Interviewing 2.0: Setting a New Dial of Discovery Can Fine Tune Your Rewards

Assessing the next career opportunity often brings a range of emotions for job seekers. There’s exhilaration and excitement about exploring new possibilities, learning new skills, solving issues and building new relationships, but there also may be anxiety over the changes that may transpire and fear of the unexpected. For job seekers who lived through a toxic workplace experience where bullying, mobbing and/or dysfunctional behavior was the norm, this fear may be especially heightened. The range of emotions varies among job seekers and the time between these stages may also differ from person to person. However, thanks to the Internet and Web 2.0 technologies, today’s job seekers have a wealth of tools available to assist with planning the next career move and preparing for greater interview success while taming their emotions.

Job seekers can benefit greatly by learning to communicate their value. How? Build a Personal Portfolio that objectively identifies talents, skills, abilities and key accomplishments. There are many accredited career counselors that provide expertise and robust assessment tools to help individuals identify their strengths. Understanding how these attributes can bring value to an advertised position and benefit an organization will help a candidate better discern whether a potential job offers the right balance of responsibilities, learning experiences and growth potential.

Since most employers seek the best qualified candidate, which requires an understanding of a candidate’s qualifications (education, experience, skills, and abilities), prior accomplishments, goals and talent potential, it behooves job seekers to continually update their Personal Portfolio as new skills, abilities, training and relevant experiences are acquired. This ongoing self-portrait of your strengths shouldn’t be left to chance. Keeping up with relevant industry news and product and/or service changes are very important in today’s economic climate.

Business is moving at the speed of change, so many job seekers have learned that interviewing for tomorrow’s great opportunities requires asking fresh questions to sniff out the right job opportunity and a healthy workplace culture that allows one to do his or her best work.

What questions might assist job seekers in finding a healthier workplace culture?

Here are valuable insights and tips from several members* of professional networking sites LinkedIn.com and LinkingRaleighNC.com:

• “What word would you use to describe what it’s like to work here?” -- K. Michael
Janas, VP of human resources. Depending on the response,
he may thank the interviewer for his or her time and leave. If the response is favorable, he’ll follow up with, “What made you choose those words?

• “Can you tell me what you like about being a part of this team?” -- Brenda Larson, media/marketing/public relations specialist asks this when interviewing with a panel.

• “How does this position tie directly to the corporate goals and mission of the organization?” -- Andrew Midkiff, Chief Requirements. He adds: “One measure is how well everyone in the company understands the vision, corporate goals, and how the particular job works to achieve them. Many companies talk about having a clear vision, but not everyone knows what that means specifically as it relates to their job. Does the company provide clear and actionable goals? And how are the goals measured within the company?”

• “Why has the position become available? Was someone in the role previously and
are they still with the company?”- Eric S., finance professional.

• Nathan Anderson, PhD practices respectful candor by asking an interviewer how
long he or she has been with the company and what the average length of service is at the company. He explains why he’s asking the question and states that it’s in everyone’s best interest to be candid.

• “Since my time is valuable and because I want to invest it with the best possible organization, can you please tell me why I should do so here?” -- Bob Wagner, owner.

• “What type of work is involved? What exactly would I be doing? How challenging
is the work? How is work distributed by management? How often are reorganizations and why? What is the company’s history of downsizing?” -- Roger A., research programmer/analyst.

• “How many hours do people at my level average in a week?” -- Jim Morgan, PMP,
business team coach

• Terry M., financial/project analyst, asks what the hiring manager’s
30, 60, or 90 day plan is and what training is available to address on-the-job
questions. Terry tries to understand whether the company needs someone to fit the
requirements exactly, or is willing to accommodate a new person’s skills.

• “What type of mentoring is provided? And are promotions usually from within?” --
Gary L. Jurkiewicz, consultant pharmacist and freelance writer. Jurkiewicz also likes to learn more about a company’s commitment to quality and asks, “Is quality improvement an important part of the company? How is it accomplished?”

• “What types of career paths are available and which path did the person
previously in the position take?” -- Ahren Andrews, financial analyst.

• “Have there ever been any safety concerns?” If so, “how have they been
resolved?” -- Susan Bookman, production supervisor. Other questions that address how a company handles safety and its commitment to providing a safe work environment include: “How is workplace bullying addressed in the company?” “What formal policies exist to support a bully-free workplace?” “How has workplace bullying been addressed in the past?” “Is your organization certified bully-free?”

Many companies include a tour of their facilities during the interview process. If time allows during an interview, candidates should have an opportunity to observe the physical space (break rooms, cleanliness, and organization) as well as how employees are interacting. Nancy Campbell asks “are people smiling? What types of information posters are displayed throughout the corridors or break rooms?” Doug (ChangeInPlanCareerServices) likes to learn about how a company supports health and wellness in the workplace: “Are there areas to take walks? How are team-building activities supported?”

Some candidates have found it beneficial to have lunch with members of the team (if they were not included during the initial interview process). This provides an opportunity to understand the culture from a different level and learn about the leadership style of the hiring manager. Russel S., preconstruction services, explained that his spouse was able to steer away from a “near disaster” by having lunch and gaining a broader understanding of the company with which she was interviewing. Shawn Matthews, branch manager, also suggests requesting some time to talk with a hiring manager’s direct reports. It provides an opportunity to learn about the team’s strengths and gauge the level of respect among members.

Additional career planning tools like EBossWatch.com, GlassDoors.com, JobVent.com (and many more) provide job seekers important company information, ratings on factors such as leadership effectiveness, and full reviews on what employees are saying about a workplace.

Making a hiring decision is an investment decision for both the employer and job seeker. Solid preparation before, during and after an interview can result in a better investment decision for all. Exploring the health of a workplace culture demonstrates respect, and great companies are not threatened by these types of questions from candidates. Effective leaders welcome this, in fact, as it demonstrates initiative by a candidate and shows that he or she cares about sustaining a healthy work environment -- a win-win for the potential employer, team and candidate.

*Insights used with members’ permission.