Clients looking for jobs and lined for job interviews often come to me to practice their interviewing skills. Although I cannot help them much with specific technical discussions in their areas of expertise by asking deeply specialized questions, I often get into their perspective of how that technology is moving and how they see themselves helping the employer get into a technology or market leadership position in the current environment of rapid technology shifts and business demands stemming from economic, technology, and other trends.
When senior professionals come to me for job interviews they often come with their own perspectives in mind, which often translate into an agenda that they try to push when they are lined for the job at a company that is seeking a new place in how emerging technologies are going to be made a major part of the companys future plan and a roadmap to help them survive and even thrive in the world of constant technology changes and business flux.
One recent example was a senior executive, who has done great work in establishing big data platforms in large companies with analytics and business intelligence (BI) capabilities that his employers did not have before, taking charge of the new initiatives in those companies. As a result of his leadership he had gathered a great deal of technical expertise on how these initiatives play out and how they translate into business outcomes that align with the original vision with which all of this got undertaken to begin with at the companies where is was employed.
One such client recently came to me to do interview practice. So, when I started asking questions about his successes and how he saw the proposed roadmap of what the employer was going to implement to move forward in a new direction for the company, he started challenging the basic assumptions the employer had made in undertaking the technology initiative and started undermining what was already made clear in the job description for the job he was after. As the interview practice got underway it became clear that he was pushing his own agenda, which was countermanding what the job required. Throughout the practice session he was quite vocal about how the proposed change initiative would not provide the outcomes the company was seeking and how a radically different approachsomething he was interested inwould be more productive.
As we went through this session it was clear to me that he was using this practice session to perfect his own script for pushing his own agenda with an intent of selling it to the hiring manager and her team at the company that was interviewing him. When I asked him why he was so hell bent on challenging their original plan on which the entire job description was based and why he was pushing so hard on a new technology approach he made it clear to me that at this point in his career he needed some experience that showed his successes in this new area of technology, which was of great interest to him.
Despite my urging to stay away from this hijacking approach during his interviews at the company the next day, he pushed hard to promote his own point of view and completed the entire round of senior-level interviews, fully convinced that he converted them from their original roadmap to the one that he was able to present and that he would be a shoo-in for this senior role!
Well, the company was smart enough to not leave this matter hanging and called my client the very next day telling him that they had found someone who was a better fit for this job and my client lost a great opportunity to what may have been perhaps the right job for him in the long run.
So, what is the lesson here from this recent episode? Here is my take:
1.If a job description goes to great lengths on why the company is hiring someone make sure that you can see yourself joining the team and taking on the responsibilities outlined in the job (its requirements).
2.If you assess that the company has chosen a wrong path to invest when moving in a new direction, interview is NOT the place to challenge its approach and to confront the interviewers with their decision. The best way to test the waters is to ask some politeeven benignquestions to those in the chain of command and see their readiness for an alternative. This must only be pursued if their interviewers show some curiosity and willingness to discuss alternatives.
3.Before you start pushing your own agenda on the interviewer do some research on how the company came up with the approach it wants to pursue and ask some questions during the interview rounds to get insightful answers.
4.If there is receptivity for alternatives do not push hard during the interviews, but learn about the how the decision was arrived at, including the rational (best technology), political (the CEOs son is running the company that is going to install the new solution), economic (CapEx limits), or other factors.
5.If you assess that many interviewersincluding your potential boss or the hiring managerwere receptive to the idea by how they probed you, then wait until you go away from the interview rounds and send a detailed note or email thanking the interviewers (especially the hiring manager and their boss, if you met them). In that email state that although you would be a great fit for the job as advertised, you could be an even greater contributor if they are willing to look at your alternative proposal before fully committing to the new solution.
6.If you see entrenched mindsets during the interview process and your attempts to steer key minds in a new direction do not get traction, do not expect to come on board and then change the minds of these diehards. You are better off looking for other employers who are willing to pursue the path you have chosen or are willing to consider alternatives as a result of your interview explorations and follow-up.
The interview process is an exploration of a fit on both sides. Do not expect to jump into a new job and radically change the way things will get done just because they hired a new kid off the street. That would be misguided!
Good luck!
| About Author | |
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Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader. |
Website: http://dilipsaraf.com/?p=2598
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