. Left in 20XX)

◉ List the levels of opportunities you are seeking for example ‘General Management, Divisional and Board Opportunities including Non-Executive or Advisory (if relevant)’. Do not leave people guessing what level of roles you’re seeking (“Are they too senior or too junior? Overqualified of under qualified?”). Confusion results in an objection.

◉ List your Top Ten Core Functions in order of what you think the market wants. This is taken from your ‘Scope of Functional Experience & Know-how’ section in your resume.

◉ Your powerful opening ‘Claim to Fame’ paragraph from your resume. This is a ‘staccato’ cut down paragraph of all your ‘sexy’ achievements.

◉ Any Awards. List in format ‘Award Name’ (can be shortened); awarded by xxxx, for xxxx (ensure you insert some words on why it was awarded if not clear in the name). No need to list the dates these were awarded as these may age you or the award.

◉ Your Unique Value Proposition. Usually found on the bottom front page of your Strategic Leadership Resume.

◉ Top 3 successfully achieved visions you’ve captured or helped a CEO or Leadership Team capture.

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◉ Top 5 ‘sexy’ credentials/ education, with highest and most relevant at the top. If

your highest education is ‘Preschool 2nd Year’ best to put this at the bottom in small print or not at all. If you haven’t completed an MBA however have just enrolled; insert ‘MBA (Studying)’. It’s the thought that counts.

◉ Employment chronology. Take out dates and any non-sexy companies. People are interested in what great companies you have picked up experience from. No need to list others. Others are listed in your resume should people need to view it. In other words, do not turn people off by listing all the average or ‘no-name’ companies you’ve worked with. This section is more meant as a brief list of the great companies you’ve been with rather than a chronology. A beautiful girl may be more likely to date you if you’ve previously dated supermodels not Fatima, the local butcher’s daughter.

◉ List any Board appointments. No need to list dates, or if current or past. These may work against you if current as it may represent conflicts of interest.

◉ Any key memberships. Again, no need to list dates, or if current or past.

◉ Industry Experience from resume. List firstly those industries you would like to work in then lastly those industries you're not so keen on.

◉ Specialist Expertise from resume.

◉ If you are a recognized authority or industry speaker on any topic. Be careful as these may ‘stereotype’ you where you do not want to be stereotyped. If you’re applying for a lifetime opportunity as the QA Director for www.adultshop.com (now a large publicly listed enterprise) but you’re an academic lecturing in the anatomy of the Mayflower Fly, you aren’t going to be what they’re looking for.

◉ Can list online articles that show further value.

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In short give, people enough information to tease them, not too much though so as to hang you. We can do this because we can. There is no universally agreed rule book for LinkedIn.

B. Social Media - Top Dos and Don’ts Some basics;

◉ Get online. People won’t contact you if they do not know you exist. Really. Be careful what social networking site you join. Generally people join Facebook to socialize or get laid whereas people join LinkedIn to get a job.

◉ Deliver a consistent and clear brand. Make sure your information across various sites does not contradict each other.

◉ Don't highlight bad news ‘Lost best mate due to always leaving his parties with more booze than when I arrived’ etc.' to ‘Best mate won't talk to me anymore due to always leaving his parties with more booze than when I arrived’ etc.

◉ Tweeting is really for people that do not have a job or for those in the media profession.

◉ Remember privacy settings especially when it comes to Mark Zuckerberg.

◉ Networks take a while to build so do not leave doing this until you need it. Kind of like 'best to do your shopping when you're full’.

No need to connect with everyone. This especially applies to people you’ve never met from the other side of the world asking you to endorse them in

return for them endorsing you.

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Chapter 12 : Understanding the Various Interviews

This chapter will enable you to understand the different types of interviews as well as the path to take in navigating through them.

A. ‘Conversational Style Interview’ Conversational style interviews are the most preferred from a candidate’s perspective as they often mean the interviewer is more interested in understanding your value rather than what often happens with Panel or Group Interviews where they’re more interested in following a process.

The below is a broad structure for a ‘conversation’ interview where you’re being interviewed for a ‘Live Role’ not a ‘Cold’ or ‘General’ interview with a recruiter or employer. This also differs from a panel interview or a heavily structured interview where the interviewer is interviewing many candidates and may not have the time to entertain a conversation. Remember to use the process outlined in ‘The Four Gears of Selling’ as you’re interviewing (See Appendix B).

1. (Gear 1) Meet and Greet. Establish trust and rapport. Disarm* the interviewer if required.

2. (Gear 2) Identify Needs through asking intelligent questions.

3. (Gear 3) Solve Needs. Demonstrate you have acquired expertise by using S.A.R or describing a Leadership Journey. S.A.R. refers to ‘Situation. Action. Result. A SAR is a brief example as to how you previously solved a need.

4. (Gear 3) Sell Your Leadership by asking a question to the interviewer, for example; “Can I ask, are you looking for a leader first and then a CFO or just another CFO with only generic finance skills?” etc. When, and if they confirm the former then answer with a Leadership Journey.

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(Then politely suggest to the interviewer they may like to ask other candidates the question “Why are they leaders?” in order to create hurdles for other candidates to then have to overcome.)

5. (Gear 3) Communicate Your Expertise in Growing Business by covering off on the four ways to grow business. Ensure you have a S.A.R for each after mentioning them, then suggest to the interviewer they may like to ask other candidates this question.

“Tom, are you seeking a CFO with an intimate knowledge of using Finance as a catalyst for strong stretch growth or are you only seeking a CFO with the generic finance skills? The reason why I ask is that you’d appreciate there’s only four ways of growing businesses…” (Continue to mention the four ways and how you have used these ways in growing other businesses). ”…a question you may like to ask of other candidates is simply what are the four ways of growing businesses and how have they used these four ways to grow other businesses…”

6. (Gear 3) Communicate 1-3 high ROI achievements. Give three to five keys ways as to how you improved bottom or top line revenue. As previously discussed be specific using percentages, figures and time frames if available.

7. (Gear 3) Overcome Objections if any. Identify and clarify objections by asking the interviewer, “Can I ask do you have any concerns as to my suitability for this role or my team fit?” (Test Close 1). If they do, answer these with an S.A.R that proves you do have the expertise then proceed to point 8, below. If they don’t, proceed to the next test close (Point 8).

8. (Gear 3) Ask what unique value they feel you can bring to the business. (Test Close 2). Having the interviewer verbalize why they see value in you will let you know if they’re more likely than not to hire you or at least further interview you. It also helps you in further interviews with this employer.

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If they cannot answer this you probably haven’t correctly identified a need and given sufficient explanation of how you can solve that need. Ending the interview now, without identifying this bottleneck may cost you the job.

9. (Gear 3) Takeout Competitors; Ask, “So that I can better help you compare candidates may I ask, of all the candidates you’re currently interviewing do any of them possess any unique talent or skills that you’re also wondering if I possess?”. Then answer this either by saying, “I understand” (if they mention something that you clearly do not possess, or by giving a S.A.R. if you possess this skill).

10. (Gear 4) Test Close: Ask one or two more test close questions if required. (Test

Close 3). For, “If successful who would I be reporting into?”, “What date are you anticipating having me come on-board?” (More direct), “When can I expect to be receiving the offer?” (Very direct). The more direct the test close question the more it will tell you if they have mentally hired you or not.

11. (Gear 4) Summarize by stating your Business UVP (Business Wrap-up) showing how confident you are in solving the needs of the employer and helping the CEO achieve their vision faster.

12. (Gear 4) Personal Wrap-up. Close by expressing your fit with the interviewer, (if applicable) your eagerness to progress the opportunity; ‘tug their heart strings’. Only do this if you can be convincing. Put it in your own words. An example is…

”Tom, on a personal level I really enjoyed our chat today. I can now more appreciate your vision, the quality of the business you’re building and the journey you’re taking the team on. You’ve captured my interest; I can see your passion. I want in! I am putting myself in your very capable hands and relying on your leadership Tom...where do I go to from hear?” This certainly beats giving the interviewer a ‘wet-fish’ handshake as you walk out the door saying, “Thank you. I hope to hear from you”

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Disarming

*Disarming refers to a rare situation where the interviewer aggressively interrogates you from the start possibly even rudely. Understanding many recruiters usually only interview people they know can do the job, you’ll need to let them know you’re a savvy business person, a professional not an amateur and that if they wish to interview you they’ll need to do it respectfully. You’ve probably invested a lot of time coming in to meet with them, they need to appreciate this.

Some recruiters think they have what the candidate wants, (being the job) and so they feel they can interrogate. You need to have mutual respect and a two way business conversation with them as opposed to an interrogation. Do this by telling them,

“Tom I really appreciate your time today and I am confident that I can add value to most groups. I am not however totally convinced that this job is for me”. (We call this a ‘Reverse Sell”. It usually has the effect of forcing the interviewer into a “sell the job and the company” state of mind instead of an “interrogate the candidate” state of mind as now they cannot presume the candidate necessarily wants the job or to work with the company).

“Would it make our meeting a lot more beneficial to you if you had a conversation with me about the issues and challenges facing your client, then once I understand these I can share with you some of the journeys I have taken previous businesses on that faced very similar issues and challenges and how I solved these?”

This is the Disarm. You’ll find that most recruiters will back track here, slow down, be more respectful and have a two way conversation once they realize you’re not desperate for this job. Marius Kloppers the former CEO of BHP Billiton, one of the biggest resources groups in the world would not let an interviewer give him disrespect; why should you?

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Strategy. Setting booby traps for Competitors. To take competing candidates out of the selection process there are numerous ways. A basic way

is to ask a question of the interviewer that you know they want to know the answer to, one in which you have thoroughly prepared to answer. Once you’ve answered then suggest to the interviewer they ask this question of other (mostly unprepared candidates).

Two obvious questions are:

“Tom, assuming you’re seeking a leader for this role, are you wondering why I am a leader?” now share your Leadership Journey, and

“Tom, I am assuming you’re seeking someone with an intimate expertise in growing businesses? If so, do you mind if I share with you how I’ve previously done this?” On completion suggest that all CFOs worth their salt also should know this; suggest they ask other candidates “What are the four ways of growing business using finance and how have you grown other businesses using these four ways?”

Again as previously mentioned the ‘Four Ways of Growing Business’ are: ◉ Increasing the Acquisition of Customers by M&A or Organic Growth, ◉ Increasing Margins be it by reducing costs or increasing the quality of output to for

example, enabling the charging of a higher price, ◉ Increasing the Frequency of Repeat Purchases by Existing Customers, and lastly ◉ By Reducing the Loss of Customers to competitors or natural attrition.

Describing these fours ways ‘demystifies’ your ‘Expertise in Growing Businesses’. People need to ‘get’ this or they may not understand your strategic value.

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B. Mastering the Group Interview Group interviews often involve a work-simulation exercise, such as a problem-solving activity, to test candidates' leadership and teamwork skills. The exercise is typically accompanied by questions about the exercise, as well as more traditional interview questions. Group interviews are becoming more popular with employers these days for several reasons.

Firstly, it expedites the interviewing process. Secondly, it lets the panel interviewing you hear the same answers to interview questions at the same time, which means they can discuss their thoughts about your candidacy based on the same interview experience. And finally, group interviews let an employer see how well you do under pressure.

As far as preparing for a group interview, all the same basics for getting ready for a one-on-one interview apply. Study the company, expect to answer behavioral questions, and create a list of questions to ask in advance. There is only one additional factor that should be considered when preparing for a group interview -- and it also happens to be the most important.

No. 1 Tip: Treat the interview as a business meeting where the interviewers are your clients.

In a group interview, interpersonal dynamics get complicated. In other words, you have to assess and respond to a variety of personalities. This can seem overwhelming, but if you follow a few rules, you will be able to nail that group interview and get the job.

Remember that different personalities make up a team. You are going to always find at least one really happy person on the panel, at least one really serious person on the panel, and one or more who seem to not really have an interest in being there. You should not try to alter your style to suit them all. When you try to alter your style for each person in the room, you look like you have multiple personalities -- and that won't get you hired.

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Recognize that everyone in that room is equally important. While some may have bigger titles, or more relevant roles (In other words one would be our co-worker, one's our potential boss, and one's our potential boss' boss), they all should be treated the same. When you answer questions, make eye contact with each one as a way to say, "You are a team and I intend to treat you all with the same level of respect."

Keep in mind that they are part of a tribe you want to join. It is important that you make the case throughout the interview that you respect and admire the team; but that you are also confident you bring something to them that they need. It is on you to prove that you would be a valuable asset to the organization. By tying in examples of how your efforts would help each person on the panel uniquely, you will show that you plan to use your skills and abilities to every team member's benefit. In short, you can be of value to each panel member -- and that makes you the one they should want to hire.

Group interviews can actually work in your favor, as long as you keep in mind that it is up to you to show every member of the panel how your business-of-one will serve them well.

Below are questions one might be asked during a group interview. The list includes general questions an interviewer (or panel of interviewers) might ask a candidate, as well as questions an interviewer would ask regarding a work-simulation exercise.

Group Interview Questions: General Questions

◉ How would your colleagues describe you? ◉ How would you describe yourself? ◉ What interested you in our company? ◉ How do you work in a team? ◉ Describe your career history and future goals in 30 seconds.

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Questions Asked After Work-Simulation Exercises

◉ What made this team work successfully? ◉ Who would you hire from your group? Why? ◉ What was your personal contribution to the team's performance? ◉ Why did this team struggle to accomplish the objective? ◉ How did you deal with the stress created by meeting the challenges?

C. Mastering the Panel Interview

Don’t take a knife to a gun fight

Definition: A panel interview is a job interview where an applicant answers questions from a group of people who make the hiring decision. Hiring managers use panel interviews to gain perspective from other people in the organization and occasionally those outside the organization.

Panels reduce the risk of making a bad hire. The strengths of each panel member tend to compensate for each member’s weaknesses. Each member brings a different set of experiences, thoughts, beliefs and biases to the interview process. Panel members should work well with one another while being unafraid to respectfully challenge each other’s judgments and assertions about the candidate. The panel’s goal is to make the best hiring decision possible given the information they have about the position and the finalists.

Members of the interview panel are often people who will routinely interact with the person chosen to fill the job vacancy. For example, an interview panel for an assistant police chief position may consist of the police chief, fire chief and an assistant city manager. These people have a vested interest in making a good hire. In the long run, a bad hire will mean unnecessary disruption for the people who work closely with the new hire.

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The hiring manager generally leads the panel and asks the predetermined interview questions. All panelists are free to ask follow-up or probing questions. The predetermined questions are the same for each finalist. The follow-up and probing questions are different for each finalist because they are based on how the finalist answers the predetermined questions.

Hiring managers tend to schedule panel interviews all in one day. It is easier to block out an entire work day then it is to find five hour-and-a-half blocks of time within a few days that fit each panelist’s schedule.

Scheduling for one day also makes the interview process shorter. The panelist can come to a decision the same day that finalists are interviewed. Anything that can shorten the hiring process without sacrificing thoroughness is good for both the finalists and the organization. Vacancies cause stress and strain among existing staff because those employees must cover the vacant position’s workload.

Organizations often factor in two types of diversity when deciding who will serve on interview panels. By ensuring a panel includes men and women and a mix of races, organizations mitigate the risk of applicants suing on the basis of discrimination. Defending against a lawsuit costs an organization considerable time and money, so any cost-free move the organization can make to prevent such a lawsuit is a no-brainer.

Advice for Panel Interviewing

Research the panel judges

Often, you have been informed as to the makeup of the panel. Some of the people may have met you in person and done a one-on-one interview.

If you have been informed about the makeup of the panel, then you may have been given hints about the kind of questions you will receive.

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In fact, many hiring managers and HR representatives have read the riot act to panel interviewers to keep their questions for each candidate consistent. This helps establish a pattern and reduces the risk of candidates feeling singled out or discriminated against.

Be calm in the storm

The key to success is connecting with the personalities at the panel interview. Remember that each panel may have different kinds of attitudes and energy. Different personalities and body languages permeate a panel interview.

To separate yourself from the other six-figure candidates, it is important to dialogue and hold a conversation with them. It takes a grounded candidate to be calm in what can seem like an aggressive inquisition. The interviewers remember that quality.

“You want people who are at the executive level to interact with you and let you and your leadership team know that they sync with the company’s point of view but have a point of view and perspective of their own. I look for people whose values and integrity align with the company I represent.”

Have a question to ask each interviewer at the end

“You want people who come in as thinkers not just doers, as communicators not just technicians, as high character people, people with a vision of the future. That’s why the best panel-interview preparation includes a thought process on the kinds of questions that the interviewee should ask.”

Tell them a story

To lock in the last stage panel interview you need to know that hiring managers want to see how you think not what you have done. Make sure you develop stories that follow a Situation, Task, Action and Result pattern throughout your panel interview.

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If they can envision your tactics in certain situations, they can see you in their company more easily.

Reiterate how your skills fit into the job description

Use the initial job listing to make certain points. If they asked for a technology-focused executive in their initial job description, tell a brief anecdote about your social-media savvy.

This is an important point

Develop in-depth stories based on core elements you heard from the beginning of the application and interview process. Remember, it’s a competition.

Engage even the silent ones

Don’t play to any one person on the panel. It is sometimes the quiet note-takers that have high influence. Use silence. Sometimes looking down and taking a moment to answer the question is the best strategy. Sometimes smiling, nodding and laughing with the panel or a panel member at an awkward moment makes you seem more human.

Take notes, sparingly

Ask if you can take notes during the panel interview but do so sparingly if you do. Try writing down the names of each interviewer first so that when you look up you can address them. One client did this in an interview and one of the panel members commented on it by saying, “I see you are writing down our names.” The client replied, “Yes, I am. It’s all a part of a memory course I am taking.” The panel laughed. It broke the ice. He got the job.

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Some Panel Interview Questions

◉ What is your biggest weakness? ◉ Why do you want to work for our company? ◉ Imagine that you are introducing a new policy to your co-workers or employees, and

you are facing opposition. How would you handle it? ◉ Describe a time when you were working on a team project and there was a conflict

in the group. How did you handle the situation? ◉ Give an example of a time when you had to explain a complex issue to someone who

was unfamiliar with the topic.

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Chapter 13 : Launching Your Job Hunt (H - Hour)

This chapter will enable you to better prepare your approach letters and job applications, jump the queue of competitors and substantially increase the

percentage of your letters actually being read.

A. Planning & Executing the Approach

The more sweat spilt in training the less blood spilt in battle

Most battles are won in the planning stage but a plan poorly executed is doomed to failure

Think about this. As a ‘guesstimate’ and considering the average tenure of senior executives; of all the companies out there in the market place that meet your criteria (from industry, geography, stage of maturity, range of products and services, brand, size, turnover etc.) it’s fair to presume that five to ten percent of these are currently or will in the next one to three months be looking at filling a role that probably meets much of your criteria.

Now despite the GFC this means there are still many roles out there albeit less than there were pre-GFC. The first problem is that most candidates simply do not have the research capabilities or time to find these roles. The second problem is that upon finding such opportunities most candidates cannot differentiate value. Those that are lucky enough to secure a role often do so because all other candidates’ also interview poorly, the employer still needs to choose someone.

There are two core strategies in securing a leadership role in the GFC. Call it a pincer move.

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1. Firstly you need to be able to find either the live roles (In other words the advertised or hidden roles that they’re now interviewing for), or companies and individuals that upon discussion with you and seeing your UNQIUE VALUE may create a role for you.

2. Secondly, it’s about differentiating your value; answering the most important and commonly recurring question in the entire job hunt being from an employer’s perspective “What’s unique about your value?” or from a recruiter’s perspective “What’s so unique about you that makes you a uniquely easy product to sell?”

Advertised Jobs

As mentioned earlier it’s thought some five to ten percent of jobs are advertised. These are advertised on either employer, recruiter or job websites. This volume of jobs is only the tip of the iceberg. Whilst more employers are now advertising for middle managers themselves as opposed to using recruiters, most senior roles are still not advertised. They are what we call ‘Hidden Jobs’.

Hidden Jobs

Why are senior roles not advertised? As mentioned earlier this is mainly due to the fact that replacing a senior executive can be a staff or market sensitive issue, so companies prefer to hire search firms rather than advertise these vacancies and making it publicly known they are replacing someone of importance. They prefer to have a replacement ready to take over when

they make the announcement of the departure of the incumbent. This is better for customers, stakeholders and investors. It may also help avoid a dip or spike in the share price.

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Often employers will tell senior candidates who approach them to go and view the careers page on their website for availabilities. This is more often their way of telling you to “Go away, we’re not interested”, as very few senior roles are advertised on corporate websites.

B. Lodging Job Applications the Smart Way – Jumping the Queue The riskiest way to secure a leadership role tends to be the most common way. Go figure. This is what happens.

A common story. A candidate sits at home, sets up some email job alerts from the top two or three biggest job sites, waits for an alert, goes to the site, clicks the ‘Apply Now’ button and uploads a very average resume combined with a

very average cover letter if at all. These do not go to the interviewer as the applicant thinks but are rather dumped on a server along with often another two hundred to three hundred applications.

Contrary to the lie HR and more often recruiters tell candidates and their clients, they do not have a fair and comprehensive selection process at all. The candidate gambles that their application is one of the lucky five to ten percent of applications the Recruiter or HR pulls down off the server. The candidate then gambles on having someone who has rarely done the role you’re interviewing for to actually show a minimum level of enthusiasm and intellect in reading their application, through the mumbo jumbo and nonsense they’ve written, to then work out if they wish to interview the candidate.

Upon receiving a reply email or quick telephone call often by the interviewer’s Personal Assistant; most candidates then eagerly rush into an interview knowing very little about the opportunity only to have the interviewer ask them “What are you looking for?”, or “So tell me about yourself” to which the candidate replies, “Well I have a degree in xx and experience in xx. I want a company that can do this for me, etc.” to which the recruiter replies, “You’re an ‘OK’ candidate but you’re not what we’re looking for” or worse, “Great interview; let us get back to you”. Now this is high-risk! There’s a lot of gambling in using the above strategy.

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The smart way is to simply bypass the middlemen and short circuit the process. The candidate or their Executive Agent should identify the employer

behind the role and approach the person the candidate would be reporting into if successful. Avoid online portals, recruiters and HR if possible. Secure the details of the person you’d be reporting into, send them an invite to meet for coffee or breakfast (don’t mention the role or they’ll tell you to go through the search firm they’ve hired in which case you’re back to the situation you’re trying to avoid).

For example,

ACME Corp are looking for a Divisional Finance Director. They have hired an international search firm to find candidates. If you go through the search firm you’ve got a low chance you’re going to get noticed. Instead find out the Divisional CEO or Group Finance Director, send them an invite to meet. Now your approach and resume will need to be stellar obviously. Mention (in brief), you would like to meet with him to discuss their vision, and challenges relating to finance (highlight how you’ve helped other CEOs or Finance Directors overcome their challenges); make this email as relevant to the role they’re trying to fill as possible, if known.

Now upon meeting, and if you have impressed the CEO they may say, “It’s a coincidence we’re meeting because we’re actually looking for a Finance Director” (to which you fake surprise). The CEO says, “Let me call HR tomorrow and tell them you’re a person of high interest and I want them to interview you”.

Now not only have you just jumped the queue of most other candidates who have dumped their application on some search firm’s server, but you’ve also probably bypassed much of the search firms and HRs filtering process as well; or in Monopoly terms “Don’t go to jail; go straight to Go!”. HR will then often interview you favorably as different to all others; you already have the CEOs support for your candidacy.

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Most executives are required to innovate and think outside of the square to differentiate their firm’s products. Now if you cannot innovate your job hunt strategy sufficiently to jump the queue of other candidates and differentiate yourself, you probably do not deserve the job. By applying for a role online, you are telling the recruiter (tongue in cheek) you’re not really good at thinking outside the square.

Always go direct to the employer if known; avoid the recruiter if you can. If you cannot find the employer, then find the email address of the recruiter behind the role (don't lodge your application using that 'Apply now' button); if you do not know what individual recruiter is working on filling the role ask your Executive Agent; they will generally know who it is.

Now send the recruiter an email with an appropriate subject heading. For example if ACME Recruitment are advertising a Finance Director role send them an email at 8:30 am in the morning with a subject heading,

9:30 am discussion with Citigroup Finance Director

Now most recruiters seeing an email with this subject heading won’t wait until the next day to read it. Their curiosity will get the better of them; they may also think they have a meeting they forgot about in one hour. They will generally open the email straight away. The opening sentence of your email can then read,

Dear Rod,

Apologies for the short notice. I am in between meetings today around 9:30 if you can spare a few moments...etc.

Or

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I can excuse myself from a meeting this morning at 9:30 am if you’re available for a quick phone discussion.

Well done, you’ve just jumped the queue of most other candidates dumping their applications on the recruiter’s server as well as jumping the queue of all the other emails in the recruiter’s inbox. You’ve also increased the genuine read rate on your applications from probably less than five percent to over ninety percent. Go to the front of the class!

If your Executive Agent sends this email to the top twenty search consultants that work in senior finance roles in your industry you’ll probably get ten to fifteen of them reply emailing you or calling you pronto. There are numerous other strategies too long to list here. Again, your cover letter and resume will need to be super sexy or this strategy will fail.

Don’t ever send a recruiter an email that says for example in the subject heading ‘Application for General Manager role’ or similar. In most cases the recruiter will

file it often thinking, “This is obviously just an application for the General Manager role I am interviewing for of which I have already got ten great candidates; I do not need another one” (so this one goes in the bin).

Why Calling a Recruiter prior to applying for a role often doesn’t work.

Recruitment firms are very polarized at the moment. They either only have a few roles they’re working on filling or too many. The ones worth talking to are quite busy and thus rarely answer their phone nor do they usually have the time to return calls. It’s not a matter of bad service but rather they, like many firms also lack resources.

In most cases calling a recruiter to enquire about a role prior to sending them an application can be frustrating and time consuming. If you manage to speak with the recruiter, often their mindset is “I am very busy. Why am I spending my valuable time talking to someone I am yet convinced has any value and who I do not know? …Have you sent me a resume yet? …Well please send one through and then I may get back to you”.

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Now whilst it’s better to call a recruiter than dumping an application on a server, isn’t it still better to have that recruiter call you because you jumped the queue of other candidates in using the strategy mentioned in the above page?

Your Executive Agent will have a fairly comprehensive list of recruiters and search consultants as well as what categories they work across. Our firm map and track

which recruiters work on what roles as evidenced in part by the roles they have advertised or interviewed candidates for previously. These categories are often different to the assignment they claim to work on in their websites.

C. Compiling Super Sexy Strategic Marketing Documents Your Executive Agent can help you compile your Strategic Marketing Documents; there are many different types. Just be aware that if your resume is poor or if you send these documents to the wrong person you will fail to secure an interview.

Short Simple Hints on Writing Approach Letters:

◉ Write like a business person NOT a candidate

Before you start writing, adopt the state of mind of someone (if you are not already) who is busy, confident (but not cocky) and is courteous. Imagine you are currently in an important role. This confidence and positioning will come through in your style of writing.

◉ Correct Mindset

Remember, you are a professional looking for opportunities to help someone build their business, create value, solve needs and make money. You are not simply another candidate looking for a job to pay off a mortgage. Focus your approach on how you have helped people grow their businesses, create business opportunities, remove obstacles and increase their profit rather than only, what job you are seeking.

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◉ Reflect the writer’s words in your approach

Many interviewers have written the job adverts for the roles they’re interviewing for and use the same wording often. Reflect their wording in your approach letter as this will have greater relevance to them, resulting in them ticking their mental checkbox of their requirements easier.

◉ Curiosity gets attention

Regardless of how good the body of your email is, you cannot sell (communicate your unique value) until you have captured the interviewer’s attention, so the first opening lines in your email are crucial. You will need to intrigue the reader and ‘draw them in’ to reading the rest of your letter.

Say something different in the first two to three opening lines; give a compliment, drop a few names or mention a major career highlight that gets their attention. Most candidates do not do this and keep their approach more ‘Yes Sir, No Sir’; conservative, lacking ‘color/personality’; in short boring the reader. This is not a good way to show you are different or to get someone’s attention.

◉ Wish-lists

Some recruiters write their wish lists in job adverts knowing they will probably not attract candidates with all the requirements. If you do not meet all these wish-list requirements still apply as you may still be a better match than other candidates. Also they may be able to evolve or change the role to suit you if they like your value. They may also have another role that’s not advertised that suits your experience and aspirations. Don’t assume anything. Many candidates ‘assume themselves out of opportunities’. This is not the market to be too picky too early.

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◉ ‘X’ Factors

Some job ads list ‘essential’ or ‘must have’ requirements. If you have these essential requirements be sure to state you have these high up in the approach letter so the interviewer keeps reading knowing you meet at least their ‘essential’ criteria. No use mentioning this at the bottom of the approach letter; they may not read that far.

◉ Give the interviewer some specific times to call you

If you say ‘Call me anytime’ they may call you when it’s too late, after they have filled the position. If you give someone a specific time to call you they will usually call at this time if they’re interested and available. If you say call me in the next week or so, they will forget and lose any sense of urgency.

Strategy. A great line to use is, “I will excuse myself from a meeting at 10am to take your call should this not be too short notice”. Be assumptive that they will

call you. If they do not there is little harm done. Make people fit into your schedule. Recruiters are often easy to ‘lead’.

You need to create the momentum, set the pace and build the sense of urgency. Are you creating the image of a hot-candidate that is going to sell fast or of a slow moving product that’s going to be sitting on the shelf for a long time …’so there is no rush to call me’.

This specific strategy won’t work if you’re not a senior executive.

◉ Lack of fit

If the job ad lists criteria that you do not have, avoid writing about it. DO NOT say you do not have the experience. It may not be as important a requirement as they have stated.

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◉ Poor Fit

If the job advert requires strong experience in say General Management for example, you may ask yourself what does ‘strong’ experience mean? Does it mean a minimum five years’ experience or does it refer to quality of experience? What does ‘strong’ actually mean?

Most recruiters have not been General Managers and therefore do not actually know intimately what a General Manager does. How can they define what ‘strong’ means or identify a ‘strong’ candidate? Really! Sure, they may read a few job descriptions about what a General Manager does, but this is not real life experience in the role.

If you create the perception of strong experience they will think you have strong experience.

Create the perception until the perception becomes the reality.

In your approach use the word ‘strong’ or if uncomfortable say ‘broad’, ‘in-depth’, or ‘unique’ etc. Recruiters use vague but sexy wording in their job advertisements to get your attention; do not be scared to use vague and sexy wording in your application to get their attention.

Questions force people to engage in conversation; statements do not

Questions force the reader to think about an answer and thus the question you pose is ingrained deeper in their mind; quite different to making statements in approach letters which can be ignored, so USE QUESTIONS! For example,

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Dear John,

I was reviewing some articles recently re your anticipated expansion into Asia. Are you seeking people with a network there and experience in offshoring manufacturing?

I’d be keen to discuss this and some other questions I have with you if you can spare the time on say next Tuesday morning?

◉ Use ‘I’ sparingly

‘I’ is first person, shows poor writing skills and shows the writer is obsessed with themselves instead of the recipient’s needs to which they are writing. Treat employers and recruiters like you would a customer; you should be asking them what they want, rather than telling them what you want. Most candidates tell recruiters, “I did this…, I am this…, I want this…” The smart applicants just ask the recruiter teasing questions about what they want. Then they simply reciprocate this back to the recruiter by telling them how they can give them what they want. Or in other words; the easiest way to make a child happy at Christmas is by asking them what they want and giving it to them, not by assuming you know what they want and getting it wrong. There’s an easy way to remove the risk; just ASK! ◉ Don't bore the Recruiter! They will think you will bore their clients. ◉ If you have an inflated ego, keep it to yourself.

True Story. A staff member our team once interviewed a young male model who was applying for a senior sales role. He had serious delusions of beauty. He was slouching in the interview and even put his head on the table and

closed his eyes while talking to the interviewer; very strange behavior indeed.

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Well, we weren’t about to add to the problem and tell him he was a handsome man. We told him instead we would love to place him into the role but the female staff wouldn’t be able to concentrate on their work; he’d be such a distraction. With that we ended the interview.

D. Some Things to Consider in Approaching Recruiters Recruiters as mentioned earlier, are distributors not end users like employers. They are not going to hire the actual candidate so they are less concerned with finding the best talent despite their rhetoric claiming they are. As distributors they are seeking someone that can do the job but more importantly they’re simply looking for a candidate with two attributes being saleability and personality.

With so many candidates that can do the job, recruiters now tend to only interview those they know already can do the job, not to find out ‘if they can do the job’ as was the case often pre GFC. They interview for ‘saleability’ and ‘personality’ not cultural fit. For this reason as a part of your reconnaissance and preparation it’s important to ask the recruiter on the phone prior to interviewing with them;

“Rodney, I believe that personalities make or break teams like cultures make or break companies. May I ask, if I am successful in securing this role; the person I’d be reporting to, what is their personality like?”

If the recruiter says ‘very conservative’ do not then come to an interview with a flashy shirt, gold rings, oiled up hair; differently if they’re innovative, young in nature and very sociable then dress for it and be sociable.

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E. Common Mistakes in Approach Letters

◉ Targeting the wrong person

Approaching someone too junior will be a waste of time as they are not someone you’re likely to be reporting into. Approaching someone at your same level, may result in them seeing you as a competitor so they’ll more likely delete your approach or respond claiming “Our firm is not interested”.

We’ve often placed candidates via another person in a business when the initial person we were dealing with claimed they had no need for our candidate’s expertise. Also, people in companies can be very ‘siloed’ and often not share information about great candidates they meet with their colleagues. Line managers think “Do I need this person on my team”. They forget to ask, “Can someone else use this person on their team?”

You need to do your research and find the person you would most likely be reporting into should they have a role or a need for someone like you.

◉ Not ‘double tapping’

As a safety precaution, in case the person you’re approaching does see you as being a competitor, do copy in HR or someone else like that person’s manager. Should the primary target delete your application, at least you’ll reduce your risk by having one or two other people review your application or letter of introduction. One shot one kill; but sometimes it takes two shots to make sure.

Think of this. A house has many points of entry, some doors are locked (closed minded people or people with a hiring freeze), others are swinging open then closed (they may be travelling or have some pressing they need to see to).

Knocking on several doors or approaching an individual at several different times could mean a world of difference. You need to be at the front of someone’s mind at the time they have a need. Often a rejection means ‘not yet’ not ‘not ever’.

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◉ Incorrect email address

If you find the email for someone in a corporate, you can then by using the same protocol identify the email address protocol for all others (usually). In regards to recruiters, do not send letters or job applications to generic email addresses. Sometimes recruiters can have a decoy address like [email protected] (a dumping ground email that diverts all emails to the server), whereas the email they give their clients and friends (which they do not like to give to applicants - this is the one they read), may be [email protected]. Your Executive Agent’s Research Team will have these emails if you’re stuck.

◉ Poor subject heading We could talk forever about this topic. Subject headings are powerful in securing attention similar to what a magazine headline is to catching the eye of pedestrian passing by a corner newsstand. Put yourself in the CEO’s position. If you receive an email with some nonsense like ‘Great candidate’, ‘I will rock your business’, ‘Consulting Tender’ to ‘Credible GM looking for a role’; or some other ‘generalistic’ crap that you’ve learned from the countless spams you have received you leave them no choice but to think you’re an amateur. This is not the best way to get attention, build credibility or a relationship. Personal Assistants are also trained to detect candidates (what they see as ’hawkers’); if they think your email appears to come from a candidate they’ll often send it down to the ‘black hole’ called HR, exactly where you do not want it to go; nothing comes out of there.

Now senior executives and their PA’s receive important correspondence from other executives in other businesses most days of the week; this is different to correspondence from candidates approaching them for employment. The trick is to go low under the radar. For example do this,

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mailto:[email protected]



Strategy. Send the CEO an email with a subject heading like “9:30 am Tuesday meeting with fmr CEO, ABC Corp (prev. XYZ)”, they’ll usually ask

themselves “Hey, I didn’t know I have a meeting with this person, WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?!” (Gotcha!). They’ve opened your email and haven’t forwarded it to the black hole.

You have just secured the CEO’s attention. Now the first paragraph needs to have something appropriate so as not to peeve them off, for example,

Dear Tom,

Reaching out and hoping to meet with you over the next week if you’re available. Currently 9:30 am Tuesday suits me if fine for you. Etc…

Now if your current or last role is/was in manufacturing and three roles ago you worked for a brand named Waste Management company; if you’re approaching the CEO/Chair of a Waste Management company now do not then stuff it up by destroying the relevance in your subject heading by putting ‘9:30 am Tuesday meeting with fmr COO, MNO Manufacturing !!’.

Put instead ‘9:30 am Tuesday meeting with fmr COO ACME Waste Management’. If this Waste Management company is too long ago or not known and your current Manufacturing employer is well known put at the end (Prev. COO, MNO Manufacturing), at least then you’re being noticed as a senior executive from a leading corporation, if not by a corporation in the target’s industry. Subject headings need to be relevant (not ‘catchy’) to get attention.

Strategy. Make subject headings relevant to the industry you’re approaching if able.

Your Agent will take these into account before approaching targets.

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◉ Poor opening paragraph Actually name a date and time or even a telephone number in the opening paragraph so the reader doesn’t think your approach is spam. Spammers do not ever ask to meet with people or ask for a telephone call. ◉ Little relevance The biggest hurdle to candidates in this market is lack of industry experience. Pre-GFC you could have said to an employer I have great transferable skills, and they may have offered you a role, but now it’s “There’s a long line out my door with fifty people in it? Eighty percent of those candidates have experience in our industry and you do not so stop dreaming and go away!”

Now if you do have some experience in the industry of the target company then highlight it in your subject heading,

‘Meeting 9:30 am with fmr COO, ABC Widgets (Prev. XYZ Widgets)’, and in your signature put for example,

Yours sincerely, Joe Blow COO (or Fmr COO if a past role) ABC Widgets www.abcwidgets.com (optional)

Alternatively if you do not have experience in that industry; maybe you have dealt with a major customer or supplier of the target company, in which case your subject heading may read,

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‘Meeting 9:30 am with fmr Liaison Officer, ABC Widgets’ and in your signature put for example,

Yours sincerely, Joe Blow Head of Accounts - ACME Widgets (or Fmr Head of Accounts, if a past role) Xyz Steel www.xyzsteel.com (Optional)

If you do not have experience in the industry in anyway then either do not approach the company or use something like,

‘Meeting 9:30 am with fmr COO, (insert a previous Leading Brand Name Employer’) and in your signature put for example,

Yours sincerely, Joe Blow COO (or Fmr COO if a past role) Leading Brand Name www.leadingbrandname.com (optional)

There’s a saying in recruitment, “If you have a title you're someone, if you do not you’re no one”. Now this is unfair, rude and not true but we do not live in a perfect world. This idea came about because recruiters’ first priorities are to secure

assignments NOT to find the best candidate. Thus they are basically Business Development People. They’d much prefer to build a relationship with someone employed who can potentially refer them business rather than someone who may have been unemployed for a long time and can’t refer them business.

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◉ Not enough ‘What’s in it for the employer’? Ever heard the term ‘build the business around the customer’, or ‘the customer is always right’? (This is wrong anyway as it should be the ‘RIGHT’ customer is always right). Now as the job seeker, you’re the salesperson selling yourself as a product to the customer being the employer.

Candidates that put in their approach letters, “I want a company that can advance my career, reward me for my efforts” or similar are making a grand mistake. Salespeople very rarely walk up to prospective customers and tell them what they want instead they ask the customer what they want. Common sense is all.

You should be inserting in your approach letter how other Boards with similar visions and challenges to the employer you’re approaching, sought you out. How you helped them capture their visions, achieve stretch growth, build their brand and decimate their competitors. In other words give them what they want, don’t state what you want, at least not yet.

◉ Unclear Titles People interview candidates to see what they have done or do, not what their name tag or job title is. Let’s say if you work in a garage and you fix cars which means you’re a mechanic. Now if the owner gives you a title which says ‘hairdresser’ and you go to parties or business functions telling people you’re a hairdresser not a mechanic then your perpetuating this lie and it’ll probably cost you a job when you meet someone who wants to hire a mechanic. Or if your job title is ‘Manager’ but you’re a mechanic how does this help a potential employer identify you or work out what you actually do? Titles like Director, Consultant, and Project Manager Etc. only describe management levels not functions, scope of responsibilities or lines of business. Imagine trying to sell a Television and putting it in a poorly packaged box that read ‘Electrical Appliance’.

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Some seventy to eighty percent of candidates we interview have simply misleading job titles given to them by HR for a number of reasons ranging from apathy, confusion, politics (so as not to rock the boat – some peers are jealous of other staff being given more prestigious titles than theirs) or to avoid having to pay people more. If you hire a CIO but give them the title ‘IT Manager’ they probably will be happy to be paid less.

Some ‘small minded people are envious of titles. There are countless titles you can give these people for example, ‘Head of Feasibilities of Efficiency of Systems Upgrades’ to ‘Group Director – Coffee’, ‘Global Head of Photocopying’ to ‘Director of Hygiene and Wellness’; the part time staff member who cleans the kitchen on Fridays.

True Story. We once interviewed a candidate, let’s call him Roland, who was applying for Chief Information Officer (CIO) roles but could not secure any

interviews. Reviewing his resume we noticed his title was only ‘IT Manager’ which sounds very junior and is not a C-Level title.

We asked him why he did not put ‘CIO’ in his resume. He said this was misleading as that was not his title. We asked him does his employer have someone else with the CIO title, he said “No”. We asked him “Do you report into the CEO? Do you head up technology strategy and lead the IT Team?” to which he said “Yes”. We asked him “So you’re like the Head of IT”, “Yes”, which is like the ‘IT Director?” again “Yes”, “Which is like a CIO?” he replied finally “Yes” (GOTCHA). “You’re the CIO!”

A smile crept across his face then a frown when he realized he had just wasted six months applying for CIO roles yet saying he was a simple ‘IT Manager’. Recruiters would read his resume and think “I do not need an IT Manager; my client is looking for a CIO”. Common sense isn’t common.

Now, that we’ve rammed this point home, an example.

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If you’re a ‘Project Manager’ this is in itself is very undescriptive. What level of management is this? Do you manage IT infrastructure projects or civil construction projects?

Think about what you ‘head up’. Now if you’re at the Director level and are competing with other Directors or ‘Heads of’, then put in your resume and cover letter,

◉ Head of Project – Migration or ◉ National Head of Projects or even ◉ Country Head – New Projects or something more honest and meaningful.

You can mark these titles with an asterisk (*) following the title then at the bottom of your resume insert ‘*Official title was Project Manager’.

◉ Representation vs. No Representation. Some executives like to be represented by someone as opposed to always representing themselves. It’s often easier to have someone else boast about you then having to do it yourself. If you’re going to have someone market you your approach letter may read:

Yours sincerely,

(Insert name of Executive Agent)

EA to (EA refers to Executive Agent not Executive Assistant)

Joe Blow

CEO

ACME

Or

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P.S. Feel free to call my EA, (Insert name of Executive Agent) on number x or by emailing [email protected] should you need to clarify the above or have your PA coordinate a meeting time.

Yours sincerely,

Joe Blow

CEO

ACME

◉ Being Overly Formal Write to people using the same tone as to what you would use in writing to a boss of say six months. In other words, friendly and respectful but not with regimented conservatism. Most people write overly formal letters to seniors or someone they want something from “Yes Sir, No Sir, More please Sir”. If you’re overly formal people will often look down at you, and this does not help if you’re trying to position yourself at the CEO/Chairs level or presenting yourself as being a worthy business partner, not a mere subordinate. Ever read an application for a job littered with overly formal words like ‘Dear Sir, Attention, Herewith, therefore, thus, herein, therein’ it’s almost like Shakespeare is writing it; ‘Thou haven't, haven’t thou, whoeth be, earnestly thou be’ etc. How could you imagine working with such a person who is overly obsessed with formalities? Beware the academic or government employee! Oppositely, be careful not to write like the ‘Y- Generation’ (texting generation) who butcher the English language cutting everything short because their spare hand is either on the gear stick or their comb.

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◉ No Unique Value Proposition

Definition: Unique

Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else. "The situation was unique in modern politics"

Synonyms: distinctive, distinct, individual, special, idiosyncratic

This is important. We could write a book on this topic alone. People do not care why you’re the same as every other candidate! They’re interviewing you to see either:

◉ If they’re an employer, “What Unique value can you bring?”, or “Why should we hire you

instead of anyone else?”

◉ If they’re a recruiter, “What’s so Unique about you that makes you the easiest to sell candidate?”

A team member once interviewed an executive and literally asked him ten times, why he was unique, until he finally got it. His answers ranged from:

◉ I can motivate people, ◉ People tell me I am unique, ◉ I work harder than all others, ◉ I have diverse industry experience, ◉ I have an MBA, ◉ I speak two languages, ◉ I am a transformational leader, ◉ My team thinks I am unique, ◉ I have more skills than others, ◉ I am super successful, ◉ I always complete projects under time and under budget, I, I, I…

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All these replies are vague, ambiguous, subjective and lack any credibility. A Board isn’t going to hire you because you claim you motivate people! They assume this already. It’s as common as having wheels on a car. Saying the above in an interview and mentioning it in a job application is as stupid as a car salesman telling a prospect “You can see this car is unique. You’ll notice it has an engine and four wheels!”

Your uniqueness has to come through in your letters to employers and recruiters and in your interview performance.

◉ Contact Numbers Ever applied for a dream role, sent off an application to a recruiter, had the recruiter try and call you and leave a voice message on your mobile saying, “Hey, it’s me, got your email, call me when you can” (no details left and from a silent number) only to have you think “Who the hell was that?” as you have lodged more than one application. Weeks go by and you find out after speaking with one recruiter that they rang you and left a voicemail and upon receiving no reply they shortlisted other candidates. Life sometimes is a circus with just too many clowns.

Lesson. Don’t put contact numbers in your initial letter or resume. Force recipients to reply via email only.

Made up Story. Imagine your Executive Agent has got twenty applications all progressing well for you. Against their advice you insist on them putting your

contact number in your application letters and on your resume. You’re driving home one day half smacked from a line of coke; you’re in your fancy Humvee with the ‘love$$$’ registration plate, you’re belting out your favorite Boyz to Men tunes on your ten grand Bose system that’s ripping your boot apart; you’re feeling good and then the phone rings? You answer it ‘Don’t talk to me, make love to me”. Your tone is entirely inappropriate and worse still Boyz to Men is still bopping away in the background. The voice replies “It’s Rod getting back to you about your application!”

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Your brain doesn’t catch the name and when you eventually understand what’s happening your brain cell sends a message to your foot that’s now stopped bopping; you hit the brakes, screeching to a halt.

One side of your brain cell is thinking “Oh *&%#!” and the other more inquisitive side is thinking “What application?” (Your Executive Agent has many in the pipeline).

Too bad you’ve just created your first impression; this is in effect your ‘first interview’. Now you may be thinking most recruiters love Boys to Men, but what happens if this is the Global Head of HR or the Chair calling? Then you’re in the poop.

Lesson. Do not put contact numbers in your correspondence.

Now we understand not putting a contact number in your resume goes against common sense. Think about this however. Smart Executive Agents will market you without inserting your contact numbers in any correspondence forcing the target to reply via email only. There are four core benefits to the Agent and Candidate being:

1. They receive prior warning that the target is interested in speaking with the candidate,

2. They can learn a lot from the respondent’s signature. The EA may have approached

the Chair but they could be off sunning themselves in the Bahamas so the Global Head of HR is responding to the email instead. (HR is a different beast to Chairs or CEOs, so need to be handled differently),

3. The EA can do more in-depth research on the company for the candidate prior to

calling the respondent back, and lastly, 4. Your Executive Agent can brief the candidate on the role, the situation and strategize

with them how to reply, all even before they jump on the phone with the prospective interviewer. Pure logic!

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Now some candidates may claim interviewers will forget you if they cannot call you. This comment may be true if you’re applying for a clerical role where they have hundreds of clerks all reaching out to them, but you’re a senior executive and they’re interested in speaking with you they will email you; from years of experience they will presume the candidate is in a meeting or is travelling so this is why they have not inserted their contact number.

If you still want to put your number in a resume or letter only put a mobile in there, one that preferably does not give away your location as this may turn people off interviewing you if you’re in South Africa and applying for a role in the USA or outback Australia.

DO NOT put in home numbers as then the target presumes you’re at home drinking yourself senseless, patting your dog and watching cable TV. In other words inserting a home number advertises you’re unemployed and recruiters often prefer not to interview or shortlist unemployed people over those who are working.

Side thought. We used to invest in a mobile phone and a dedicated job hunt number for all our new members. We’d have 200 plus mobiles vibrating all day with numerous messages coming through. We would then have to retrieve

individual voicemails, (a very slow and cumbersome task), then map these responses back to applications; hilarious but an administrative nightmare especially when the caller leaves a vague message from a silent number without correctly identifying themselves.

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F. Sample Letter of Introduction to Employers (Long version)

Subject Heading: Tuesday morning meeting with fmr CFO, ACME

Dear Tom,

Reaching out and hoping to meet with you next Tuesday morning or other time should you feel my invitation below is of interest. Up until recently the CFO of ACME Corp and previously having held other senior finance and commercial roles from Group CFO, Commercial Director etc. for other industry icons like GE and Westfield, I’ve been blessed with a library of skills relating to capitalizing businesses, restructuring lean enterprises to capturing stretch growth objectives through more creative and prudential financial strategy and leadership.

Joe Blow the Group CEO of Leighton, personally hired me with the full support of his Board at a time in his business when similar to yours they were also facing issues ranging from xx, xx and challenges including xx, xx and xxx. In recognition of my talent for xx, xx and xx, Joe gave me the mandate to x, which I believe is very similar to the mandate you’re seeking to give your next CFO. (Or to the challenges you’re currently facing).

Joe was especially seeking a CFO that could x, x and x, someone also having advanced strategic prowess in growing his business, by this I mean specifically using finance to secure more customers, buying more often at higher margins with less attrition of staff and customers. Some stretch growth objectives captured whilst at ACME included:

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◉ List three to five here. ◉ Xxx ◉ xxx

The legacy I helped Joe build was that of a business now with xx, xx and xx. The Finance Division now possesses a library of skills enabling them to xx, the culture is now firmly centered on xx, xx and xx. Their capabilities now include xx an xx.

I am keen to speak with you over coffee (or telephone if you’re travelling) to learn more about your objectives and challenges and to share with you how I have helped other CEOs achieve similar objectives, should you feel my experience is of high relevance.

(Optional) As a further summary of my team’s achievements read:

(Insert ‘claim to fame’ paragraph from your Strategic Leadership Resume)

Thanking you in advance and awaiting your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Your name

Fmr CFO

ABC Corp (list your current or previous title or unofficial title here. People with titles (even if unemployed) get noticed more than those without titles).

Email: (Common sense isn’t common after all so we need to state; do not use an email address that your spouse gave you in a fit of passion or one that reflects your high school nickname ‘[email protected] or [email protected]. Don’t include a contact number. Force the recipient to reply email you)

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Chapter 14 : Preparing for the Interview (Battle Preparation)

This chapter shows you how to prepare for an interview, from how to structure the interview, communicate your value to how to overcome objections.

A. Strategizing the Interview Prior to your interview ensure you have:

1. Researched the employer, their industry and any bios available on the interviewers.

2. Anticipate the interviewer’s needs and possible objections. You can complete

these in your Needs and Objections Table (See next page). Be sure to list two to three ‘Situation. Action. Results’ (S.A.Rs) that give evidence of how you’ve solved these needs in other groups,

3. Prepare Your S.A.Rs

S.A.R. is an acronym for:

Situation. Describe a situation where a previous employer faced a similar situation, issue or need to the one your interviewing with. (You can insert ‘Task’ or ‘Mandate/Mission’ here making this acronym S.T.A.R or S.M.A.R)

Action. Describe the action you took in rectifying this situation.

Result. Describe the end results or legacy you left behind. (Be specific).

Think of S.A.R.s as your bullets. Imagine you’re in a gun fight. You have a panel of interviewers all firing rounds at you; their bullets are their questions and objections. You’ve got to be able to fire back fast with convincing, clear and decisive responses.

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The trick is to anticipate their needs and their objections prior to the interview. Ask yourself the question, “If I was the interviewer, why would I not hire me?” Then prepare a response.

4. Prepare Business Unique Value Proposition (Read Chapter 9),

5. Familiarize yourself with your resume,

6. Give particular thought to recalling examples as to how:

◉ You have grown similar businesses, and ◉ To verbalize your ROI to these previous employers

7. Prepare Your Leadership Stories (or Journeys) front of mind. If you haven’t done so already simply go through your resume and highlight one to three sentences on each of the seven parts of your Leadership Journeys for say your last five years of employment (e.g. Positive aspects of previous employers, who hired you, what issues and problems they were experiencing, why they hired or promoted you, what mandate they gave you, how you grew the business, your legacy).

8. Book in a Strategy Session with your Executive Agent preferably two days before the interview. They will compile or evolve the strategy with you. Your Executive Agent can compile your leadership stories for you and provide you with research reports.

Complete this table.

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B. Anticipating Needs & Objections Join the dots by asking questions which match your skills and experience (S.A.Rs) to the interviewer’s needs.

Needs

(Prioritise these)

(‘Joining’) Questions

S.A.R.

To Float the business

“How important is it that you find a CFO with extensive listing experience?”

• Floated 5 companies

including ACME. • All successful • Gross capitalisation

$900Million.

“Do you require...?”

Bullet point examples

“Would it benefit your client to have...?”

“Would my experience in X be attractive to your client?”

“Do you need someone with...?”

“Is a talent for XXXX of any interest?”

Objections

(“Joining”) Questions

S.A.R.

“Do you see my cross-industry experience being of value?” (I am not from your industry)

“Do years of experience bring more credibility to this role?” (You’re mature of age)

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“Are you looking for someone who has a record in completing projects a head of time?” (You’ve done a lot of short projects and appeared to have moved around a lot)

“Is a diversity of industry experience of value to the team?” (You have jumped around a lot)

We study objection handling in more detail in Chapter 15.

C. Tips for a Successful Interview You are being interviewed because the interviewer wants to hire somebody - not because they want to trip you or embarrass you. Through the interaction which takes place during the interview, they will be searching out your strong and weak points, evaluating you on your qualifications, skills and intellectual qualities and they will probably probe deeply to determine your attributes, aptitudes, stability, motivation and maturity.

The short time you spend at a job interview could have a dramatic effect on your career prospects. It is therefore important that you perform well, because, no matter how good your career record is to date, the employment interview remains an important step towards achievement of your ambitions.

Most important is your Leadership Journey which identifies your unique leadership offering and differentiates you from other candidates.

Preparation is the essential first step towards a successful interview. Interviewers are continually amazed at the number of applicants who drift into their offices without any apparent preparation and only the vaguest idea of what they are going to say. Thus, it is important to:

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◉ Know the exact place and time of the interview, the interviewer's full name, and its correct pronunciation and their title.

◉ Find out specific facts about the company - where its offices, plants or stores are

located; what its products and services are; what its growth has been; and what its growth potential is for the future.

◉ Refresh your memory on the facts and figures of your present employer and

former employers. You will be expected to know a lot about a company for which you have previously worked.

◉ Prepare the questions you will ask during the interview. Remember that an

interview is a two-way street. The employer will try to determine through questioning if you have the qualifications necessary to do the job. You must determine through questioning whether the company will give you the opportunity for the growth and development you seek.

◉ Dress conservatively and preferably in darker colors. Pay attention to all facets of your dress and grooming. No earrings, big chunky opulent rings or watches, necklaces (men), nose rings. You get the point.

Be prepared to answer questions such as: ◉ Why did you choose this particular role? What do you really want to do in your next

career move? ◉ Why would you like to work for our organization? ◉ What do you want to be doing in your career five years from now? Why? ◉ What was your last salary and bonus? ◉ What style of management gets the best from you? ◉ What interests you about our products and services? ◉ Can you get recommendations from previous employers? What would they say

about you? ◉ What have you learned from some of the jobs you have held? Which did you enjoy

most? Why? ◉ What have you done that shows initiative in your career? ◉ What is your major weakness? What are you doing about it? ◉ What do you think determines a person's progress in a good company?

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◉ Are you willing to relocate? ◉ How do you spend your spare time? What are your hobbies? ◉ What does teamwork mean to you? ◉ Have you saved any money? What entrepreneurial activities have you been engaged

in?

Questions You Must Ask at Interviews

Why many job seekers fail,

“Discovery consists of seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no-one else has thought.” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

The traditional interview format is poorly suited to extracting answers to the three critical questions on the employer’s agenda that we’ve already discussed. That’s why many candidates fail. They wait for opportunities to answer questions that are never asked, or they do not ask enough questions themselves for fear of appearing too demanding.

By asking questions that show you have thought about the job opportunity in depth, you can differentiate yourself from other candidates and highlight your preparedness and astuteness. You should go to every interview prepared to ask as many questions as necessary to satisfy yourself regarding the opportunity on offer.

Be sure to keep the ‘invasive’ questions until the end of the interview after the point at which they have decided to hire you. You do not want to turn the employer off you by asking these too early, especially not before they understand your value to their business.

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The candidate who asks insightful questions will be well regarded by the interviewer. In addition to gaining valuable information that will prove useful in any further rounds of interviews, you will subtly come across as an individual who is in demand and can be selective about the role you choose. Once this happens, many interviewers will start to ‘sell’ you the job to ensure they have your interest. That’s a sure sign you are being considered for the position.

Choosing the right time to ask questions

Waiting until the end of an interview to ask questions is a mistake. By the later stages of an interview, the prospective employer will have formed a strong impression about your suitability that may be very difficult to change. You should start asking questions early in the interview and continue throughout. Asking questions early in the interview will:

◉ Afford you some influence over proceedings and ensure you do not do all the talking.

◉ Build rapport, since interviewers generally like to talk about their own company. ◉ Create opportunity for you to ask many more questions without seeming overly

demanding toward the end of the interview.

What insightful candidates ask

The questions you should ask depend upon the nature and level of the position you are applying for. However, there are certain questions that should be asked at every interview, whether you are meeting with a recruitment agency or the employer directly. Insightful questions show that you are in demand. As a guide, we recommend the following questions:

The top three as previously discussed are:

1. Do they have any concerns about your skills, experience or fit within the culture?

2. What do they like most about your experience or skills? (Or what value do they feel you can bring the team?)

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3. Are there any skills or experience that other candidates possess that they’re also

wondering if you possess?

Other more generic questions range from (pick five):

◉ What are the company’s key goals? ◉ What role does this appointment play in achieving those goals? ◉ Why is this position available? ◉ Where is the role located? ◉ What are the challenges and priorities of the position? ◉ What responsibilities of the position are most important? ◉ How much autonomy can I expect in the role? ◉ Could you describe your ideal candidate for me? ◉ Can you describe the company culture for me? ◉ Could you tell me about company management styles/decision making? ◉ Who does the position report to and what is their management style? ◉ What are the key strengths and weaknesses of my prospective staff? ◉ Who will I interact with, how often and in what way? ◉ How would my performance be measured? ◉ What makes you feel I’ll be successful in the role? ◉ What concerns you about my background and experience? ◉ What are your company's strengths and how do you capitalize on them? ◉ What are your company’s weaknesses and how are you dealing with them? ◉ What changes do you anticipate in the industry? ◉ What risks will your company face due to industry changes? ◉ What are the best opportunities at your firm for new hires? ◉ How have you strategically responded to the competition? ◉ What legislation is pending that will affect your firm? ◉ Where will the major sources of your business be in the next 5 years? ◉ How is worker performance measured and reviewed? ◉ Do you have a mentor program? How about formal training programs? ◉ What is your company's management style? ◉ What challenges are facing this company? Do you think your company is reacting to

them? ◉ Why do people leave?

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◉ Why have you stayed with the company? ◉ Describe my initial assignments? ◉ If you hire me, what are the three most pressing issues you need resolved?

Questions you might ask:

◉ When will you know if you’ve made the right choice in filling this position? ◉ Why did you join the company…why do you stay? ◉ When staff leave your company, where do they go? ◉ How long do you want me to stay with the company? ◉ What travel commitments does the position involve? ◉ Does your company value training? What is provided, when? ◉ What are my future prospects for promotion? ◉ Do you have a formal performance appraisal system?

As mentioned earlier, only ask questions about concerns you have about the employer after they have come to the conclusion they want to hire you. They

will then have to answer your questions for you to come on board. If you ask them these questions relating to concerns you may have too early they may think you’re too fussy, rude, are not interested in the job or other; they may decide to hire another candidate.

Negative factors interviewers watch for:

During the course of an interview, the employer will be evaluating your negative and positive attributes. Listed below are negative attributes frequently evaluated during the course of an interview and those which most often lead to rejection. These are:

◉ Poor personal appearance. ◉ Overbearing, aggressive, conceited; superiority complex; know-it-all. ◉ Inability to express thoughts clearly, poor diction or grammar. ◉ Lack of planning for career - no purpose or goals.

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◉ Lack of interest and enthusiasm - passive and indifferent. ◉ Lack of confidence - nervousness. ◉ Over-emphasis on money - interested only in remuneration. ◉ Evasive - makes excuses for unfavorable factors in record. ◉ Lack of tact/maturity/courtesy. ◉ Condemnation of past employers. ◉ Failure to look interviewer in the eye. ◉ Limp, fishy handshake. ◉ Lack of appreciation of the value of experience. ◉ Failure to ask good questions about the job and company. This is most important! ◉ Persistent attitude of "What can you do for me?" ◉ Lack of preparation for interview - failure to get information about the company,

resulting in ability to ask intelligent questions.

Some "Do's" and "Don'ts" concerning the interview

◉ DON'T lie. Answer questions truthfully, frankly and as much to the point as possible. ◉ DON'T ever make derogatory remarks about present or former employers or

companies. ◉ DON'T "over-answer" questions. The interviewer may steer the conversation into

politics or economics. Since this can be ticklish, it is best to answer the questions honestly, trying not to say more than is necessary.

◉ DON'T enquire about SALARY, HOLIDAYS, BONUSES, etc. at the initial interview unless you are positive the employer is interested in hiring you and raises the issue first. However, you should know your market value and be prepared to specify your required salary range.

◉ DO always conduct yourself as if you are determined to get the job you are discussing. Never close the door on an opportunity. It is better to be in the position where you can choose from a number of jobs rather than only one.

◉ DO plan to arrive on time or a few minutes early. Late arrival for a job interview is never excusable.

◉ If presented with an application, DO fill it out neatly and completely. If you have a personal resume, be sure the person you release it to is the person who will actually do the hiring.

◉ DO greet the interviewer by their surname if you are sure of the pronunciation. If you are not, ask them to repeat their name.

◉ DO shake hands firmly.

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◉ DO wait until you are offered a chair before sitting. Sit upright in your chair. Look alert and interested at all times. Be a good listener as well as a good talker. Smile.

◉ DON'T smoke even if the interviewer smokes and offers you a cigarette. ◉ DO look a prospective employer in the eye while you talk to them. ◉ DO follow the interviewer's leads but try to get the interviewer to describe the

position and duties to you early in the interview so that you can relate your background and skills to the position.

◉ DON'T answer questions with a simple "yes" or "no". Explain whenever possible. Tell those things about yourself which relate to the position.

◉ DO make sure that your good points get across to the interviewer in a factual, sincere manner. Keep in mind that you alone can sell yourself to an interviewer. Make them realize the need for you in his/her organization. Smile.

Closing the interview:

If you are interested in the position, ask for it, or ask for another interview if the situation demands. If they offer the position to you, and you want it, accept on the spot in principle (obviously subject to reviewing the formal offer). Doing so will result in the interviewer probably losing interest in other candidates because in their mind they have already found someone; position closed! If you need some time to think it over, be courteous and tactful in asking for that time. Set a definite date when you can provide an answer.

Questions to wrap-up the interview

◉ What is your timetable for filling the position? ◉ What happens next in the selection process? ◉ Will you be recommending that I proceed to the next stage of selection? ◉ When can I expect to hear from you? ◉ Don't be too discouraged if no definite offer is made or specific salary discussed. The

interviewer will probably want to communicate with their office first or interview more applicants before making a decision. If you get the impression that the interview is not going well and that you have already been rejected, do not let your discouragement show. Once in a while an interviewer who is genuinely interested in your possibilities may seem to discourage you in order to test your reaction.

◉ Thank the interviewer for their time and consideration of you.

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After the interview:

Lastly and the most importantly, call your Executive Agent (if you have one) after the interview and explain what happened. They will want to talk with you before the interviewer calls back (if applicable). If you are interested in progressing further it will assist if your feelings towards the position are known, together with your perception of what the employer's next steps are likely to be.

Your Agent will prepare a ‘Post Interview Strategic Summary’ for the interviewer to reaffirm your fit for the role (if applicable) and formulate further strategy and

training.

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Chapter 15 : Masterfully Overcoming Objections (Dodging Bullets)

This chapter is a more exhaustive look at identifying and overcoming objections.

Handling Rejections & Objections - The Counter Attack Objections can come from any direction, of any severity and thus need to be anticipated. If your resume writer is worth the money you pay them, they should be masterfully anticipating objections for you and writing strategies to overcome these. Very few writers know how to do this effectively.

As a part of your Pre-Interview Preparation, compile a list of reasons why interviewers, recruiters, and CXOs may not want to interview or hire you. You need to now turn these objections into attributes, as objections usually are only PERCEIVED shortfalls or ‘misunderstanding’ of your experience.

Strategies in Handling Objections ◉ It is impossible to overcome all objections as some objections will remain hidden.

The best way to get hired is to demonstrate unique value across as many of the requirements as possible, so if you do not have one requirement, it won't necessarily be a deal-breaker.

◉ If the interviewer still looks confused when you answer a question, they probably have an objection. You probably haven't answered the question on their mind, not necessarily the same one that came out of their mouth. Your failure to understand the logic behind the interviewers question has resulted in an objection. (Read Appendix A).

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◉ Discover objections early and do not avoid them. Identify and define these as early as possible. They're like diseases. Prevention is better than cure. A correctly worded Resume and a properly structured, well-strategized Application or Approach Letter will leave less doubt as to your value.

A well-prepared Pre-interview Strategic Summary after you've correctly ‘Handled the Initial Recruiter's Telephone Call’ (See Appendix C) will help in the identification, clarification, and quashing of any objections.

◉ Flip it. Flipping is a term we use when we ask a question concerning a need that has the interviewer focus on the other side of the coin, not the negative side but the positive, the reasons they should hire you as opposed to why they should not. You do not need to wait for an objection to come up as they may not. You need to draw them out to kill them. For example, ask the interviewer this: “Tom, I've picked up a lot of experience across a lot of groups. I've also achieved my mandates in record time. Resulting from this, the length of some of my tenures may appear shorter than usual. Are there any questions you have in regards to my employment history?” Or if they bring the point up as an objection:

Example 1. “You've moved around too often.”

Response: “It's true to say I've achieved my mandates early and captured a diversity of experience I suspect most candidates haven't captured.”

Example 2. “You're not from our industry!”

Response: “I understand. Bearing in mind you have more industry specialists than you can poke a stick at, would the business be better equipped for growth by capturing Leadership and Strategic know-how from a range of industries and injecting this diversity of ideas into the business?

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If you do not hire from outside of the industry, where are you going to capture this diversity of knowledge from? Would you not just be duplicating existing talent?”

Remember, a question unanswered usually becomes an objection. You need to answer the question on an interviewer's mind, not necessarily the question that

comes out of their mouth!

A true story. We were strategically maneuvering a Finance Director candidate ‘Joanne’ through an exhaustive interview process for a very high paying role

with a large global retail group. She had substantial experience in UK private equity and in the ‘services to mining sector; her specialty was IPOs. The interviewing CEO (and founder) ‘Gary’ was himself insecure in his own skin and had many advisors with their mouths in the trough, one in particular being the external HR consultant, ‘Robert’.

Our candidate had six interviews, the next being her seventh. As a part of the strategy session for this interview we identified probable objections and crafted strategies to overcome these. The first was that she was over qualified. The HR Consultant to make himself look good and to secure more business with the employer was making a habit of showing off and burning candidates. Consultants often have their personal drivers which aren’t always in the best interest of their clients. The following is what happened.

The HR Consultant said to Joanne in front of the CEO, “Joanne you’re overqualified for this role!” Joanne then turned to the CEO (being the real decision maker) and said, “I am overqualified. In fact I am a lot more overqualified than you both think I am. Gary as you would be aware, a common reason for success behind great CEOs is that they try and attract and retain as much talent as they can get their hands on. On this point I perfectly understand where you want to take this business, as I have been there on many occasions with other businesses and I know the pathway very well”.

Turning to the HR Consultant to save him face and to garnish his support she said, “As Robert intuitively pointed out, I have an abundance of talent to bring the team”. To which they both nodded in agreement. Turning back to the CEO, she asked, “Gary is the real concern here not that I am overqualified but more so you see me as a potential flight risk?

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Someone who may get bored and move on? Well I’m not. Can I share with you some genuine reasons why I see myself partnering with you for many years to come?” (Which she did – objection killed).

Lesson. Correctly identify objections. The objection which had been correctly identified was ‘flight risk’ not, ‘being over qualified’ (as many recruiters and HR

mistakenly tell candidates).

After the interview the candidate was beginning to get cocky about having the role ‘in the bag’! I told her we were now only still fifty one percent there as the biggest objection had not been ‘killed’. What was this?

CEOs need to know they can feel comfortable working with someone; this CEO, being reasonably insecure was now intimidated by her experience and he had no wish to look stupid in front of her. We thought this insecurity may impede his willingness to hire her.

To solve this insecurity we told her she needed to relax him, get under his skin and remove this intimidation. At our instruction, she rang the CEO, and said ‘words to effect), “Gary, a personal call. To be very open I am keen to help you build this business and there is considerable value I can bring, but I am also a firm believer that personalities need to bond, and to this point I haven’t had the opportunity to really get to know you and vice versa. May I buy you a coffee?” After a long chat over lunch instead, they bonded. The CEO no longer felt intimidated. Objection killed. She landed the role.

Lesson. You may represent good business common sense but even more importantly you need to also make good personal common sense. CEOs often

hire a second best candidate if the personality fit is greater.

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Some Common Objections & Corresponding Solutions

Objection Solution You're overqualified

“I understand. Yes, I am overqualified, maybe even more so than you appreciate. You may agree however only non-progressive companies hire people that aren't overqualified. You've built this great business by attracting and retaining as much talent as you can get your hands on. Is the concern more that you're concerned I will get bored and move on? Is that you feel maybe this business doesn't have sufficient challenges to attract me long term? Well it does! Do you mind if I take a few moments to share those with you?” (Proceed to outline reasons why the business interests you long term).

You have little experience in this industry

“I understand. Considering this business already has many industry specialists, would the business achieve its objectives easier by capturing XXXX experience across other industries and injecting that innovation and diversity of industry experience back into the business? If you do not hire from outside of the industry, where are you going to get this added unique cross-industry experience from? Wouldn't you just be duplicating existing industry experience?” (This is called ‘flipping’).

You do not fit the culture

You need to ask questions pre-interview (See Appendix C. ‘Handling the Recruiter's Initial Call’) to identify the type of culture before your interview. Beware; it's more about ‘personality fit’ than cultural fit. The interviewer feels you could not get along with the person/people you would be working alongside/reporting to. To save offending you, they say it's a lack of cultural fit as opposed to, “I do not like you so the team/client probably won't like you either.”

You're too expensive

Or you haven't shown us sufficient value to understand why you're asking for more money! Did you identify their needs sufficiently? Did you solve these by a S.A.R? Did you communicate your understanding of growing businesses? Or your Unique Leadership Value by way of a Leadership Journey.

You have an unstable work history (you have moved around a lot)

“Yes, that's quite true—something I have some pride in and a reason previous employers have hired me. They understood very few candidates had worked with such a variety of employers and as a result had a less diverse background of experience. It's important to note, my mandates were achieved, and I always left business quite a lot better off than when I first started, giving previous employers a healthy ROI.” Give a S.A.R. or a Legacy for an employer that you spent little time with.

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True Story. A candidate of ours ‘Alison’ a former ‘Head of Supply Chain’ for a leading regional steel manufacturing group was about to attend a final interview for a ‘Coal Co-op’ who were now starting up their own freight

business as opposed to paying exorbitant freight costs through using a mutual third party provider.

We identified her biggest objection as being a lack of industry experience as she had never worked in resources, and all the other candidates attending the Panel Interview were senior supply chain professionals from the Resources industry. How could we overcome this objection? This is what the candidate said to the Chair in front of the panel. We call this a ‘flip’.

“Mr. Chair, I understand that there may be a concern about my industry experience. As you’re aware I have not worked in Coal before. In fact I do not even know what color it is (knowing she was joking they burst into laughter). Now considering that you have already in the business more industry specialists than you can poke a stick at, wouldn’t the business be better off in standing on two legs as opposed to just one, by bringing a diversity of cross industry experience like manufacturing and steel into the business? The point being, if you hire one of the other candidates are you not just duplicating your existing talent? If you do not hire from outside of the industry, where are you going to capture diversity of leadership and strategy from?” (A very valid point. She got offered the role but had accepted another elsewhere).

Lesson. Anticipate objections, identify them and then kill them as early as possible. Soldiers go on search and destroy missions not search and avoid

missions. After you have handled an objection, you need to confirm that objection is now put to bed by asking words to effect, “Is that still a concern to you?” or “Do you still feel I lack experience in that area?”

To better understand the logic behind why interviewers ask some questions, see Appendix A. The Logic Behind Interviewer's Questions.’

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Chapter 16 : Three Critical Questions to Ask In Interviews (Triangulation Questions)

This brief chapter will enable you to pinpoint where you are in the minds of the interviewers so you can then better plan your strategy.

There are three core things to consider in an interview be it at initial, ongoing or final interviews. The below three questions enable you to constantly gauge if you’re still ‘on target,’ a term snipers use when they’re tracking a target that’s moving. You need to continually track where you are in the minds of the interviewers. You can identify if you are by asking the following three questions:

Three ‘Chess-Board’ Must Ask Questions to ask towards the end of the conversation are;

1. Negative - “Do you have any concerns as to my suitability for the role?” This is important. If there is a key ‘must have’ requirement you do not have, consider cancelling the interview. Also make sure the interviewer hasn’t assumed you do not have a particular expertise by mistake; maybe you have omitted something from your Resume.

2. Positive - “What particular aspects of my experience do you feel may be most

suited to this role or of most value?”

Don’t settle for a one or two word response. Do not accept vague answers; dig down deeper by using phrases like, “How do you mean?”, or “That’s interesting, could you expand on that for me?”

Here you identify what they like about your talent, skills or experience, maybe more than other competing candidates. Call these ‘love buttons’. If you identify these likes and keep emphasizing your skills or experience that relates to these the interviewers should ‘fall more in love with you’. Win their hearts and minds.

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3. Neutral - “Thomas so that I can help you in identifying the best candidate and also differentiate my skills from others do you mind if I ask…”Of the candidates you are interviewing, do any of them have any outstanding expertise or skills that you’re also wondering if I possess?”

This last question above is designed to identify your competition and what value you must also communicate in the face-to-face interview to take them out of action.

Readers should pay special attention to the Appendix C ‘Handling the Initial Recruiter Telephone Call’.

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Chapter 17 : Adjusting Your Job Hunt Strategy Mid Interview (Re-org)

The interview process is like participating in a game of chess. As the game roles out you need to constantly re-assess where you are on the chessboard and which moves to take. Or from a candidate’s perspective, re-assess where you are in the interview process in the minds of the interviewers, stakeholders and various people of influence; where you are positioned relative to other candidates to then determine the moves or strategies you need to execute to score the role.

Some things to consider in reforming your strategy:

◉ Is the recruiter on my team? Are they putting me forward as their number one horse, or am I just one of many candidates? Are they selling me as the first and obvious choice, why not?

◉ Does anyone see me as a threat?

◉ Have I bonded sufficiently with the people I could be reporting into or working with? Do I also have the support of subordinates if I have met them? If not why not? How can I fix it?

◉ Do they understand my unique value offering or have I not clearly articulated this?

◉ What are their current or potential objections?

◉ How high is the bar? What do I know about competing candidates? Does the interviewer think they have anything to offer that they’re not clear I can also offer?

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◉ Is there a dreaded internal candidate? If so, have I identified why they claim to also be canvassing external candidates? What are they looking for that the internal may not be able to provide?

◉ What is their/my risk? How can I remove or reduce these?

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Chapter 18 : Interview Strategic Summaries (Counter Attack)

Concrete in the best impression first and last!

This chapter outlines an important ‘must use’ strategic document in winning over interviewers.

Most candidates fail to write follow-up letters to the interviewer’s pre (before) or post (after) an interview. If they do, many lack the correct strategy and structure.

Your Executive Agent will typically provide these for you.

A Pre Interview Strategic Summary (P.I.S.S.) The purpose in a P.I.S.S. is to ‘Sell’ the Recruiter or the Employer. That is to convince them you are the best fit, the most saleable candidate (for recruiters), or the candidate with the most unique and relevant value (for employers) even before you meet with them so that hopefully when you do, they try to sell you the role as opposed to interrogating you. Some of our members are surprised to receive a fast offer following a rather short interview process after sending a P.I.S.S. to interviewers. Often they tell us the interviewers had already made up their mind to employ them based on their pre interview correspondence. They only interviewed the candidate to confirm cultural fit and to follow process. Even if you do not sparkle at the interview it now may not be a fatal blow to you because the interviewer already has developed a strong picture of you pre interview compliments of having received this strategic document. They are now feeling more relaxed with you and is already beginning to feel they can work with you on a daily basis.

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A Pre-Interview Strategic Summary is a letter which is sent for example to a Recruiter after having spoken with them on the phone and prior to meeting with them for the first time face to face. It is designed to better ‘prepare’ them to interview you. In brief these letters:

◉ Thank them for calling you, ◉ Compliments them on some factor in order to build rapport. For example their

knowledge of their client, the industry, or even the quality of the job advertisement that got your attention,

◉ Highlights similarities between your previous employers and their client’s; similarities, like their vision, innovation, market leadership, size, to their obstacles to growth etc.,

◉ Highlight similarities between the mandates of your past roles and the role you are interviewing for,

◉ Clarify your understanding of the employer’s needs, ◉ Confirms your understanding of the requirements of the role and if available

provides some short S.A.R.s* that give testament as to how you have met some of these requirements with previous employers,

◉ Doesn’t overcome objections. The Recruiter is already inviting you in for an interview so the best times to handle objections are face to face, not via a letter (because words can be easily misinterpreted in an email).

◉ Confirms the meeting time and ◉ Expresses your eagerness to meet. All in all it is designed not so much to highlight you are the best candidate but rather the most marketable or easiest to sell candidate from the Recruiter’s perspective. Differently, in sending these pre or post strategic summaries to an employer you need to communicate more your ‘unique value’ rather than your saleability as you are talking to the ‘end-user’ not a mere distributor.

Post Interview Strategic Summary A Post Interview Strategic Summary is similar to the above but as it is ‘Post’ face-to-face interview (can also be post telephone interview if the interview was conducted over the phone in lieu of a face-to-face, often the case for intercity interviews). These letters:

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◉ Thank the interviewer for putting aside the time to interview you, ◉ Compliments them on some factor (In order to cement in rapport. Compliments can

be on for example their vision, the quality of the business they are building, their brand, or even the interview process. Complimenting them on their culture will also emphasize cultural fit),

◉ Highlights similarities between your previous employers and their business; similarities like their vision, issues, obstacles to growth etc.

◉ Outlines in more depth similarities between the mandates you have previously been assigned and the mandate of the role you are interviewing for.

◉ Communicates your understanding of the requirements of the role and for each detail some S.A.R.s that give testimony as to how you have met some of these requirements with previous employers.

◉ Does overcome objections. If during the interview the interviewer expressed a potential objection or concern you need to take care of it in this letter. An example is,

Tom, I suspect you may have some more questions relating to my relatively short employment tenures with my past employers. I am proud to say my mandates were achieved with speed ahead of time. I am more than happy to expand on this if required as well as confirming successful completion of mandates via reference checks… (Killing objections is critical especially at this point).

◉ Confirms why you have an interest in the company and the role. Express here your like for the Leadership Team if you have met with some of them in order to concrete in ‘personality fit’. Express your ability to bring unique value to the team as well as learn from other Team Members. Specifically state words to effect, “Having met some of the Leadership Team, I feel they’re individuals I could really enjoy working with on a daily basis”.

◉ End with words to effect, “I am very eager to progress our conversations. This role has all the ticks in the right boxes for me. You’ve captured my interest.” It is important to let the Employer know you are enthusiastic about this position.

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Notes:

◉ *S.A.R.s stands for “Situation. Action. Result”. These are short examples of how you have met a similar need or overcome a similar challenge with a previous employer.

◉ Send a detailed P.I.S.S. only when you have researched the company, as addressing or assuming the wrong challenges will damage the perception the interviewer has of you. Be specific in mentioning challenges if you are sure of them or be more general if you are unsure as to the challenges the Employer faces. If the role is very vague and you do not have a good grasp of the role keep the P.I.S.S. short; do not trip the racehorse.

Sample Post Interview Strategic Summary Letter (to Employer)

Subject Heading. Thank you and Feedback from Your Name Dear A short email to express my appreciation for the time you spent in speaking with me today and sharing xxx’s vision and challenges. I found you to be a very open and genuine individual which made the meeting all the more enjoyable. In reflecting on our conversation it is striking how similar ACME’s vision and growth challenges are to my previous employers. Not only this but the mandate and responsibilities of the role discussed also have strong similarities to my previous roles which I excelled in. At ACME my mandate was to x and at MNO it was to x. In further reflection I understand you are seeking a ‘Role Title’ with skills relating to: • List here problems or issues they are facing and then one or two sentences that demonstrates how you

have solved these problems previously (In other words List a ‘Situation. Action. Result’ – S.A.R). Keep these to the point emphasizing results. Remember companies aren’t so much interested in what you have done but what you can do focusing in on what obstacles to growth you specialize in removing.

• Building Distribution. ABC Corp were suffering a twenty percent fall in distribution in the preceding two

years before my commencement. Distribution increased by in excess of thirty percent in the first twelve months of my tenure; we captured five new distributors, opened up distribution across 10 new countries and expanded our product range by twenty percent from one hundred products to one hundred and twenty products.

• Offshoring Manufacturing. Xx

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Optional Endorsement. XXX, the XXXX of XXXX previously noted of me, “Insert endorsement”. Optional Paragraph. I understand there may be a slight concern re xx. I assure you that I xx as evidenced by xx (i.e. overcome the objection). Looking forward to progressing conversations with your team should you feel appropriate. You have captured my genuine interest. I am excited at the value I could be bringing your organization and team should I be invited on-board. I would love to unpack this further in our next conversation should you require it. Kind regards Your Name Current Title Mobile Email

The more information you secure in the interview the more detailed and relevant this summary can be. If you have not secured much information then keep this summary simpler so as not to trip the racehorse; you may assume

something which is incorrect. Your Executive Agent should be able to masterfully compile these strategic documents for you.

Please put the following into your own words as other candidates may also be using this sample letter.

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Chapter 19 : What to do When Things Go Wrong (Battlefield Withdrawal)

This chapter will help you reduce the impact of rejections as well as show you how to better set yourself up for greater success next time you apply for a role

through someone who has previously rejected you.

Life after Rejection Ever heard the phrase,

‘It’s not over until the fat lady sings?’

Or as our team say,

“It’s not over until the fat lady has fallen off the stage and broken every bone in her body!”

What do we mean by this?

A CEO Member of ours was interviewing with a leading global waste management services organization. The Chair was an old school chap that had built the business himself and had a personality that was robust and very driven. He did not tire fools easily. The CEO was runner up and just missed out on securing the role. We asked him, how badly did he want the role; did he feel the Chair made the wrong decision? He said yes, so we compiled and sent the letter below to the Chair.

Often businesses hire candidates that do not work out for one reason for another. Sending the below letter may firmly put you back in the Chair’s mind, and should they have issues with their hire they will always be thinking, “I have another person here who I can bring in fast if I need to”.

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We suggested to him, he write to the Chair saying,

Dear Frank,

I’ve just found out I was not successful in securing the role as your next CEO. Considering how passionate I am about helping you achieve your vision and knowing the value I can bring to your business, that and how well I’ve come to know you, this was disappointing.

I am a firm believer that persistency and passion pays off, believing these are also some of the attributes on the back of which you’ve built your business.

I wish you all the best with your new hire. I am available to meet with you again should the chosen candidate not work out. Let me know when you would like to continue our interviews!

Now this email is tongue in cheek. The last line will almost always get the Chair’s attention. We do not suggest you send it without thinking carefully about the personality and seniority of the recipient. At the end of the day, you have nothing to lose by sending it.

Securing a job in this market requires innovation. You cannot be overly sensitive. You need to have a thick skin and back yourself up. Do not look back regretting you could have tried harder to secure that dream role. The candidate that submitted the letter above was hired three weeks after sending it, as the initial candidate that was hired was ‘red flagged’ at an induction function.

The above strategy is more suited to Chairs/Founders of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) rather than corporates. Small to medium enterprises can

remove CEOs more easily then corporates without the public embarrassment and shareholder issues.

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Battlefield Morale - How to Boost Your Confidence Rejection after rejection can have many candidates thinking they do not offer any value. One of the biggest casualties in the job hunt is not only the bank account but the ego, or self-esteem.

Everyone has value to bring its just matter of finding the right organization

We say to many candidates we initially interview who are having issues securing interviews, it’s probably not the quality of the candidate (the product) but rather firstly that they have a research problem, (in that they cannot find the roles especially those that are hidden), secondly that they have a packaging issue in that they’re under-communicating their value and thirdly they’re marketing is not effective, simply because people are not calling them. These issues are relatively easy to fix.

Rejection Letters Often candidates receive rejection letters. Now most recruitment firms and HR receive hundreds of applications. Contrary to what they tell candidates and their clients (in the case of recruiters), they do not have a thorough selection process at all, nor do they read one hundred percent of applications. Typically they read less than ten percent of applications received.

Contrary to what recruiters tell candidates, they are not seeking the best candidates, simply because if they were they would most certainly review more resumes and interview more candidates than five to ten percent.

Most recruiters send out an automated rejection letter to candidates they’re not interviewing stating that they have read the candidate’s application. Now this is a common lie and should not have the candidate thinking they cannot compete with others.

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A typical rejection letter reads:

Dear Candidate,

Recently you applied for a role with our firm, and unfortunately after reviewing your application we feel other candidates have a better match to our client’s criteria. If fine for you we will keep your resume on our database and keep an eye out for you…etc.

If they were honest they would instead send out a letter akin to this,

Dear Candidate,

Apparently you applied for a role through our agency. I do not really know what for as we haven’t noticed let alone read your application. Contrary to what we tell our clients and candidates we are not looking for the best candidates (otherwise we would review most applications) and nor do we have a comprehensive selection system. For this reason we will not be progressing your application. It’s no reflection on your value. Maybe you’ll have more luck being noticed next time.

The reason we mention the above is that candidates should not feel they have nothing to offer, or that they are worthless. They should however ask themselves “Why is my job hunt strategy not working? How can I find more roles and differentiate my value better?”

Readers should pay special attention to the chapter ‘Chapter Four - Identifying What’s Holding your Back from Scoring a New Role’.

Responding to Rejection Letters from Recruiters Selection processes are often ad hoc, unpredictable and full of surprises; anything can happen. Sometimes even the chosen candidate doesn’t work out a month into the role and a strategically placed letter to the CEO may be very effective.

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A recruiter may not want to interview you one moment but a few nice words here or there and they can quite often change their mind. Similar to this, if you’ve missed out on a role; a nice letter to the HR Director may change his mind; the successful candidate may not accept their offer, they may even have second thoughts.

Recruiter Rejection Letters Sample Response When a recruiter sends you a rejection letter respond with an email, words to effect

Hi Tom,

Got your email and thought about it. I’ll respect your decision here. I know it is very difficult to assess the skills of so many candidates in so little time. I’ve often received good remarks about your group and know my application was/is in good hands.

An unusual thought; drop me a call or email letting me know what types of roles and clients you’re seeking. I have a lot of friends in some good groups that are always on the fence as to what search group they should use for their recruitment. Love to help you build your business, where I can...

Keep up the good work. Call me any time.

The effect of this is:

◉ You’ll have captured the recruiter’s curiosity and attention as very few rejected candidates offer to refer business,

◉ They may actually call you, ◉ They’ll give your future applications more consideration and you’ll be front of mind.

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This response takes five seconds to email but is quite powerful in its effect.

Remember; do not use the above wording, only the strategy therein as other readers may also use the same. A similar response can be used for rejections

from companies etc.

Employer Rejection Letters Sample Response

Dear Joanne,

Received your kind email informing me I was unsuccessful in securing the role we discussed. I thought about it and in depth I’ll respect your decision. I know it is very difficult to assess the skills of so many candidates in so little time. I’ve often received good remarks about ACME. An unusual thought; drop me a call or email letting me know what types of talent or individuals you’re seeking in the future; I have a lot of senior peers in some good groups that are always looking for openings in companies of your quality. Love to help you build your business, where I can...I thoroughly enjoyed the selection process and can see why “ACME” hire you.

All the best in your own already successful career. Keep up the good work. Call me any time

Follow this letter up with a brief letter to the CEO acknowledging the professionalism of their HR Director....It’s all about building relationship and, turning people into advocates. ‘Winning hearts and minds’. You’ll make HR blush and capture their appreciation and possibly with this their future attention.

Remember compliments are for free so give genuine ones a lot. We once rang a manager of the local bar telling him how impressed our team was with the barman’s service. The barman got promoted, we now get free drinks.

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Chapter 20 : Interrogating HR & Recruiters

This chapter describes how to gain support and key interview information from a recruiter and how to have them help you interview with their client.

A. How to Win the Interview Before You Interview In many cases if you’re going into an interview where the interviewer is not eager to see you, you probably have not prepped them sufficiently. Differently, ever been to an interview where they tried to ‘sell’ you the role rather than interrogate you? This usually happens where the interviewer is presold on your value. The interview then becomes more a matter of following protocol in ensuring ‘you like them and they like you’ (personality fit) and putting your concerns about joining their company to rest. Most of this interview if set up successfully will be about confirming cultural fit and answering any questions the candidate may have of the employer. There are four core ways to ‘presell’ an interviewer or rather to ‘prepare interviewers to receive you’.. 1. Ensure your resume is seriously top end. It needs to differentiate your strategic

growth leadership, your strategic expertise in growing businesses and your higher return on investment.

2. Ensure your cover letter is top end. There are numerous strategies in crafting top

end business letters. Trick is, if you write like, smell like and sound like a candidate, people will think you’re a candidate. Most Boards do not want to hire candidates; they’d much prefer business people. So do not write a cover letter like you’re a candidate but rather a business person dealing with another business person.

3. Secure a brief chat with the interviewer (especially if a recruiter) prior to meeting

with you. This is absolutely critical, but not always possible. The purpose is to build rapport with the interviewer, reconnoiter what their real needs are and then strategize how you’re going to communicate value and overcome any objections they may have of you, all prior to the interview.

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4. If appropriate send the interviewer a ‘Pre-Interview Strategic Summary’. This is strategic document which sums up the conversation you just had with the interviewer on the phone, compliments them on some matter (build trust and rapport), reflects back on how similar their visions and challenges and indeed the role seems to be with your previous employers and roles. It also states their top four needs as you understand them with a brief example of each, overcomes objections or concern they have, and then finally express your eagerness to meet with them.

As above, if you debrief your Executive Agent on your interview they will compile a Post Interview Strategic Summary letter to send the interviewer post interview and

also to better prepare the next interviewer to receive you.

B. How to Get Recruiters to Tell You How to Interview with Their Client Prior to interviewing with an employer where you were introduced to that Employer via a Recruiter it is crucial you get the most up to date information from that Recruiter (as many parameters may have changed since your last interview) as well as optimising the Recruiters support for your candidacy. You have two outcomes here. The Recruiters can present you to the employer as just another candidate on a short-list or they can be proactively selling you to the employer; the latter being preferable. The conversation below can be done prior to the first interview with the employer or any other interview with the employer. We usually recommend you only do it prior to the first and last interview. In order for this to be rally effective you need to contact the Recruiter preferably on the day before the interview with the employer and say words to the effect,

“Tom, if you have a moment I just wanted to have a quick chat with you. As you know I am interviewing with your client XXXX tomorrow. I know you have put in a lot of work to secure this assignment and in building your relationship with this group. I want to reward you for your hard work and support by interviewing the best I can. I am half way through my research on XXXX and wanted some words of final advice from you so I can better prepare?... Wonderful. Can I ask Tom, if you were me, knowing what you know about me and your client: “What aspects of my expertise would you spend time highlighting?” “What areas do you feel I need to expand on in order to overcome any concerns they may have as to my suitability?”

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“I understand you may be familiar with other candidates they’re interviewing. So as to help your client better compare apples with apples, are there any particular skills that other candidates to your knowledge have, and that your client would also want me to expand on; skills that they may not be aware that I possess?” “Has any information come to hand since we last spoke that you would like me to bear in mind during the interview?” “Tom finally, are there any particular strategies you would suggest I follow during the interview?” (Be careful with this question. If the recruiter is ‘cold’ this could be misconstrued, so say following this statement, “...to better help your client make a better comparison of candidates?”) “Tom, deeply appreciate your assistance. Hoping to make you proud. If anything else comes to mind that may help if you could please call me. I am very impressed with your support to date”. (Put the above in your own words)

Be genuine. Do not overdo the compliments. You want a strong advocate not a new lover. You’ll find that some Recruiters will treat you coldly with little respect in the early stage of an interview process. As you progress through the process and it becomes apparent that you

may secure the role, their attitude and treatment may change. Many may start to treat you as a best friend. They’ll start to rally behind you. Some do this purely to build the relationship such that if you secure the role you’ll refer them more business not stem the flow of future search assignments.

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Chapter 21 : Securing Buy-in for your Candidature (Winning Hearts & Minds)

This chapter shows you how to make people feel more relaxed and confident about hiring you, in other words how you can demonstrate a better ‘fit’. It will

also help you overcome people’s personal insecurities, a common obstacle experienced by top achievers in being interviewed. Apart from communicating overwhelming strategic leadership value to an employer there are some other ways to win decision makers over.

A. Removing the Threat Contrary to what people may tell you, people hire for self security more than they do talent, especially in the GFC. Many executives are fearful of hiring someone who will compete with them for promotion or expose their mismanagement or performance short comings. Hiring Managers will often hire a subordinate that is good (so as to not adversely affect their team performance) but not too good so as to outshine them. HR may have some political issues with various line managers as is often the case, and may feel despite the fact that a candidate may represent great strategic value; the candidate would rock the boat and challenge their standing in the company, adversely affecting their own job security. It’s very important to convince HR you can also partner with them. If you have a very conservative HR person interviewing you they may mistake your passion for aggression. If they’re innovative and highly sociable they may mistake your calm controlled demeanor as ‘lacking motivation’ or ‘has poor conversational skills’. To overcome this issue, candidates need to express in their resumes and in interviews how well they have partnered with other peers including HR (important as HR are often the gatekeepers) and made their job easier, reduced their stress, made them look good. It pays also to note how your previous managers may have mentored you, highlighting that you’re not a ‘know-it-all’.

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B. Building Rapport - Three Ways There are three core ways of building rapport with interviewers, especially if the interviewer is someone you may be reporting into. These are: ◉ Make the interviewer laugh. Show your sense of humor. If you make them laugh

they will generally like the idea of working with you. ◉ Give them a genuine compliment; simply because people like compliments. It’s

hard not to like someone that compliments you. The trick is making it genuine otherwise it will backfire.

◉ Let them know you like them. One of the biggest questions a line manager has in

interviewing a future subordinate is, “Does this person like me? Do our personalities match?” Do not leave them wondering. Say something like, “Tom, one of my core requirements in my next role is that I am seeking a strong and passionate leader. Strong leadership is something I very much enjoy. You have a leadership style which I think I would very much enjoy.”

On a side point, recruiters will not shortlist candidates they know do not like them, no matter how good the candidate is as doing so may jeopardize their

relationship with the client. Just humans being humans. So make the recruiter think you like them. Make sure you do not walk into an interview with a recruiter with a chip on your shoulder.

Humility then Confidence

Chinese generally will listen to a humble person first before a confident person. So practice humility before confidence. It’s OK to boast about successes but make sure it’s the team you’re boasting about not your own exploits. Many executives we interview use the term, “I do not like to ‘blow my own horn’”.

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Well, two things; firstly you should be blowing the horn of your team, giving them all the credit rather than taking credit yourself (doing so will lead the interviewer to think you’re a great leader because you led this very team), and secondly, we’re in the toughest leadership jobs market in hundred years. I trust your best strategy is not to deliberately avoid highlighting your previous successes in your interviews? This is as bad as telling a potential customer your product is really not the best on the market.

Sales and Marketing Interviews

If a sales and marketing candidate interviews very well this may give the CEO added confidence that they are likely to have greater success in selling or marketing their company and products to the market place. Oppositely if the candidate interviews poorly, they will think their strategic sales leadership is abysmal. If their resume sucks, they will presume they would make an atrocious marketing strategist as they cannot even differentiate their own value in a simple resume.

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Chapter 22 : Surprise Attacks by Saboteurs, Aggressive Stakeholders & Internal Candidates

(Counter Terrorism)

This chapter will enable you to identify enemies and then how to win them over and minimize the damage they can do.

Expecting the Unexpected

A surprise attack is half beat if you know it is coming.

Handling Aggressive Interviewers, Stakeholders and Candidates

Candidates can be attacked by an aggressive or doubting interviewer, stakeholder or even another candidate.

Enemy Interviewers or Stakeholders

Strategy. It is critical you build trust and rapport as early as possible with stakeholders to win their support. You also need to identify any issues they

may have to hiring you as early as possible. Here the core question to ask is

“Mr. Stakeholder/interviewer so that I can make our conversation more meaningful, do you have any concerns as to my experience, skills or fit within the culture?”

Now a quietly aggressive interviewer or stakeholder may withhold their opinion thinking they should not disclose their thoughts to you. If you suspect this, then outsmart them by asking “May I ask what value you feel I can bring to the team?” (This is known as a test close question). Now a quietly aggressive person will have major issues verbalizing this to you. A ‘friendly’ interviewer will typically come forth with a convincing answer as to what value you can bring.

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If you suspect you’re facing an aggressive interviewer or stakeholder, this may be because you have not established sufficient trust and rapport with them (maybe they think you’re a threat) or you may not have properly identified their needs and then how you can solve their needs.

A. Avoiding Saboteurs (this section refers to securing a promotion) We refer here to Board Members, or major shareholders who pursue their own agenda of which you’re not a part. You may not have met them and probably won’t see them coming. The only real strategy is to have your team on high alert for any suspicious event. Build your network on the Board, keep them close and be on alert. When and if they’re identified, either attempt to win them over or lobby support against them.

B. Internal Candidates & Unexpected Candidates There’s nothing worse than being told by the recruiter you’re the preferred candidate or worse the only satisfactory candidate; you think you have the job in the bag, and then you find out, there are other competing candidates that you weren’t aware of. This can be especially frustrating if you have ceased applying for other roles in the meantime.

Often, the employer is interviewing candidates from several different recruitment firms or they have an internal candidate that they’re not disclosing to anyone.

Internal candidates are particularly dangerous as the employer knows if they do not promote from within they will be sending a bad message to their teams, also if they hire an external candidate they’re probably going to lose the now disgruntled internal candidate and have to put in extra effort possibly at an extra expense to then replace them as well. In going up against internal candidates, you need to communicate even more value to over compensate for this risk to the employer.

In identifying, and then handling this situation, you need to establish if there are any internal candidates, and if so, why are they looking externally; what does the internal candidate lack that the employer is wondering if they can get from externals.

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Some employers like government entities may just advertise for external applicants as a matter of process even though they may have already decided to promote the internal candidate.

The question you need to ask of the employer and recruiter is,

“Rod, I assume there’s some great internal candidate’s interested in this role. So that I can better help you compare candidates may I ask, why are you/is your client canvassing external candidates? Is there a particular skill or experience internal candidates lack?” (Now shut up and listen intently). If they give you a vague answer dig down deep to really define your enemy’s short comings so you can exploit these to your advantage.

“I understand Rod; how do you mean, ‘they do not have knowledge of x?’ Why is it so important they do? Apart from not having x experience, what other experience or skills do you feel they lack?”

C. Enemy Candidates Let’s say you’re interviewing for a Sales Director role and as a part of the process; HR have you meet the existing team. HR tells you that their National Sales Manager is keen to be promoted into the role in competition to you. In this case you will be facing an aggressive candidate. Do not drink from the well as it has probably been poisoned.

There exist a number of strategies in handling an aggressive internal candidate being:

◉ Try and win over the aggressor by giving them some genuine acknowledgement as to their success,

◉ Avoid them all together (sometime it’s best to avoid an enemy with unknown capabilities; worst strategy), or

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◉ If they’re a clear and present danger ambush them! If it’s clear they have put the business at substantial risk or incurred it considerable damage compile a report to HR post interview expressing the issues you see the business as having. No need to mention their name here as these problems probably fall under their area of responsibility. This ‘report’ or observation may show your intellect and expose further the internal candidate’s shortcomings, as well as highlighting your own solutions.

We once asked a candidate, a CEO in Asia, “How you would differentiate yourself from a competing candidate?”. We received an interesting response which was “Insist the Chair put us in the same room so we can debate with each other why we think we’re a better candidate”.

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Chapter 23 : How to Negotiate a Suitable Offer (Signing the Armistice)

This chapter will help you better negotiate; give you greater control and awareness in the negotiating process rather than being a victim of it.

Never ask a question in business you do not already know the answer to!

In other words do your research!

Closing the Deal - The Kill Shot When is the best time to negotiate price with a potential customer? Before or after you show them the product’s value? After obviously as they’ll usually then be prepared to pay more and you will also have answered their questions so they’ll now have less objections.

Similarly, the best time to negotiate your salary or better terms of employment is at the very end of the selection process after you have given the employer the optimal time to assess your value, answer their questions and solved their concerns. If you engage in negotiation prematurely before the potential hirer really appreciates your value this will work very much against you. You need to delay talking about your salary (price) as long as possible.

Negotiating is like bending a twig. Twigs can only bend so much before snapping. Do not burn an opportunity by being greedy. Relationships have to be fair to be sustainable. You do not want to be the most overpriced asset a company has

when they need to shed staff.

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When to Start Negotiating

Ideally only when you are convinced they know they want you, you know why they want you and if there are any close substitute candidates. When these

questions are answered you will know how hard you can negotiate.

Handling the Salary Question If asked by a recruiter, “What salary are you seeking?” answer with “Something that’s realistic, that represents financial common sense to my family as well as to your client. May I ask; I need to rely on your leadership here (inflate the recruiter’s ego), having read my resume what salary do you think I should be targeting?” In other words get information instead of giving it. You win by getting information, you lose by giving information. Besides the recruiter is not the one to be negotiating salary with; this is between you and the employer as you’ll be costing them not the recruiter.

If the recruiter keeps pushing for a specific salary, do not lock yourself in; say instead ten percent (under your current) or your preferred minimum base. As an example, if you were previously on a $400,000 base and a $600,000 package, say “360,000 to $600,000”. Now if they come back to you later because you want more, and they say “but you said $600,000”, say “Yes, but that was the base not the package”. In other words you still have room to move.

Avoid Alienating the Parties The problem many candidates go through in negotiating is that either they lack confidence and aren’t willing to negotiate or they’re too hard ball and often destroy goodwill with the employer.

Often it’s better to have your Executive Agent negotiate for you; ‘good cop, bad cop’. The candidate can concentrate on making them like them, while the Executive Agent concentrates on getting their member what they want. Executive Agents will try and push your salary up whereas recruiters will try and bring your salary down.

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This is one of the many reasons why you should never choose a recruiter to be your Executive Agent.

Two important occasions when you need to be extra careful in negotiating.

1. The First Point of Contact with a Recruiter

When a recruiter calls you for example after having received your application for a role they will usually ask you as a part of their ‘culling’ questions, “What salary are you looking for?” or “What salary are you on now?” Both are traps. You cannot win by giving information. You can only win by getting information.

He who giveth information loseth; he who gets information winneth.

If in answering your salary figure is too high they’ll probably think you’re too expensive as they don’t yet really appreciate your value. If your figure is too low they may think either you’re desperate or you feel you offer little value. Also if you go to low you may actually get what you asked for.

Of note, most recruiters prior to first calling a candidate have not actually read the candidate’s resume in depth and thus they will not have a true understanding of the candidate’s value.

2. At the ‘Point of Offer’ (Usually after the final interview)

You’ve just had three to five interviews with an employer, things are looking good and HR gives you a call requesting you come in and talk ‘salary’. The Head of HR asks you what salary you’re seeking and you say either:

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A. $100,000 over their target salary. They tell you you’re too high so you back pedal, only now they’re thinking you wouldn’t be satisfied on $100,000 less. They now could be thinking you’re a flight risk. You lose the offer.

Or

B. $50,000 under their target salary. They think ‘great we’ve just saved $50,000’. You do not even know you’ve just lost $50,000.

Either case you cannot win by giving information.

An Alternative Strategy

Juliet, the Head of HR has just said, “We’d like to bring you on board so we need to start talking salary. What salary are you seeking?” You can win now by gaining further information to determine how hard or high you can try and negotiate.

To negotiate well, you need to have the answers to the following four basic questions being:

I. Does the employer want you? (Subject only now to the salary being agreed upon)

II. Why they want you?

III. How much they want you?

IV. Are there any close substitute candidates?

Following is an example conversation to find these answers;

“Juliet, appreciate the question. I may slow down a bit if appropriate. Firstly I need to give you credit. The interview process was very well organized. It was professional, enjoyable and challenging. I can see why ABC Corporation hire you”.

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(Give them a sincere compliment to make them like you and to loosen up the conversation). “Has ABC made the decision to hire me subject to salary requirements being acceptable?” (This answers the first question).

“As you may know, I have a number of irons in the fire and salary is only one of my motivators. Another motivator is ‘the need to be needed’ and to be challenged. The company I join will probably be that company that needs me the most. May I ask, from your perspective does ABC ‘REALLY’ need me?”

Once they answer you can clarify their need by asking ‘digging’ questions like, “How do you mean? “Could you expand on that?” or, “Why is that?” (It’s important here to really get in the mind of HR (or other) and work out the bigger picture needs as to why they need you. How important it is that they hire you? This will help you determine how high a salary you can start negotiating for. This answers the second question.

“Juliet, I can understand now why ABC needs me. How important it is that I come on board. If I take up another offer elsewhere what will that mean to ABC?” HR may tell you it’ll put their growth back six months or they’ll lose a major contract. This answers the third question.

“Juliet obviously there are other applicants; what was the overall quality of the other candidates?” HR may respond either that the competition was savage and of a very high quality; that you’re the first choice but there are other suitable candidates, or that no other candidate came close to your skill-set; your skills are very unique and are a ‘must have’; skills that they cannot find elsewhere. This answers the fourth question.

Upon hearing the offer, say “Juliet, please allow me up to three days to review the offer (unless they’re being deliberately generous and where refusal to accept the offer or delay may create offence). If the offer is lower than you would like you can ask, “I need to ask is there any way we can broaden the scope of this role, so that I can bring even more value to the business; maybe we can potentially then increase the salary and make this opportunity more attractive to my family and your employer?”.

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Once you have the answers to these four questions you will know with much better clarity how much you can negotiate for.

You’ll never get what you never ask for. You may never know your value to an employer unless you know what they’re prepared to pay you.

Never ever tell someone what your current or last salary was. This is as bad as telling a car salesman your best offer so far. If asked, deflect the question by

replying “Let’s come back to that later” (and never do).

Further Tips for Negotiating Successfully

◉ Consider why you are negotiating. What do you want; best case and worst case? What are your essential requirements and the non-essential? Which one of these are of high value to you, and which are of high value to the other party? What’s the worst offer you’re prepared to accept? At what point do you walk away? What time frames do you operate in? Is time against you or your ally? Do you have other better options of employment elsewhere? Is this a role you can ‘go-hard’ on knowing that you have other offers?

◉ Demeanor. Negotiation is gambling. Remain calm, cool and collected. Do not let the other party know your pleasure points or pain points. Do not let your jaw drop if the offer or conditions are too extreme, good or bad.

◉ Set your goals and know your limits. ◉ Know the opponent’s needs, personality and how they negotiate. ◉ Know the options. ◉ Talk ‘win-win’. ◉ Ask specific questions and listen to the answers; communicate well, have clarity and

be precise in what you’re saying.

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Chapter 24 : Anti-Competition Agreements (Minefield Clearance)

Often an executive will be locked into an anti-compete clause in their employment contract forbidding them from working with direct or indirect competitors for a predetermined period of time following their departure. There is much conjecture on the topic and we are not about to give legal advice or claim some moral stance on how to handle this.

Many feel if you’re for example locked into a six month non-compete agreement that this is a restriction of trade and thus illegal. Many claim the employer relying on the clause will need to pay the former employee a six month salary to be able to rely on this contractual clause. Some employers may claim to have paid this six months’ salary in a redundancy payout so be very careful.

Let’s face it; approaching competitors often represent a job seeker’s best chance of securing a role, so how can an executive canvass potential roles with a competitor?

There are many strategies to get around this but here are two:

Strategy. Have your Agent approach a competitor for you. If this ends adversely with your old employer finding out, your Executive Agent can take

the bullet and say they approached the company by mistake without your knowledge, it was not the candidate’s fault. The candidate may have instructed their Executive Agent to canvass market opportunities without mentioning companies specifically not to correspond with. Not a lot your former employer can do then.

Alternative strategy. Often executives take three months off on gardening leave. During this time they can then lock down a new role (contract in hand) to then start the role when the anti-compete period has expired.

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Your Executive Agent will take into account any bonuses owing to you and structure the job hunt so as not to put these at risk. In other words, if a

candidate loses bonuses or share options if they leave before a set date your Agent will stall the new employer’s commencement date so as not to put these at risk.

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Chapter 25 : Reducing Risk – Theirs & Yours (Counter Intelligence)

This chapter reveals some quick strategies to ‘get that offer over the line’ as well as how to protect yourself should your new role not work out; avoid ‘jumping

out of the pan into the fire’.

A. Reducing the Hirer’s Risk Often employers will hesitate in hiring a candidate that they’re just not sure about so if you reduce their hiring risk or ‘downside’ so that there is really only an upside they may hire you.

Sample email to an employer reads,

Dear Tom,

Following on from our discussions I am confident I can bring substantial value to your business however I also suspect you have some business issues to further consider effecting your decision to or not to hire me. I understand bringing someone on-board at my salary may appear slightly risky.

As a thought and to illustrate how keen I am to bring value to your business long term, may I suggest you consider bringing me on for say a three months’ probation. Your downside risk is limited to three months’ salary.

Either I deliver considerable value where you cannot contemplate letting me go (and you have received great return on your investment for that three months) or your risk is limited to three months’ salary being a mere $x. If you do not hire me, you may lose considerably more money which may make the three months’ salary look cheap in comparison. In other words your upside could be very high; your downside is limited and you have well managed your risk.

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True story. A candidate of ours in funds management spent some time interviewing with a CEO with a particular business issue. The issue caused the CEO to put the role on hold indefinitely. We crafted a letter for the candidate

to send to the CEO basically saying, “I understand there’s a bottle neck here being X. How about without an obligation to hire me, we meet for lunch during which I can help you flesh out a solution?” This was our way of ‘going in under the radar’.

After a three hour strategy chat over lunch, the CEO bonded with the candidate immensely. By the end of lunch the CEO’s mindset of the candidate had changed from ‘a mere candidate’, to ‘valuable strategy partner’. The CEO also came to the conclusion that the best person to help him execute the strategy was the one who had helped him create it being the candidate. We side stepped the obstacle masterfully. We had to drop the CEO’s ‘defenses’ and demonstrate the candidate’s immense strategic value as a partner to the CEO.

There are many strategies your Executive Agent can help you compile. Some are very simple others are much more complex requiring a deep appreciation of human behavior. This strategy compilation process often is like planning your moves in a game of chess.

B. Reducing Your Risk if the New Role Doesn’t Work out We’ve known some candidates who have had long service leave available and use this leave to work with their new employer. Should the new role not work out they can then go back to their old employ when their holidays expire. This strategy will depend in part on your notice required.

Cutting Short Your Notice Required

Some candidates cannot accept a new role because their current employer requires a long notice period. There are always ways to make your company want to terminate you before giving the full term of notice.

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Often employers, if they know an employee has accepted a role with a competitor will not want them to stay in a strategically sensitive role so will allow them often to leave earlier.

Probationary Period

Candidates need to understand that a probationary period is a two way street. From the employers perspective should you not fit in or perform they may reserve the right to terminate you. From the newly hired employee’s perspective, should the culture not fit their needs, or the company ‘not perform for you’ (maybe they have not supplied the support HR promised you they would); you may terminate them on grounds of ‘poor cultural fit’.

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Chapter 26 : Optimizing Confidentiality

Many of our members are on boards. Everybody seems to know everybody at the top end of business. Often a question comes up; “How do I start looking for other roles without Directors on my Board (or others) finding out I am looking for another role?”

There are a number of measures Executive Agents can incorporate in optimizing confidentiality. Here are some more common ways:

◉ Often when we approach a company we say a Member is seeking a Non-Executive or Advisory opportunity. Many CEOs sit on other Boards and provide advice to other entities. When the Member CEO for example meets with a Chair and only after they feel they trust the Chair (see the ‘white in their eyes’), do they disclose that they’re also seeking another full-time opportunity, as opposed to only a Non-Executive or Advisory opportunity,

◉ Interviews can be generated without disclosing the name of the candidate or their employer,

◉ Often we can have the target company sign a Confidentiality Agreement before we disclose details of our Member,

◉ We also have safety measures built into our candidate management platform below where Members can choose to approve or disapprove all target companies prior to our firm canvassing them.

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Figure. The ‘Up Member’s Candidate Management Platform

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Appendix A : Logic Behind Interviewer’s Questions

The question that comes out of an interviewer’s mouth is quite different to the more important one on their mind. This chapter will show you how to answer

these questions and thus minimize objections’.

Questions and Answers – Great Examples

The sample questions and answers on the following pages are by no means exhaustive. They do, however, cover many of the key topics that are likely to crop up in interviews and go into some depth on the rationale behind each question being asked. The suggested answers to common interview questions cover themes that employers will generally expect to hear from successful people. Use these themes to script answers in a way that suits your personal interview style. Question: Tell me about yourself. Rationale: We’d like you to get the ball rolling today. Answer: Most candidates use this very rare opportunity to talk about minor administrative details in their live. For example, they say “I’m 35; married with 2 kids and grew up in a small town by the sea…” etc. Stand out during the interview by using this opportunity to further your agenda. Talk about qualities the employer wants in the role and hit on themes you know will be of value. For example: “Bob, over the years I’ve been privileged to work with some great companies and some very talented people. My 15 years of financial services experience has presented challenges that allowed me to develop strong leadership, banking and project management skills. As far as my strengths go, I’m a balanced entrepreneur who is great with people and loves selling the vision. Now I’m looking for a new challenge to make the most of these skills and strengths.” Question: Why do you want to leave ABC? Rationale: Are you running away from anything? Answer: Focus on themes that suggest you like it where you are, but you need that ‘something’ more. Perhaps you need scope to build bigger things, or you want to add a new skill/industry to your career portfolio, or you just want scope to be more creative.

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Question: How would you describe your management style? Rationale: Will others be able to get along with you? Answer: The ‘firm, fair and friendly’ routine is best. Employers want to know that you will be approachable and likeable, but that you will demand results when the chips are down. Make sure to mention the importance of involving team members in management processes, since shared ownership of decisions promotes success. Question: Describe the worst boss you have ever worked for. Rationale: Will you get on with our bosses? Answer: Give answers that suggest you have never worked for a boss who was truly bad or had no redeeming qualities. Its okay to share that you did once work for a boss who had some unlawful or socially unacceptable practice (e.g. was sexist or condoned dangerous initiation practices). Question: Describe the best boss you ever worked for Rationale: Do you learn from and respect your bosses? Answer: Suggest that you have worked for several exceptional bosses (if that is the case). Explain why particular bosses were notable and give examples of what you learned from them (skills that will be valuable to the interviewer of course). Question: What have you enjoyed most in previous jobs? Rationale: Will you enjoy the kind of work being offered? Answer: Be honest…you want to know if the daily duties of the new position are enjoyable. Talk about work tasks you’ve enjoyed doing in the past that will likely be expected in the new role (which means you must always ask for a job description before the interview). Good answers include talking about enjoying accountability, working with people and learning from them. Question: What remuneration do you expect should you be successful? Rationale: Are you money motivated? Answer: Unless you are going for a sales role, it’s best not to come across as money motivated. Do not discuss money unless and until it’s absolutely necessary – after they really want you. If asked about money, explain that your decision to apply for the position is not motivated by money - it’s about finding the right challenge (challenge, opportunity and lifestyle are also elements of any good remuneration package). Finish with the comment that

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“Of course, any move would need to make sense for me financially”. If you have to talk money, explain that you’d really have to find out more about the job responsibilities before you could attach a price tag. Then ask, “Can you tell me the range you have in mind for the position?” If that fails, it’s got to the point where you need to give a dollar range. Question: What did your supervisor criticize in your last evaluation? Rationale: Can you handle criticism? Answer: Offer a few common weaknesses that have no real impact on performance. Make sure to add that you worked hard to overcome the issue and have put it behind you. Finish by saying that you are always trying to improve yourself and that you are always thankful for advice that helps you do so. “My supervisor said I was doing well and that I should look to the future by broadening my influencing skills upward and across to position myself for a future promotion.” Question: Tell me about a time you were under a great deal of pressure. Rationale: How effectively do you work under pressure? Answer: Discuss occasions when you handled complex, dangerous or contentious matters. Highlight a logical approach to the solution and ensure you focus on timely decision-making. Reinforce the fact that you stayed calm and paused to consider all information available within time limits. Offer that you multi-tasked effectively and managed at the right level (not too much and not too little). Question: What are your strengths? Rationale: Will you fit in here and will you add value? Answer: Be prepared to discuss lots of strengths. Rattle them off at the beginning and then hone in on a few. Remember though, the more strengths you have, the more weaknesses you also need to present. Select strengths that will add value to the employer and try to phrase them in an unusual way, e.g.: Balanced entrepreneur Good with people Innovative communicator

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You might like to mention 3 key strengths and then tell a brief story about how they added value in your old job, e.g.: “Tom, three of my strongest skills are communication, people management and problem solving. If I may tell you about one of my responsibilities that required all three skills”: “At Sales Company, I assumed the responsibility of streamlining casual labor management (worth $2.3m pa). I had to liaise with many parties who had differing interests and solve a myriad of problems associated with the old system of labor provision. I overcame the problems by creating a labor management database and fostering a strong relationship between the Company, casual staff and the labor provider. At the end of the day, we saved $400,000 and absenteeism was substantially decreased”. Question: What are your weaknesses? Rationale: Do you have any unacceptable weaknesses? Answer: Any candidate worth their salt is open about having lots of weaknesses, but quick to add that they have many more strengths to offset them, and also to add that they have worked hard and overcome weaknesses. You may wish to discuss non-critical weaknesses e.g.: “I am very energetic and expect a great deal of my people. However, I have learned that motivation is an individual matter, and I am regarded as a demanding but very fair boss.” OR “Maybe sometimes I hang onto low performers just a little too long, training them and trying to turn them around…when perhaps I should cut them loose just a little bit sooner.” OR “I have high standards and won’t settle for the status quo.” Question: What will your referees say your strengths and weaknesses are? Rationale: Are you being honest about your strengths and weaknesses? Answer: Any doubt you have about whether your referee will back up your assertions as to your performance will be obvious to the interviewer, so be sure to answer in a confident manner without pausing for too long. Simply say “I’m confident my references will be along the same lines as we’ve discussed today.”

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It is impossible to know exactly what a referee will say, so do not try to guess or it may seem staged. Stick with a general acknowledgement that you’re confident your referee’s will back up what’s been discussed. Question: What would your colleagues say of you? Rationale: Do you walk over others to get what you want? Answer: You need to show that colleagues respect your professionalism and that you can get along with them at a work level and social level to some extent, e.g.: “My colleagues would say that I am a team player and that they do not know where I find the time to do the things that I do in a day. My close colleagues would say that I am always willing to make personal sacrifices to help them.” Question: Can we check your references? Rationale: Do you have anything to hide? Answer: It’s almost certain that the employer will check references. The more dubiously you answer this question, the more certain you can be that they will. There is only one answer to this question – an emphatic “of course”. One variation on this question is to ask “What would Mr. X (your superior/ peer/subordinate) say about you if we contacted him?” This is known as the Threat of Record Check (TORC). Interviewers who use TORC do not always follow up references extensively. Question: What makes you stand out amongst your peers? Rationale: Why should I hire you instead of another candidate? Answer: Good people know their own value and are able to communicate it modestly. Frankly, if you cannot point out your uniqueness and value as a corporate asset then you do not deserve the job. This is the single most important question of the interview, and if the interviewer doesn’t ask it, you still need to get the message across, e.g.: “I have a record of assuming responsibilities beyond those expected of my position, and of getting the job done well.”

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Question: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Rationale: Are you suitably ambitious but not overly so? Answer: An employer wants to know that you’ll try hard, so they want to hear that you will strive to do your best and see where it takes you. Keep answers general and angle toward suggesting that in 5 years you’d hope to “be in a role with broadened responsibilities”. You might also say “perhaps you could tell me about opportunities that may be opened to me.” Question: How many hours a week do you work to get the job done? Rationale: Will you leave early or can we work you to death? Answer: It’s important that the employer knows you will work until the job is done (within reason). At the same time, you want them to know that you lead a balanced life and that family is an important consideration, e.g.: “Tom, hours worked aren’t a great concern for me. When there’s a need, I’ll work until I’ve done what needs to be done. At the same time, I’m a family person and I believe that the best results at work are achieved when there is balance in your life.” Question: What kind of mentoring and training style do you have? Rationale: Will you be a dictator or an inspirational leader? Answer: Modern business places a lot of emphasis on growing its own leaders within the company. Growing leaders requires good coaching and mentoring skills. Thus, the interviewer will want to know that you believe in motivating others rather than directing them, and that you view training as a lifelong process. Tell the interviewer that different situations require different leadership styles and you always try to choose what’s best for any given circumstances. You should add that it’s okay for staff to make mistakes, as long as they learn from them. Question: How much direction and feedback do you need to excel? Rationale: Will you need to be micro-managed? Answer: You may suggest that you need to know the underlying objective of the task so that you can tailor your efforts appropriately, adding that you do not require interim feedback, though it is always welcome.

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Question: Describe a situation where you managed a problem subordinate. Rationale: How do you deal with under-achievers and problematic staff? Answer: Businesses do not want to carry any dead wood, but they do not want to demoralize staff by unnecessarily sacking personnel either. When faced with this question, explain that you would consult with the staff member to ascertain the real cause of the problem. You might suggest that a development plan would be required and that performance be measured regularly. If objectives were not met, the staff member may have strengths that could be used elsewhere. If not, the staff member would need to be moved on if reasonable efforts at coaching and training failed. Question: How do you manage high-achievers? Rationale: Will talented staff want to work for you and can you manage them? Answer: The interviewer will want to know that you can retain and develop talented staff. High-achievers can be difficult to manage and can cause turmoil as they drive the pace of change. Explain to the interviewer that it’s important to let talented staff have enough room to innovate and build, but that it’s also important for them to work as part of a team and that team buy-in is an essential ingredient of success. This can be achieved by rewarding achievement and simultaneously encouraging teamwork. Question: What are your motivators and demotivators? Rationale: What will it take to make you do the job? Answer: The interviewer wants to know what turns you on and what turns you off in a work sense. Be honest with your answers, otherwise you may end up with a job you hate. You may be motivated by responsibility and entrepreneurial opportunity, or bureaucracy and untimely decisions may demotivate you. Whatever the case, your motivators should be present in the new job and the demotivators should be absent. Question: Are you a ‘detail’ person or a ‘big picture’ person? OR Rationale: Are you a ‘thinker’ or a ‘doer’. Answer: Balance is the key when answering this question. There are times when you must be a thinker and times when you must get your hands dirty. Do not fall for the age-old trap of choosing between these attributes. You must possess both. Think back to our sample Value Proposition and you’ll recall we talked about how to position yourself nicely around this theme. e.g.:

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“Many companies I’ve talked to over the years look for strategic or operational thinkers. I’ve worked hard to develop all-round skills, and I’m a believer that you have to be more than just one or the other – you have to think on both levels at the same time…and you have to know when to get your hands dirty and lead by example.” Question: Are you more comfortable working with tangible, short-term issues or uncertain, long-term issues? Why? Rationale: Can you live with ambiguity and uncertainty? Answer: The more senior the role, the more important it is that you can work with ambiguity. Tell the employer that it’s natural to prefer certainty whenever possible, but that you are equally comfortable operating in uncertain environments and that it’s a natural part of business. Add that you cope with uncertainty by making the best decision available on the information at the time. Ninety percent now is better than 100 percent too late. Question: How do you stay abreast of what’s happening in the market and what competitors are doing? Rationale: Do you maintain a good situational awareness? Answer: Present themes that suggest you stay abreast of market opportunities and competition by reading newspapers, watching the news, subscribing to industry journals and approaching competitors to keep in touch with what they are doing. You could also mention that you liaise with peers in other companies and regularly ask customers what is happening in the competitor space. Question: What do you know about our company? Rationale: Are we just another job opportunity to you? Answer: No employer wants to feel they are just another job opportunity. Make them feel special by identifying something you like about the company and be prepared to discuss it. Do not reel of lots of useless facts and details about the employer. Simply mention one or two significant points and talk about them in some depth to show you’ve done the research. Focus on the intangibles like values, culture, innovation, customer service etc. This question can also pop up under the guise of “Who else have you applied to?”, in which case you might respond that you have researched quite a few companies and applied to a handful that you believe offer opportunities that match your skills and provide a good working culture. Be prepared to name a few competitors worthy of note.

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Question: Is there anything else you want to tell us? Rationale: Go ahead and have your say on anything we missed. Answer: This is probably the most valuable question you can ever be asked, because it opens the door for you to talk about any subject of your choosing. Do not squander it by rambling on about a myriad of different topics. Just pick one powerful theme and communicate a single message in a compelling way. Since this question, is normally asked at the end of an interview, I recommend you use it as an opportunity to communicate your Value Proposition if you haven’t already. It is also a good time to ask for the job. Question: Why have you changed jobs so often? Rationale: Will you quit on us too? Answer: If you have changed jobs frequently then you’ll need to alleviate the employer’s fear factor by having a good excuse handy, such as:

◉ I was looking for something more entrepreneurial with a larger company backed by the resources to grow.

◉ My learning curve had flattened out. ◉ We relocated due to health reasons involving my spouse. ◉ It was only ever intended and agreed as an interim appointment. You could also add that stability is very important for your next challenge and you’d like to spend a few years in the one role, possibly under contract if that would provide the company a greater sense of comfort around tenure. Question: Give an example of when you influenced others at work to take ownership of an idea. Rationale: Can you win support for ideas? Answer: Employers will want you to talk about topics such as introducing ideas to the team, presenting information to sell the sizzle, building networks, using benefits to persuade an audience and influencing strategies.

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Question: Tell me about a time you took the initiative at work? Rationale: Do you take the initiative? Answer: You’ll need to convince the interviewer that you are a doer, not just a thinker. This means telling stories about times when you were proactive and generated ideas for improvement. Themes to cover include seeing opportunities where others did not, pursuing self-improvement and solving problems when no one specifically asked you to do so. Question: Tell me about your biggest failure. Rationale: Will you be open about failure and do you learn from mistakes? Answer: For the informed candidate, this question is far from being a trap…it is a wonderful opportunity. Many candidates respond by relating a tale of woe about something they did poorly and focusing on the downside that followed. The savvy candidate realizes that the employer is actually asking if they are a self-starter who takes the initiative. With initiative comes the risk of failure. People who take balanced risks occasionally fail, but more often than not they succeed. That’s the kind of entrepreneurial spirit employers often look for. Respond to this question by telling a very short story about a minor failure and then turn it into a story about how you took the initiative. Question: Tell me about a time a peer strongly disagreed with you. How did you handle it? What was the result? Rationale: Are you a team player? Answer: Team players are people who build on the ideas of others. They put group goals ahead of individual goals, work in a cooperative manner and openly support team priorities. Most importantly, they assist other team members in getting where they need to go. Weave these elements of teamwork into an anecdote about your background. Question: Walk me through a big work problem you faced and solved recently. Rationale: Can you solve problems effectively? Answer: Effective problem resolution involves breaking problems down into solvable chunks, gathering relevant information, analyzing issues, considering alternatives, evaluating pros and cons, making decisions, winning resources and informing others.

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Question: What happens to people who are not successful under your leadership? Rationale: How do you develop and coach staff? Answer: A good coach removes barriers to performance, asks questions rather than tells, has honest conversations, provides opportunities, observes, shows by example, follows due process for under-performance and provides timely feedback. Question: Tell me about a time you changed your stance on a work issue. Rationale: How flexible are you? Answer: Flexibility involves thinking on your feet, applying rules flexibly in changing circumstances, adapting your own strategies to include the ideas of others and adjusting to new responsibilities quickly. Question: Tell me about a time you won your team’s commitment for change? Rationale: Can you inspire your team? Answer: Leaders who are effective at winning team buy-in are people who listen, demonstrate empathy, ask for commitment, share thoughts and feelings, set the bar high and sell the vision on why it needs to be reached. Most importantly, they are frequent and honest communicators. More Possible Interview Questions to expect from an interviewer.

◉ Tell me a joke. ◉ Why should I hire you? ◉ What are your strongest abilities? ◉ How do your skills relate to our needs? ◉ What are you looking for? ◉ What would you like to know about our firm? ◉ Tell me something about yourself? ◉ What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses? ◉ Where do you want to be in 5 years? ◉ Why do you want to work for us? ◉ Where did you grow up? ◉ What does "success" mean to you? ◉ What does "failure" mean to you? ◉ What are your three major accomplishments? ◉ What if I told you that you'd work very hard, but recognition of your contributions

would be nil?

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◉ What have you disliked in your past jobs? ◉ What kinds of people do you enjoy working with? ◉ What kinds of people frustrate you? ◉ How long before you can make a contribution? ◉ In the past year, what have you been dissatisfied about in your performance? ◉ How long a commitment do you plan to give me? ◉ What is your ideal job? ◉ What can you tell me about your past bosses? ◉ Which is more important to you: money or the type of job? ◉ What have you learned from your activities? ◉ Were your extracurricular activities worth the time you put into them? ◉ What qualities should a successful manager possess? ◉ What two attributes are most important in your job? ◉ What major problem have you encountered and how did you deal with it? ◉ What have you done that you consider creative? ◉ Who do you admire? Why? ◉ Why are you interested in our company? ◉ What interests you about our company? ◉ What do you get passionate about? ◉ What courses are you taking? ◉ Why did you choose the school that you are attending? ◉ Have you ever managed a conflict? How? ◉ Describe to me a recent (marketing campaign / finance deal) you like? ◉ What concerns you about our company? ◉ What are the most important attributes of a good manager? ◉ Do you have these attributes (of a good manager)? ◉ What stocks do you recommend? Why? ◉ Should I buy stock in Netscape? ◉ Where are interest rates going in the next 3 months? ◉ How many new highs did the Dow reach last year?

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Appendix B : The Four Gears of Selling

This chapter will give you a basic understanding of ‘back to basics’ selling, in particular how to sell yourself over the phone to an interviewer then again

during the interview. This document is designed to teach anyone how to sell in ten minutes.

Think of selling as a similar to driving a manual car, a car with four gears.

The 4 gears are:

Gear 1. Establish trust and rapport,

Gear 2. Identify needs through asking intelligent questions,

Gear 3. Solve needs by presenting relevant and specific solutions, and then

Gear 4. Test close and close.

As with driving a manual car two rules apply when working through the gears. To avoid stalling the automobile (or interview) you should only:

1. Slide up and down through the gears sequentially. In other words 1st to 2nd gear not 1st to 3rd gear for example, and

2. Move up into the next gear when the revolutions are high enough or in other words when the ‘time is right’.

These same rules apply to selling. Refer to the diagram ‘The Four Gears of Selling’ and as it relates to conversational (2-way) interviews; not so much Panel or Behavioral Interviews where the recruiter or HR is asking you a series of prearranged questions.

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For example when meeting with the CEO).

Gear 1: Establish Trust and Rapport Relax the interviewer. Show them you’re not pushy or just another candidate who swears they’re the best person for the job even though they do not have an intimate understanding of the interviewer’s/employer’s needs or the quality of other candidates. Interviewers do not like candidates that are more focused in getting a job than solving their business’ or client’s needs. The more relaxed the interviewers are the less defensive they are, the more open they are and the more likely they’ll give you meaningful information. More meaningful information enables you to give more specific and relevant examples (S.A.Rs; Situation. Actions. Results.) as to how you’ve previously solved similar needs for other employers.

Gear 2: Identify Needs through Asking Intelligent Questions

“A question unanswered is likely to remain an objection”.

Interviewing is about overcoming all the objections as to why someone shouldn’t hire you. For example a CEO is wondering:

◉ Why are you a leader? ◉ What unique value will you bring to their Leadership Team? ◉ How are you actually going to help them grow their business or what obstacles to

growth can you remove for them? ◉ What values will you further instill in their business as they may have major cultural

problems for example?

You need to ask the questions for example, “Tom I believe that leaders instill their personal values in cultures and that cultures make or break companies. Can I ask what values would you like your next GM to further instill in your business? (Let them answer). “The reason why I ask this is that I believe previous CEOs benefited from having me further instilling values in their cultures like (list them). Are these the types of values you would like your next GM to further instill in your culture?” (Identify need).

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Another example:

“Tom how important is it you find a CFO with intimate knowledge in listing corporations?” (Let them answer). “The reason why I ask is that Frank Butler the CEO of ABC was facing major issues listing their business. He acknowledged my expertise in seeing through some difficult high profile listings previously like XYZ Corp. He hired me and gave me the mandate to list his business. We achieved this in twelve months from commencement of my tenure…3 months earlier than expected.”

Now check the Revolutions are high enough before sliding up to 3rd gear. For example, at the end of Gear 2, you may ask the interviewer words to effect, “Frank you’ve been very open with me in discussing your needs and challenges. I’d like to share with you the journey I took previous businesses on that were facing similar challenges to yours as well as share some examples as to how I‘ve solved problems you just mentioned you’re facing. Before I do however, are there any other needs that we haven’t discussed that you’re also wondering if I can solve?” (We ask this question to avoid this situation from happening).

Craig a candidate is certain he’s going to receive an offer for a Sales Director role. Four weeks goes by and he’s received no word from HR who he interviewed with. He works up enough courage to call, and asks why he wasn’t offered the role. They said because “You do not have enough experience building international distribution” to which he responds “I’ve intense experience doing this for the last ten years”, to which they respond “Well you didn’t mention that!” to which he responds “Well you didn’t ask!”)

Gear 3: Solve the Needs After prioritizing needs then present a relevant and specific solution or story (following the acronym S.A.R. or describing a Situation (The issues and problems your previous employer faced, the Action you took to solve it and the end Result). A need not solved becomes an objection. You need to prioritize needs. You only have limited time in interviews so it’s best you solve the higher priority needs first then the lower priority if time permits. Note, candidates with some intelligence can deduce most needs and then prepare for them prior to interviewing.

Note: You can either ask questions identifying all needs or then solve these all at once or you can solve each individual need as they’re identified (usually the best choice).

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Now check the Revs are high enough before proceeding sliding up to the 4th Gear. At the end of Gear 3, you can test that the ‘revs are high enough’ by asking, “Tom, we’ve discussed a lot of needs you’re facing as well as how I’ve solved them in my past. Are there any needs you have that you’re still wondering if I can solve?” Then proceed to solve these by giving S.A.R.s prior to the 4th Gear.

Gear 4: Test Close as Many Times as Required and then Close In life we should always be ‘closing’ or capturing objectives. During an interview if you ask the CEO prematurely can you have the job, if they say ‘No’, it’s very hard for you to then change their mind. It’s like asking a girl on a date. If she says ‘No’ it’s now much harder to change her mind once she’s said it. Its best you ask her indirect questions. Work out if she likes you, why or why not. Then work on this until she answers affirmatively giving you an indication that in her mind, ‘she’s bought you’, and then ask her out.

Similarly, it’s best to ask the CEO an indirect question, the answer of which will indicate to you if, in their mind they’re going to offer you the job. An indirect example question or test close is, “Tom is it appropriate on the way out if you give me a quick tour of your building?”, “Tom, what unique value do you feel I can bring to your business?” Or more direct, “Tom, can I ask, are you wanting me to head up distribution on only the West Coast or the East Coast as well?” etc.

Now if he answers to the affirmative with the above, the chances are they have mentally made the decision to hire you, thus you can keep proceeding through the Gears of Selling with more confidence.

If when test closing they do not answer in the affirmative you probably haven’t identified and then solved all their core needs, and thus they haven’t bought you. Go back to Gear 2 and ask them if there are any other needs they feel you cannot solve or meet. For example, “Tom I understand you have a lot of things to consider before choosing your next GM. Can I ask are there any other concerns no matter how slight that you have about my suitability for this role?”

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Business Wrap-Up – Business Unique Value Proposition The second last thing you should do before leaving a face to face interview is Wrap-Up or summarize what you feel is your Unique Value Proposition to the business (UVP). You’ll appreciate many products have features that deliver benefits but have different meanings to the end user.

Example Business Wrap-up may be…

“Tom and Joanne I understand our time is just about to run out. Would you mind if I gave you a quick summary as to what I am confident is my unique value to your business?” or

“Now that I understand your vision in more depth and the issues and challenges in achieving that vision I am now even more confident that my value to your business is …..“

Personal Wrap-up The above Business Wrap-up may convince the interviewers you can do the job well, but what if you’re still on par with other candidates? Only another candidate is more likable; someone the Board feels they’ll enjoy working with more, someone the rest of the team will bond with faster?

For this reason we need to do as the last matter of business a Personal Wrap Up. What can you say to the CEO or Head of HR as you’re walking out the room with them to get under their skin, to leave them with that overwhelming lingering thought,

“This guy is the best for team fit, someone I would thoroughly enjoy working with!”

Remember this, most hiring managers recruit for personal job security not only for talent. More often than not if faced with two candidates, one with eighty percent skills match who is thoroughly likable vs. another with one hundred percent skills match but who the interviewer didn’t really bond with, they will usually hire the former. Who would you hire?

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The amount of times we’ve rejected Candidates for Membership because they felt they could rely solely on their credentials to secure a role, with little regard for their Relationship Skills is not in the few. Be likable and people won’t look for reasons to hang you. An example of a Personal Wrap-up with a Potential Manager as you’re walking out the door is:

(Make sure you’re genuine otherwise your insincerity will kill you)

“Tom on a personal level, I thoroughly enjoyed my discussion with you and the Team today. I have a great appreciation for your vision, the direction you’re taking the business on and the quality of the Team you’re building. You’ve definitely captured my interest; you’ve sold me. I want in. (As you shrug your shoulders), “All I can say at this point Tom is I am relying on your leadership and good judgment and putting myself in your hands. Where do I go to from here?”

This beats the common candidate wet fish handshake as they say “Hope to hear from you” as they walk out the door.

If you analyze the strategy in the above Personal Wrap-Up you’re basically:

◉ Emphasizing Personality Fit, removing the doubt, “Would we get along with each other?”

◉ Communicating your buy-in to their Strategic Vision - in other words you have strategic alignment.

◉ You respect them as a leader, and ◉ You trust them enough to put yourself in their hands.

Problems: Some possible problems from either not following the gears through sequentially or sliding up gears too fast are:

◉ You haven’t developed enough trust. If the interviewers are not open in discussing their needs you probably haven’t built enough trust and rapport; you have rushed 1st Gear and before the ‘revs’ were high enough you jumped up into 2nd Gear and stalled the interview.

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Beware, different people take different amounts of time to trust and develop a liking for a candidate, so do not rush this. Observe the interviewer’s body language. The best way to build rapport is to have someone laughing with you and to smile. Closely control your own body language so people see you as being open and honest not close minded or on the defensive.

◉ You haven’t correctly identified their needs and prioritized them. Their body language tells you they’re rapidly losing interest in what you’re saying.

◉ You haven’t convinced them that you can solve their needs by giving an example as to how you have solved these in the past (demonstrated by a S.A.R.).

◉ You haven’t clarified that you’ve identified all core needs (end of the 3rd Gear).

◉ You have clarified that you’ve given evidence as to how you’ve solved all core needs (end of the 3rd Gear)

Reference the diagram next page; ‘The Four Gears of Selling’.

◉ During your first phone discussion with an interviewer prior to meeting them only cover the 1st and the 2nd Gears, the 3rd and the 4th being covered during the face to face interview.

◉ During many cold interviews with employers (where they may not have an actual role), only the 1st and the 2nd Gear are covered in depth. The 3rd Gear is usually only touched on as a ‘teaser’ to secure interest to capture a second interview. During the 2nd interview the 3rd and the 4th are covered.

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Appendix C : Handling the Recruiter’s Initial Call

This chapter will show you how to secure more interest from recruiters over the telephone. It will also show you how to better prepare for the face to face

interview.

If you’re successful at getting the recruiter’s interest and have him think you represent a good chance for him to fill a role and secure his commission, he’ll call you. When they do, do not make the same mistakes all your competitors make in assuming that this is just a telephone call to organize a time to meet. It is in affect your first interview….so you NEED to strategize it and do not rush it. This is where you gather crucial information your competitors won’t get their hands on as to how to present yourself at the 2nd interview, the face-to-face interview. All soldiers know to win the battle you need to do a good reconnaissance. The initial telephone call from the recruiter is where you do this, you won’t have another chance. The face-to-face interview that follows this initial telephone call is where you confirm what the interviewer is already thinking having chatted with you over the phone. To note, interviewers usually only interview people they know can do the job. A large part of the purpose in the face-to-face interview is to confirm that you have a desirable personality and you will fit the culture or more specifically fit in with the personalities of the other executives on the team who are supposed to define the culture. Understand the Recruiter (or other interviewer) is the customer. He’s a distributor looking for products to sell to his clients (employers). You’re the salesperson selling a product so not understanding his needs is a grave mistake; job adverts rarely disclose sufficiently the needs of an employer or recruiter. What professional sales people sell products without first understanding what the customer needs? Very few professionals do presentations without doing some preliminary research? Smart candidates engage the interviewer in a 2 way genuine business discussion on the first telephone call so they can better prepare their presentation now having a better understanding of the employer’s needs. Also, asking a recruiter what the employer needs will convince him you want to help the employer rather than just secure another job.

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Look at it this way, would a senior executive in a fortune 500 company drop everything and run into an interview with someone they do not know without having had a conversation with the person wanting to meet him beforehand? Of course not. Your time is precious. You’re not desperate. You’re confident and you are business savvy. They’re a recruiter not a senior executive. Maintain your positioning. Let him know you have what they want more than they have what you want and they need to be careful with using your time. You’re a professional; a business person looking for opportunities not just an amateur; a candidate scratching around for just another job. You do not really interview with a recruiter to find out what the employer needs. You interview with a recruiter face-to-face to make a presentation of how you can solve the employer’s needs. You find out what the employer needs on the initial telephone call. This is the most common mistake job seekers make when meeting with recruiters.

Caution: Most recruiters have not been taught to ‘solution sell’ rather they have been taught only to push products. As a result when they meet

candidates they also expect the candidates to push a product (themselves) without understanding their client’s needs. Most recruiters are accustomed to candidates firing off at the mouth as soon as they sit down about all the great things they have done or simply sit there and accept an interrogation. Most recruiters ask candidates what value they can bring without first outlining the needs of the employer they’re recruiting for. Do not fall into this trap. The only time to present your value, your experience and your attributes is after you have identified the employer’s needs. This comes back to basic professionalism and positioning. It demonstrates you understand selling, the most important requirement of executives. Treat the first telephone call as the first interview. It is here that you discuss with the customer what his needs are as well as building rapport and establishing trust so that when you do eventually meet the recruiter, half of the “sell” is already completed (This is the 1st and the 2nd gear completed).

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Most professionals will tell you, most jobs aren’t difficult to do; you may only use say ten percent of your formal education. Succeeding at a job is all about managing relationships, communicating well and strong leadership. Even if you do not have the best qualifications, if the interviewer likes you they will overlook many of your short comings when compared to someone they do not like maybe with more of the right credentials. If they like you they’ll usually assume the employer will like you. If they do not like you they will hang you on every mistake. Most recruiters will short-list three executive candidates for presentation to an employer so they have 3 chances of making a placement. You need to make them want to take a risk on you. You can help them come to this conclusion by showing your intelligence through the questions you ask and ability to sell yourself by having a business conversation with them prior to the face-to-face interview. All other candidates tend to drop everything and run in for an interview like kids playing musical chairs, not the best way to position yourself as a highly sought after senior executive. Aim: The aim in turning the recruiter’s telephone call into an interview is to:

1. Qualify that the role is suitable to you as most job adverts are extremely vague, (no

use going for an interview for a job that doesn’t suit your requirements),

2. Gather crucial insider information on the employer’s needs that no other candidates are going to get their hands on! If you know the employer’s true needs in advance you’ll present the best at interviews all things being equal, and

3. Sell the interviewer on your match for the role (if it interests you), that you in fact

have unique and relevant value, not just value; that you represent the recruiter’s best chance of getting paid.

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The Process to Follow; Recruiter’s Initial Telephone Call You have already sent an application to the recruiter with the necessary ‘call to action’ ("P.S. I will be in the office for the next 30 minutes if you would like to text me” as mentioned in the approach letter). When the recruiter calls you remain calm…don’t be caught off guard…expect the call. (Or let the call go to a message bank and return it later). Respond with words to the affect… ”Hi Thomas I was expecting your call. (Confirm why they’re calling). I’m eager to speak with you but I’ve just been called into an impromptu meeting. Can I take your details and call you back shortly?” The reason we say this is to let the interviewer know you’re eager to talk, (if the recruiter thinks you’re not they may not want to speak with you again) but much more importantly to buy you time. You need to reread the job advert and your approach letter to strategize the conversation (interview) correctly. You may have sent out a few applications and may not be able to recall exactly the job advert and your approach letter. So now re-read the job advert and tailor the questions you need to ask, to gather valuable information, to qualify your interest in the role and to sell the interviewer on your match for the role (see sample questions below). Do not forget this is your first interview and also an opportunity to build trust and rapport so do not interrogate. It’s surprising how many sensitive questions you can ask if you’re confidently humble and you have built trust and rapport. To have the right mental positioning imagine you’re a CEO of a MNC when you call the recruiter back. Your positioning and credibility will come through in your voice (unless you’re the ex CEO of Lehman Brothers) and the recruiter will stop talking to you as just another candidate and more as a business person. Note, executives have a ‘top down’ approach in asking questions. So ask about the company’s strategic (Big Picture) needs first followed by the leadership, day to day and operational requirements (Middle Picture) of the role then lastly the personal needs (Small Picture) of the likely person you’ll be reporting to if successful in securing the role.

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Pre-empt the conversation: “Hello Thomas, [Interviewer] my apologies for not being able to speak earlier. I had to jump into an impromptu meeting”. Now let the recruiter ask his questions. He’ll probably ask you what you’re looking for, what salary you’re seeking and if you have experience in certain areas. Once they have finished with his questions and after they invite you in for an interview say, “I know you’re busy. Out of respect for your time and so I can make your job easier, do you mind if I ask a few questions before we meet? I wouldn’t like to take your valuable time up if this is a role I am not interested in.” Now it’s your turn to ask questions of him, pause, listen intently to the answers and do not interrupt. Every word and the tone that comes out of his mouth is gold. Questions: Structure to follow and sample questions are as follows:

Company: (The Big Picture) “Thomas I was intrigued by the advert you wrote; it really took my interest; you obviously have a talent for writing (Compliment him. Compliments are for free so use them wisely and genuinely to build relationships).

◉ “Can you tell me what your client is renowned for?” ◉ “Could you describe the culture and the vision for me? Their vision is enticing Thomas,

tell me.” ◉ “What are the main challenges facing this company on the market?” ◉ “What are their needs for strategic talent?” ◉ “What strategic phase is the business in?” (Growth, increase revenue, downsize, capture

market share/share of wallet, vertical/horizontal growth/organic growth or growth by M&A).

(Beware, do not ask for the company name at this point. Recruiters tend not to trust candidates enough at such an early point to divulge this; it will raise suspicion).

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Role: (The Middle Picture) “Thomas the company sounds great! Tell me;

◉ “What is the mandate for this role?” ◉ “What do you see as being the main responsibilities of this role?” ◉ “What are the top 3 things I need to achieve or the top 3 problems I need to solve to really

impress the CXO?” ◉ “How is success in this role measured and what are the expectations?” ◉ “Where does this role sit within the organizational structure? Who does it report into?

(He’ll probably tell you the title of the person the role reports into; this is crucial intelligence).

◉ “Is there a particular leadership and management style that you and the employer see as being more suited to this role?” This is a crucial question, the answer of which will enable you to sell yourself as the most appropriate leader at the interview.

◉ “Thomas if there was something extra special that the employer is really looking for in a new member of their executive team, what would that be?”

Person: (The Small Picture) “Thomas, the company sounds great and the role sounds like something that really matches my previous experience, can I ask if I am successful in securing this position, the person I would be reporting to, what’s his/her personality like?” “Could you describe his ideal candidate/GM/CXO for me personality wise; also what personal strengths do they feel would complement them?” (Make sure they tell you the personality and main attributes of what they’re looking for. If they think when they meet you that your personality would clash with the employer they won’t shortlist you). Three Must Ask Questions to ask towards the end of the conversation: 1. Negative - “Do you have any concerns as to my suitability for the role?” (These are

important. If there is a key ‘must have’ requirement you do not have consider cancelling the interview. Also make sure the interviewer hasn’t assumed you do not have a particular expertise by his or your mistake; maybe you have omitted something from your CV).

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2. Positive - “What particular aspects of my experience Thomas do you feel maybe most suited to this role?” (Don’t settle for a one or two word response. You’re considering spending a few hours going to meet him. They need to tell you. Dig down deeper by using phrases like, “How do you mean?”, or “That’s interesting, could you expand on that for me?”

3. Neutral - “Thomas so that I can help you in identifying the best candidate and also

differentiate my skills from others do you mind if I ask…”Of the candidates you have interviewed or are going to interview, do any of them have any outstanding expertise that you’re also wondering if I possess?” This last question above is designed to identify your competition and what value you must also communicate at the face-to-face interview to take them out of action. Another potential question is “Thomas, having read my CV is there any reason I wouldn’t be interested in this opportunity?” There are numerous reasons for asking this question. It also puts the recruiter on notice that when they meet you he’ll need to sell the company to you; they won’t want to run the risk of inviting you in for a role that doesn’t interest you. (See your Executive Agent for other ways of eliminating competition).

Final Question: “Thomas, so that I can better prepare for our meeting what website should I read?” (Maybe also ask them if there are any articles you should read on the web. This is to identify who the employer is prior to the interview) – Then, “Also Thomas to increase your chances of a successful placement is there a Job Description that you could be as kind as to email me before we meet (if you’re invited)?” Be careful with this one. His response to this question is a good litmus test as to whether they like and trust you. If the interviewer likes, trusts and values you…they will tell you, if they don’t, they won’t. A Job Description is worth its weight in gold if you get it because of the information usually therein. There are two ways to tackle this situation if they do not give you the name of the company.

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Option 1: If you’re sure they think you’re one of the best candidates and trust you and it’s just a matter of policy in not divulging the employers name, say; “Thomas, the company sounds great and I really appreciate your time. I am just that strapped for time and to take a morning off to meet you for a company that has probably already tried to head hunt me is difficult, it probably wouldn’t be fair to you either... (He’ll butt in and tell you the employer or... Option 2: “If you can meet me halfway Thomas, I’ll come and see you if you tell me who it is, I’d hate to waste your time and 2-3 hours of my time only to find out it’s a company I am not interested in...I think we have developed enough trust for this.” Another option is to meet the recruiter, secure the employer’s name and tell him not to represent you until you research the business and give it some further thought. If the search assignment is not exclusive you can then go direct to the employer if they don’t have sufficient skills or ethics to represent you appropriately. Once they tell you the employer you need to make up your mind if you continue to interview with him, or tell him they have already approached you and you’re not interested, or say another recruiter has approached you. You may decide your chances of securing this role are better if you go direct to the company. Beware most recruiters state they have the role exclusively when they rarely do. Do you go direct and have your Executive Agent line up a meeting or do you risk meeting the recruiter and being rejected by a middle man who is also representing other candidates? This is an option for you now as you now have most of the information because you did a reconnaissance.

If the question of salary arises: Never ask “What’s the job pay?” or salary related questions until the end of the conversation by which time you should have pre-sold the interviewer on your unique fit for the role; this will prompt him to answer you and you won’t appear money orientated. Only ask about salary if you have suspicions it is paying too low. “Thomas I’m currently in a position where I am remunerated handsomely…can I ask what salary range has the company earmarked for this role if they find the right person?”

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Alternatively if the recruiter asks you “What salary are you seeking?” you cannot win by answering. You can only win by getting information not by prematurely giving it (an old rule for military interrogators). If you say too little you will reduce their commission (as many charge a percent of salary paid) and they may think you’re desperate, maybe do not value your own expertise or worse you may actually get paid less if successful. Or if you say too much before they understand your unique value, they will think you’re too expensive. Answer this salary question simply by saying, “I am seeking something that represents financial common sense for both myself and the employer; something that recognizes my value to the business. Can I ask what range the employer has in mind?”

Tips

◉ Other Possible Qualifying Questions: - “Personal development and career development is important to me; can I ask, if successful in securing this role, what doors would it open up for me career wise?” or - “If successful…when is the anticipated start date?”

◉ Ask questions as they relate first to the company, then the role, then as they relate to the person you would be reporting to if offered the opportunity. This will not only show you have a strategic or executive’s ‘big picture’ focus but also enable you to get the whole situation into perspective.

◉ Do ten percent of the talking and ninety percent of the listening. Maintain control and direction of the conversation by asking intelligent questions; read behind the answers. What are they telling you? What are they trying to tell you but cannot communicate it sufficiently? and more importantly, what are they trying to hide from you?!

◉ Your intelligence and understanding of the problems, challenges and issues gripping the employer show your talent, experience and aptitude, not the statements you make.

◉ Remember keep the tone conversational and friendly. The interviewer (if the employer) has to envisage working with you on a daily basis.

◉ Get information on the ‘cards’ the other candidates are playing with before showing your hand.

◉ This is your first and only chance to make a great first impression. Do not rush this conversation; the more specific and strategic the answers you give, the better your presentation will be.

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◉ Just because an interviewer calls you doesn’t mean they’re interested in interviewing you, they may only be compiling a short list by phone.

◉ If the interviewer is speaking of something which has no interest to you, control the conversation by asking him a question that refocuses them on the direction you want to take to get the information you need.

◉ The whole basis of this discussion is to set the scene for the face-to-face interview. The recruiter must see that you’re not another desperate candidate after a job but a savvy business person looking to create opportunities who is confident and knows their own value; someone that can qualify and hold a business conversation and someone who can ask intelligent questions showing their understanding of ‘business’.

◉ As soon as you rush in to meet a recruiter without making them jump through hoops they start to devalue you. If this conversation is done correctly and you are mentally ‘bought’ by the interviewer before meeting face-to-face, many interviewers will then only need to confirm personality fit, they will attempt to sell the company to you; an ideal position for candidates to be in.

◉ The candidates that ask the best questions and identify the true needs will usually present themselves the best.

“It’s not the best people that get the best jobs but those who are best at getting jobs.”

◉ A favorite prompt to use when the interviewer says something to enable you to dig

deeper and capture more information is ‘How do you mean?” or “Could you explain why that is?”, “That’s an interesting statement...why do you say that?” The trick is to know what the needs are, why they need it and the order of importance of the needs so you spend most of your time solving the higher priority needs at the face-to-face interview. You won’t secure the job by talking about the needs for double-ply toilet paper at the interviews when other candidates are talking about more important needs like cultural fit, the vision and so on.

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Call Summary 1. Let the Recruiter ask his questions.

(They will either have specific questions relating to a specific job they’re trying to fill or more general questions if they’re considering just inviting you in for a general chat to assess your talent).

Only when they invite you in for an interview;

2. Tell them you would love to meet with them, then ask them if they can have a

ten minute chat now over the phone prior to meeting with you.

3. Compliment them* (establish trust and rapport).

4. Identify their client’s strategic needs (big picture). Reconnoiter the Employer.

5. Identify the needs of the role (middle picture). Reconnoiter the Role.

6. Identify personality trait of the person you would be reporting into if successful (small picture). Reconnoiter the Person you’d be reporting into.

Ask them the 3 chess-board questions:

7. “Do you have any concerns regarding my suitability for the role or my fit within your

client’s company culture?” (If so, say “I understand, could I ask what that may be? Let’s discuss that further when we meet.”)

8. “What aspects of my experience of skills do you feel may be of unique attraction to

your client?”

9. “Of all the other candidates you’re currently interviewing do any of them possess any unique skills, knowledge or experience you’re also wondering if I possess?” (Say in reply, “I understand, let’s discuss that also when we meet.”).

10. Identify the employer

“So that I can better prepare for our chat, may I ask what is the best website for me to read?”.

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Knowing the name of the employer also enables your Agent to research the company to help prepare you for the interview. If they do not support your candidacy we can go direct to the employer.

(Now complete an ‘Interview Feedback Template Form’ and email to your Agent)

*Remember, compliments are for free and are catalysts to building rapport, so use them but genuinely! Recruiters like candidates who they know like them. Compliment him on his company’s reputation in the market place or just how

well the advert was written, or how knowledgeable they appear.

Caution: Before accepting a General Interview with a recruiter, who doesn’t have a specific role on, always qualify the meeting by asking if they work on

roles of your type, seniority and industries.

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Initial Questions to Expect on Telephone Call When the recruiter calls you in response to your invite, it’s best to listen rather than talk. Listening before speaking will give you an insight as to what they think about you, it may also give you valuable Intel. At some point he’ll usually ask you many of the following questions below to which we have outlined some possible responses. The logic behind him asking these questions is also outlined.

Question Logic Response Tell me about yourself?

Sell me on why I should be talking to you now.

Give a ‘Broad’ leadership journey, then say, “Following on from this, I suspect your clients have similar needs to those that my previous employers faced and that’s why I approached you!”*

What made you apply for this role?

Do you have a genuine interest in this role or are you just applying for every role; desperation?

“Your client sounds like they’re facing very similar obstacles to growth that my previous employer faced; the mandates you’ve described is also very similar to my previous employer; an area previous employers thought I excelled in solving!”

What are you looking for?

Are you decisive? Do you know your own drivers? Are you going to be indecisive and vague if my client interviews you? Do you know what you want and what your value is?

Be specifically general; specific to show you’re decisive and know what you want but general so that you do not cut your own throat or ‘box yourself. e.g. “I am specifically looking for a company wanting to accelerate their growth through better strategy, streamlining operations” etc. do not ever say, “I can do many things, what have you got?”

What remuneration are you seeking?

Are you too cheap or too expensive? Are you realistic in terms of remuneration? Are you going to be hard to place?

“Something that represents financial common sense to my family but also to your client. Can I ask what range does this role pay?” (if pushed for an answer give a wide range say $200k to $400k)

How long have you been looking for?

Are you finding it difficult to secure a role; are you a ‘bad’ candidate? So am I wasting my time in interviewing you because you’re likely to get an offer before I secure one for you.

“I’ve only recently put myself on the market. You’re my first meeting”. Be careful if you’ve applied for a role recently with their group; if so say you took yourself off the market for some reason.

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Are you at any interviews currently?

Am I wasting my time with you (similar to above logic)

“No”; or “some casual chats planned with one or two people”.

*A ‘Broad’ leadership journey is similar to a normal employer specific leadership journey only it summaries the types of companies you’ve been involved in, the types of people who hired you or who you reported into, the types of problems facing your previous employers, the types of mandates you’ve been given, some career defining achievements and the general status that you left your previous companies in.

No Call Recruiter Response Following all job applications, if you haven’t heard back from the recruiters two days after sending your approach;

◉ Check you used the correct emails. Have you received a delivery and read receipt? If not then resend your Job Advert Response Letter. They may not have received it, their junk mail filter may have picked it up or they may have accidentally deleted it. If you still have received no response another day after you have sent it the second time call them and go to step 2 below.

◉ If you have used the correct emails, and you are sure they have received your letter, then call them two days after, saying words to effect, “Hi Tom, I sent you an email on the DAY, DATE re Job Title. I suspect I missed your return call. Are you able to spare a few minutes now to discuss this?” Now go through the strategy outlined in the document ‘Handling the Initial Recruiter’s Call’. Slightly vary this document, to now say words to effect,

“Tom, did you write the ad for this role? The reason why I ask is it was quite well written...you obviously have a talent for writing. You really have captured my interest. I’d like the opportunity to meet with you face to face to discuss this but I guess it’s more appropriate if we discuss it briefly over the phone first so as not to waste any one’s time. Is that comfortable for you? Great...”

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Beware of Some Recruiter’s Intentions Most Recruiters are honest and ethical. However some recruiters interview candidates (who are currently working and looking to leave their employer) to then float candidates into that company to replace the candidate they’re interviewing. If a recruiter is asking you too many questions about your current employer, e.g. who you’re reporting into, who heads up new hires, do they know you’re leaving, be careful. Beware also recruiters that interview you to build a relationship and then source staff for you. Their intention in calling you may be just as a sales call but presented as a conversation to help you secure a role.

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Appendix D : Handling Interview Anxiety (Battle Nerves)

Let’s face it, no matter how senior you are most of us suffer from interview nerves. Rest assured, you have nothing to fear but fear itself. To reduce interview anxiety, fifteen minutes before you go into an interview concentrate on the following thoughts. Members have told us by adopting the state of mind these thoughts create, their anxiety is reduced considerably.

◉ They’re interviewing me because they know I can do this job, they’re just wondering if I will like them as much as they like me; if I will feel comfortable working with them,

◉ The interviewer is probably more nervous than I am, ◉ I know more about the job than the interviewer, ◉ There are a lot of opportunities out there, this isn’t the only one, ◉ I do not even know if this opportunity is for me, ◉ I enjoy helping companies in distress, this company has needs, let’s see if I can help

them, whether there’s a job or not; worst case I am building my network and meeting some wonderful people,

◉ I am more qualified than the interviewer to do this job (e.g. for recruiter interviews or where for example the CEO is interviewing you for a CFO, CIO role etc.), if I make a mistake they probably won’t even notice,

◉ I’m a likeable person. I should cut myself some slack and not put so much pressure on myself,

◉ I’ll be out of this interview in an hour and be wondering what all the fuss was about, ◉ I shouldn’t take life or this situation so seriously, and ◉ Take people off pedestals but continue to give them respect.

We learned from a previous chapter there are three core ways to build rapport;

1. Make the interviewer laugh, 2. Compliment the interviewer (compliments are for free, but if genuine are precious),

and

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3. Let the interviewer (if the person you would be reporting into) know you like them and would enjoy working with them. If interviewers like you they’ll be less likely to look for excuses why not to hire you.

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Appendix E : Guide on Addressing Selection Criteria

This chapter will give you an overview of how to answer selection criteria.

If you apply for a role in the Government you are likely to be required to lodge an application that addresses specific selection criteria. Applicants are short-listed based on their ability to convince the Selection Team that they have the capabilities required to perform the duties which are articulated in the selection criteria.

What Are Selection Criteria And How Are They Used? Selection criteria describe the personal qualities, skills, abilities, knowledge and qualifications (if any) a person needs to perform the role effectively. They are used to identify the right person for the role.

Selection criteria are sometimes divided into:

◉ Important criteria ◉ Less Important criteria

Important criteria are weighted equally (unless explicitly stated otherwise). Less Important criteria are rated equally and have a lower weighting than Important criteria. However, your chances of progressing through the selection process (e.g. being short-listed) will be greater if you meet all the selection criteria, as you may be competing against many applicants.

Selection criteria can also be divided into:

◉ Essential criteria (‘must have’ criteria) ◉ Desirable criteria (‘nice to have’ criteria)

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The selection advisory committee will rate applicants against the criteria in order to select the right applicant. You must meet all of the ‘Essential’ criteria in order to be seriously considered for a role. It is not necessary for you to have the qualifications, skills and knowledge outlined in ‘Desirable’ criteria. However, your chances of progressing through the selection process (e.g. being short-listed) will be greater if you meet all the selection criteria, as you may be competing against many applicants.

How Do Applicants Address Selection Criteria? The key is to:

◉ Demonstrate capability by providing evidence of how you meet the selection criteria;

◉ Provide specific details; and ◉ Where possible, include an indicator of success or a result.

An easy way to do this is to use the STAR model – that is:

Situation: Provide a brief outline of the situation or setting

Task: Outline what you did

Approach: Summarize how you did it

Result: Describe the outcomes

Step one – Understanding the Selection Criteria As an example, take the capability written communication skills. The associated selection criterion could be; ‘Well-developed written communication skills. This includes the ability to:

◉ Structure written communications such as reports to meet the needs and understanding of the intended audience;

◉ Express opinions, information and key points of an argument clearly and concisely; and to

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◉ Write convincingly in an engaging and expressive manner.

It is important that you clearly understand what is meant by each selection criterion before putting pen to paper.

Step Two – Opening Sentence When addressing each selection criterion, you should begin with an opening sentence that clearly states your claim to this criterion. For example:

‘I possess strong written communication skills, which I have developed over the course of my career’.

This opening statement needs to be supported by detailed examples of where you demonstrated these skills in the workplace (or other context if workplace examples are not possible). The following steps will help you to provide a structured, easy-to-understand response.

Step Three – Brainstorm Ideas for Each Criterion For each selection criterion, brainstorm ideas from your recent work life. Ideally, you should confine your examples to the last two or three years of employment. Where you do not have relevant work examples, situations from different aspects of your life (e.g. university, clubs or the community) may also demonstrate relevant strengths. For instance, acting as the secretary for a large club may be an appropriate example for the selection criterion described above.

Let’s take an example of a Senior Project Officer (APS6) role, which includes ‘well developed written communication skills’ as one of the selection criteria. An applicant may come up with the following situations which could illustrate their written communication skills:

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Project Officer at Department of XYZ – needed to write report on project planning methodologies when Research Support Officer at Department of XYZ – designed and compiled a monthly newsletter research project when at GBL Company – needed to collate diverse sets of data, organize the information into topic areas, and synthesize into a paper for senior management. At this stage, it is useful to generate as many examples as possible.

Step Four – Expand On Your Brainstorming Ideas – Provide the Evidence You should then expand upon the points that you have noted as part of the brainstorming activity in step three. Go back to each specific criterion and make your final choice on which examples to use, by matching them against the wording of the criterion.

Once you have finalized your examples, you need to demonstrate how they meet the different aspects of the criterion. In doing so, it is important that you are very specific and describe exactly what you did, including the outcome. This is to demonstrate convincingly that you have met the requirements of each criterion.

Here, the STAR method described earlier can be used.

For example:

Situation Role as Research Support Officer at Department of XYZ

Task Needed to ensure that managers were kept informed of policies and

procedures

Action Initiated monthly newsletter, which was emailed to each manager. Took responsibility for writing the main articles. This involved obtaining ideas and input from other stakeholders to ensure that the articles reflected managers’ needs (in terms of content and language)

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Result Feedback was consistently excellent. Received divisional achievement award for newsletter quality. Led to improved lines of communication between managers and the Research Support Unit.

Once this has been achieved, the applicant can then write the draft paragraph in full. For example:

'As Research Support Officer at the Department of XYZ, I needed to ensure that managers were kept informed of policies and procedures. To do this, I initiated a monthly newsletter, which was emailed to each manager. I took responsibility for writing the main articles in each publication. This involved obtaining ideas and input from other stakeholders to ensure that the articles reflected the needs of managers, both in terms of content and language. I received consistently excellent feedback in relation to this newsletter from these internal clients and my own manager. I received a divisional achievement award for the quality of this newsletter from management. Importantly, this initiative resulted in improved lines of communication between managers and the Research Support Unit’.

Step Five – Checking Work At this stage, you should read through your application, and check the following points:

Have I Used Positive and Specific Language? It is important that you avoid ambiguous or unclear expressions such as ‘involved in’ or ‘assisted’. These expressions make it difficult for the reader to understand exactly what you did. For example, instead of ‘I assisted the process through a monthly newsletter’; this idea has been phrased as ‘I initiated a monthly newsletter’.

Words and phrases which could reduce credibility should also be avoided (e.g. some, a little, limited, somewhat). Have I used strong action (doing) words?

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Avoid using passive language when describing your experience. For example, ‘I received consistently excellent feedback in relation to this newsletter from these internal clients and my own manager’, is better than simply stating, ‘Feedback in relation to this newsletter was consistently excellent’.

Have I Avoided Unsupported Claims About My Capabilities? For example, rather than simply saying, ‘The newsletter was received well by others’, this assertion is substantiated in the following way:

‘I received a divisional achievement award from management for the quality of this newsletter’.

Have I Addressed All Aspects Of The Criterion? At this stage, it is important that you go back to the wording of the particular selection criterion. As mentioned earlier, ‘Well developed written communication skills’ includes the following components:

◉ Structure written communications such as reports to meet the needs and understanding of the intended audience;

◉ Express opinions, information and key points of an argument clearly and concisely; and to

◉ Write convincingly in an engaging and expressive manner.

In reading the paragraph written earlier, it is clear that its content refers mainly to the first descriptor, that is, ‘Structure written communications to meet the needs and understanding of the intended audience’.

Therefore, it will be important that the applicant addresses the remaining two descriptors in additional paragraphs which will comprise the full statement for the criterion ‘well developed written communication skills’.

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Have I Paid Attention To The Language Of The Criterion? For example, writing a paragraph around an example which demonstrates ‘Well developed written communication skills’ requires the applicant to focus on actual experiences which show the extent of their skills in this area. However, if the criterion was phrased as ‘Knowledge of effective written communication skills and techniques’, this would require different examples which do not necessarily rely on the applicant describing their actual performance in the workplace.

Structure of the Document

Layout

Where appropriate, dot points should be used, rather than using long paragraphs of text. This ensures that the statement is as easy as possible for the selection team to read (and also demonstrates written communication skills in the document itself).

Length

Conciseness is important in a document of this type. About 250 words is generally an appropriate length for each criterion. However, this may depend upon factors such as the role being applied for.

Presentation

You should ensure that:

◉ There are no errors anywhere in the document; ◉ The document is formatted neatly; and ◉ The sentences are grammatically correct and concise.

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Appendix F : Psychological Warfare (Psyops)

This chapter will give you a greater understanding of how to successfully interview by exploiting the personalities of the interviewers.

Sell to Personality A great resume may get you in the door, but its personality that wins you the job. We’re not talking about your personality; we’re talking about your ability to understand the interviewer’s personality.

Picture this: you've just finished an interview and feel pretty confident about getting the job. Your credentials are outstanding and your job history is solid. But one week later you still haven't heard…and later you find out that someone else got the job.

What happened? Why weren't your stellar credentials enough to make you stand out from the crowd?

First of all, good credentials aren't always rare, especially in today's increasingly competitive job market. Just about anyone in the same profession can duplicate a technically strong resume. But there’s one thing that makes you different from every other candidate out there…the way you approached the interview.

When two candidates submit similar resumes the final decision comes down to your interview performance. So how can you put yourself across in a way that ensures you cross the finishing line first? By understanding the interviewer! By knowing their personality and tailoring your pitch to their personal preferences so you can communicate effectively.

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We make no apology for the fact that this is a hard-hitting report. You may read things in it that you do not like! Do not shoot us…we’re just the messenger. It’s our job to be direct and honest so we can help you get the job. We’ll give you the knowledge…what you do with it is up to you.

What is Personality? When many so-called “job experts” talk about personality they refer to topics such as body language, the interviewer’s mood and the interview structure. While that information is certainly helpful, they really aren’t talking about personality. Simply defined, personality comprises the internal traits and behaviors that make us unique. Delving a little deeper, personality is an individual's more-or-less stable set of internally motivated predispositions to respond and their observable behaviors in various life situations or contexts. These dispositions and behaviors usually have regularity.

Phew! A long-winded definition, but helpful in some respects at least. Notice that personality is observable and that a given personality will usually act in a predictable way. That’s good news for us, because it means we have an opportunity to identify behaviors that indicate a particular personality type.

Take a minute to think about people you know, how many of them are perfectionists, how many of them are socialites, how many always take the lead and how many just sit back and let things happen?

Would it be fair to say that most of your friends fit one of those four categories or a mixture of them?

See! You already know how to identify someone’s personality. We’re simply going to provide you with a few handy tools to help identify personality types faster and use that knowledge to your advantage.

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Why Knowing an Interviewer’s Personality Helps Us You may have thought that your interviewer was a Choleric when you met them, but it turns out she is really a Sanguine. How could you have been so wrong? Probably because you didn’t know the ABCs of personality. If you’d known, you probably would have found out that she placed much more value on people and relationships than results and achievements…you would have tailored your approach accordingly.

How can knowing your interviewer win you the job? Let’s cast aside the veil of secrecy surrounding job interviews and discover how knowing an employer’s personality helps us push their hot buttons and avoid their “no go” areas. The person who does that best may very well get the job.

Will that be you?

So how can you put yourself across in a way that ensures you cross the finishing line first?

It all starts with the first interview. In the traditional interview, the majority of the questions are opinion-based. Naturally, personal preferences always come into play where opinions are concerned. If you answer interview questions or communicate in a way that provokes the interviewer’s personal prejudices then you will get them offside rather quickly and will be unlikely to get the job.

The ability to judge an interviewer’s personality equips us with valuable knowledge on how to speak to each type of person. Suggesting words or phrases that are likely to get the attention of a particular interviewer can also allow us to present ourselves in ways that better build rapport stronger feeling of trust. After all, it’s no secret that people feel most comfortable in the company of others just like them, and that they “buy” from people they like and trust.

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◉ Ensure we provide information in a manner that suits their personal style ◉ Influence their perceptions about our own style, interview behavior and cultural fit ◉ Foster trust and build rapport, so they can see themselves working with us!

The Four Personality Types A person's physical appearance can change dramatically over the years, but their personality is ingrained for a lifetime. Most people are not one specific personality type, but normally a mixture of two.

For example, I’m predominantly Choleric with a strong Melancholic streak. What does that mean? If you were being interviewed by me, you might consider that I’d be expecting a lot to be done very quickly to a high standard…and you’d tailor your interview approach to convey those themes.

Enough already, let’s take a look at the four key personality types:

1. Phlegmatics - calm, dependable, laid-back people who are easy to get along with. Their strengths are flexibility and endurance, but they are prone to passivity.

2. Melancholics - fastidious, analytic intellectuals who largely keep to themselves. Their strengths are observation, preparation, and resourcefulness, but they tend toward perfectionism and depression.

3. Cholerics - take-charge, task-oriented leader types for whom relationships are largely a means to an end. Their strengths are boldness and self-motivation, but they may be tactless or quick tempered.

4. Sanguines - cheerful, enthusiastic people whose energy comes from being with people. They bring life and smiles to those in their circles but may be scatterbrained, and often lack caution or restraint.

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A tongue-in-cheek way of remembering the personality types is that the phlegmatic suffers the problem, the melancholy sees the problem, the choleric solves the problem, and the sanguine is the problem. Sanguines would be of a different opinion, certainly, but then again, they usually are anyway.

(I am speaking here as a Choleric Melancholic of course.)

The Phlegmatic is easy going and does things at her own pace. "Whatever. I'm easy." Slow to anger and slow to judge, the Phlegmatic is also slow to get excited because basically, she hates change. If you want her to do something, you have to give her a good, sound reason. (On Your Mark...You Know, On Second Thought...).

The Melancholic is a perfectionist. "Now let's not rush to any quick conclusions until we have all the details." If you need a clever, detailed strategy, ask a Melancholy. Just do not expect him to act on anything until he has all the facts. (On Your Mark, Get Set, Get Set, Get Set...)

The Choleric knows it all. "There are two ways to do anything; my way, and the wrong way." He's quick to act and judge, but slow to accept blame for bad decisions. (On Your Mark, Go!)

The Sanguine looks for the fun. "Is it boring here, or does anyone else want to PARTY?!" Because of her enthusiasm, she can rally support for any cause. But if things get dull, it's ‘sayonara’ Sanguine. (Get Set, Go!)

TABLE 1 – The Four Personality Types

1. Peaceful- Phlegmatic 2. Perfect- Melancholic 3. Powerful- Choleric 4. Popular - Sanguine

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Different Horses for Different Courses As you can see from the description of each personality type above, they would vary greatly in their view of what was important during the interview and the manner in which they wanted to receive information.

For example, a Melancholic would want to know every last detail so they could over-analyze your answers to the nth degree, while a Choleric would want to cut to the chase and talk about the results.

At the same time, a Sanguine would want to talk about the people and relationships, while a phlegmatic would want a calm, stress-free recounting of your time with a previous employer.

Are you sabotaging your own success by failing to acknowledge personality? Can you imagine what would happen if you approached a strong personality type the wrong way? Imagine these examples:

1. The Phlegmatic would see the value in postponing an activity indefinitely because things are really just fine the way they are. BUT the Choleric would fume at the lack of action.

2. The Melancholic would be shocked that you jumped into a project or enterprise before fully understanding what you need to do. BUT the Choleric would appreciate your decisiveness.

3. The Choleric would be gravely concerned that you'll probably abandon a task as soon as something more interesting comes along. BUT a Sanguine would sympathize and understand that you need variety and new challenges.

4. The Sanguine would be concerned that you get so side-tracked by details that you lose track of your objective and forget to have fun. BUT the Melancholic would rejoice that you’ve got every base covered.

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Recognizing Personality Types Let’s take a look at how to identify each personality type. We’ll limit ourselves to those clues you’re likely to see in the limited time available during a job interview and the preceding application process.

There’s plenty of publicly available material on this topic and I suggest you read Florence Littauer’s book Personality Puzzle if you have a strong interest. Pay careful attention to what’s important to each personality type so you know how to coach your interview approach. As we go, think about your own personality and identify potential conflicts with interviewers ahead of time so we can eliminate them before they ever raise their ugly head:

1. Phlegmatic:

You can easily picture a Phlegmatic lying in a hammock with a glass of lemonade, dreamily watching the sun go down. They love peace and quiet. No conflicts, smooth sailing, avoiding any bumps in the road. They will do anything to avoid fights and arguments, and it bothers them when everyone is not getting along. Phlegmatics are conservative and usually neat, efficient, and dependable.

I can picture a Phlegmatic often wondering, if not asking, “Is everything okay between us?” Rest and relaxation are great loves for them. You do not see Phlegmatics getting into trouble with authority very often. They do not demand attention, yet they are worth paying heed to because they often possess a marvelous sense of humor and keen perspective on life. Compare a Phlegmatic to a chameleon. They can blend into any situation, “changing color” as it were, depending on the people and circumstances. One weakness in the Phlegmatic’s personality though is a lack of enthusiasm. You see this type sitting on the couch, not jumping Up and down. An excited Phlegmatic is a rare sight. They are worn out just thinking about other people racing about.

Other challenges for the Phlegmatic include their desire to see every conflict quickly and painlessly resolved.

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Yet another weakness is their stubbornness to change. They are the ones who go to the ice cream shop and order vanilla every time. For the Sanguine, who orders a different flavor every visit, this is rather astonishing. The easiest way to identify a Phlegmatic is through their Laid-back approach. In the bottom left figure there’re some more pointers for recognizing this personality type.

◉ May be more relaxed with dress standards. ◉ Uses a clam, relaxed voice. ◉ Doesn’t rush the interview. ◉ Speaks little, listens a lot. ◉ May spend a lot of time chatting to build rapport. ◉ Tends to adopt a more informal tone.

2. Melancholic:

Orderliness and propriety are important to this person. Their working environment will be spotless and meticulously clean and tidy, and their personal grooming will be impeccable. Dedication to perfection is one of the valuable traits of this personality.

The Melancholic is intellectual looking, quiet, reserved, and a little ill-at-ease in social situations where they do not know everyone. They would rather talk quietly with one person in depth than banter with a group.

Although they take pride in their appearance, they consider compliments on clothes and external niceties to be trivial. The Melancholic is very sensitive and easily hurt and tends to take what others say in humor as personal and hurtful.

How to notice a Melancholic:

◉ Impeccable personal grooming. ◉ Conservatively dressed (e.g. gray pinstripe) ◉ Clean and tidy personal space. ◉ Spends little time building rapport. ◉ Always on time and everything runs like clockwork.

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◉ Focused on detail when asking questions. ◉ Analyses everything you say. ◉ Expects a lot of people.

Most of all, Melancholics just want someone to understand them. They are the thinker, the philosopher and the analyzer. They are the ones who go to the heart of the issue and relish long heart-to-heart chats with a close friend. They have enormous self-discipline and loyalty, and are good listeners.

They are the people who have to dot every “i” and cross every “t”. The mirror is not clean until that streak is gone etc. They are reserved and extremely introverted.

The Melancholic suffers from ‘analysis paralysis’ and will often put unrealistic demands on others. They frequently have a poor self-image and can be stubbornly legalistic.

The easiest way to identify a Melancholic is through their need to listen and analyze. Here are some more pointers for recognizing this personality type:

◉ Thinks everything through logically. ◉ Is a perfectionist. ◉ Listens quietly rather than talking. ◉ Is very precise in the questions they ask and may ask multi-part questions. ◉ Tends to adopt a more formal tone. ◉ Follows a strict process, often using comprehensive notes. ◉ Generally has a serious demeanor.

3. Choleric: If you’re a Choleric you’ll know it by now. You’ll likely be frustrated by the fact that I wrote about you last and that you had to wade through the previous three summaries to get to the relevant material!

The Choleric is a natural leader. They are the first to step forward and take charge. They can be recognized by their confident walk and authoritative stance.

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Such people do not want to waste much time on trivial activity with no obvious results or converse with people who have nothing to say of any consequence. They accomplish more than any of the other personality types, can quickly assess what needs to be done and are usually right.

Cholerics work long and hard. Multi-tasking is second nature for them. You may see one eating lunch while reading a book and carrying on a conversation with someone…all at the same time.

This is normal for everyone to do some of the time, but the driven Choleric does it constantly. They accomplish an amazing amount of work in a very short time.

Cholerics can easily run rampant over other personality types without even realizing it. They will often clash with Melancholics and putting several Cholerics in the room together is a recipe for almost certain disaster. Perhaps the Choleric personality has more weaknesses than strengths, yet we could not function without them. They are confident and can make others confident as well. They are driven people with goals, ready to tackle any problem. They are purposeful and productive.

The easiest way to identify a Choleric is through their ‘take-control’, outspoken manner. Here are some more pointers for recognizing this personality type:

◉ Often dressed in a dark suit, powerful tie and gold watch. ◉ They like to be in control during the interview. ◉ Spends little time building rapport. ◉ They think quickly and talk more than they listen. ◉ Confident, outspoken and opinionated. ◉ Expects a lot of people. ◉ Impatient with people who are not like them. ◉ Knows they are good at what they do and it often shows through. ◉ Needs new challenges to stay interested. ◉ Will ask questions and sometimes offer answers. ◉ Often talks of the bigger picture.

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4. Sanguine:

It’s easy to notice who is Sanguine, because that is part of whom they are! They like to be noticed, and often these people are the easiest to identify simply because they are in the spotlight. Everyone notices the Sanguine. They enjoy talking, and generally “light up the room.” They are fun to be around because they love to have fun! It's been said that everyone loves a Sanguine.

Sanguines live for the externals and want you to get excited over their clothes, sense of humor, or new red sports car. Of course, other personality types will not naturally be given to praising the obvious and will feel that to laugh at the Sanguine’s jokes and stories will only encourage them to babble on. This personality type is probably easiest to identify because it is one that demands attention. The Sanguine is the person who makes the grand entrance, has the circle of people all listening raptly to her stories and is everybody's friend.

The Sanguine’s shortcomings would include a tendency to waste time, stretching the truth, selfishness and irresponsibility. Because they are so bubbly and talkative they can easily dominate conversations, intimidate people and ignore the needs of others.

The easiest way to identify a Sanguine is through their chatty nature and people focus. Here are some more pointers for recognizing this personality type:

◉ Colorful and flamboyant personality. ◉ May wear colorful or ‘out there’ clothing ◉ Outspoken and chatty. ◉ Gets easily distracted and changes topics quickly. ◉ Late or disorganized. ◉ Focuses on people rather than results. ◉ Talks about relationships and people rather than the task. ◉ Adopts an informal approach. ◉ Talks rather than listens. ◉ May use expressive facial and body gestures.

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What are the hot and cold buttons for each personality type?

Okay. Now that you know how to judge personality, what will you do with that knowledge?

Perhaps you’d like to put it to good use and tailor your interview approach to hit the hot buttons and avoid the ‘no go’ areas. Here’s a guide to what’s hot and what’s not for an interviewer of each personality type.

Phlegmatic (1) DO

◉ Allow them to pause and think at their own pace ◉ Focus on the journey rather than the outcome ◉ Weave quality of life values into your answers ◉ Spend as much time as possible building rapport ◉ Weight your emphasis 40% on people, 40% on process and 20% on results

(2) DON’T

◉ Cut them off or rush them in any way ◉ Overly reinforce your strong action bias ◉ Dominate the interview even though it would be easy to do so ◉ Be too formal…build rapport at every opportunity

Melancholic (1) DO

◉ Provide detailed answers ◉ Explain your logic in making a decision ◉ Show that you think things through and plan ahead ◉ Answer questions completely - ask if they would like more information ◉ Weight your emphasis 20% on people, 60% on process and 20% on results

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(2) DON’T

◉ Talk about results without the process involved in achieving them ◉ Jump from achievement to achievement – give them time to focus ◉ Interrupt them while they are analyzing what you have said ◉ Be flamboyant, informal or spend a lot of time on rapport ◉ Suggest that you make decisions quickly

Choleric (1) DO

◉ Talk about ideas, concepts and lots of implementing ◉ Focus on results, action, priorities and achievements ◉ Let the interviewer talk as much as possible ◉ Ask the hard questions…they will respect you for it ◉ Weight your emphasis 20% on people, 20% on process and 60% on results

(2) DON’T

◉ Provide long, waffling answers that do not get to the point quickly ◉ Be overly informal even if you feel relaxed ◉ Forget to ask lots of questions to encourage them to talk about their vision ◉ Be timid – tell them you know you can add value ◉ Indicate that you won’t act until you have all the information

Sanguine (1) DO

◉ Be informal, chatty and interested in what they are saying ◉ Focus on people and relationships ◉ Place more emphasis on ideas rather than implementing ◉ Talk about variety, new challenges and meeting people ◉ Weight your emphasis 60% on people, 20% on process and 20% on results

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2) DON’T

◉ Overdo your emphasis on results ◉ Cut them off or look like you are bored ◉ Try to cut rapport short – build it throughout the interview ◉ Change the topic back to you if they start talking about themselves ◉ Forget to use a few hand and facial gestures to convey a sense of feeling.

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Other Resources from the Author

For those readers interested in being sponsored by our organization, an offer of membership is only made after an application has been lodged and assessed as our service is strictly by invitation only. We do after all invest thousands of dollars in supporting candidates different to all other organizations. Because we receive applications for membership from numerous candidates we are commonly faced with the difficult task of choosing which candidates to grant membership to.

Further to sponsoring qualifying readers (up to $10,000) we have developed a range of other products available that are listed on our website. See www.upexecutiveagents.com/products.php

These include:

◉ Strategic Leadership Resume Compilation. This is an outsourced service that we quality assure. Writers can also compile resumes for candidates that are not senior executives for instance those that are specialists or middle managers.

◉ Resume Critique ◉ Reference Checking ◉ Interview Coaching (Strategy Sessions)

Other services which we cost upon application are:

◉ Career Transition. Candidate who are eligible to receive funding of a career transition program or outplacement program by their employers are encouraged to enquire if they can substitute these low value programs with our high value programs.

◉ Executive Search & Selection

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About the Author

Ben West is an author, a highly renowned mentor to CEOs and a former Defense Force Member. He is also one of the founders of the only full service end to end Executive Agency in the world. Think of Search and Selection in reverse. Ben is probably the most experienced person alive in helping executives secure strategic leadership roles.

Ben’s an avid motorcyclist owning a collection of motorcycles. He spends much of his time travelling the world meeting with select executives. When he’s not flying

he’s riding many a famous road on his Indian Motorcycle. He’s also a former aerobatic pilot having been trained from a young age in flying performance aircraft; the thrills and adrenalin preparing him well for his role as the world’s leading Executive Agent, leading an evolving industry which his firm have ‘breathed life into’.

Ben and other shareholders have invested considerable monies in building their unsurpassed capabilities and technologically savvy global infrastructure. Unlike any other organization, their global team regularly select and invest thousands of dollars in executives across the globe securing them interviews and job offers; acting as their own dedicated and personal Executive Agent, a role mirroring that of a Sports Star or a Celebrity in having a Manager, only with much more intimate ‘research’, ‘strategy’ and ‘process’.

Through doing so and different to all other authors and couch experts they have forged a battle library of strategies and an arsenal of know-how relating to securing leadership roles, specifically in the GFC, available nowhere else. You will not find these strategies mentioned by other authors, Career Experts, HR Consultants or Recruiters.

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The manual is not a cookie cutter collection of regurgitated strategies as sprouted by the thousands of authors, career experts, personal coaches and career management and transition firms in the market place that claim to know how to get someone a job but still won’t spend a dime in helping them. The author has not evolved strategies by sitting behind a desk and slumping over a typewriter, but by interviewing thousands of leaders, mentoring hundreds, by pounding the pavement, humping the phone and by listening intently to many of the world’s best leaders who he now calls friends.

So scratch that career manager preaching from behind his desk, dump those motivational CDs, delay retirement and tell that recruiter that claims they’re keeping an eye out for you, that you deserve much better.

This ground breaking Job Hunt Battle Manual is not ‘just another book’. An almanac and step-by-step guide, it will turn what you think you know about securing a leadership role on its head. The controversial content will unsettle many; it will challenge you like you’ve never been challenged before. Immediately you will understand why you’re communicating your value poorly. It’s confronting, direct and truthful. Some people will not be able to finish reading it. For those people it comes with a 100% money back guarantee* so confident are they that you will love it.

This manual includes an arsenal of proven strategies for sourcing hidden opportunities, differentiating strategic growth leadership, identifying and then decimating your competitors, short circuiting selection processes, capturing hearts and minds and winning the war for jobs. Learn literally how to jump to the front of the candidate queue time after time. Supercharge your network…FAST.

These guys are incredibly sharp. Their sense of humor is ‘bent’, resulting in part from mixing it with many soldiers in the field under some trialing circumstances. Reading this book, you’ll often ‘piss yourself from laughter’ or ‘cringe in embarrassment’, that and experiencing severe bouts of deja vu.

*Customers paying full retail price only.

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