June 25, 2014 In blog

The 21 Questions You Need to Ask in a Job Interview

It’s Not About Me, It’s About You!

[Editor’s Note: Job interviewing is a two-way process; it is not just about answering questions, it is about asking questions, too! The right questions! We are pleased to present this insightful article by Marc Cenedella, Chairman of TheLadders.]

By Marc Cenedella

Ask these questions in your next job interview and watch the hiring manager’s face light up.
It’s time for my twice-a-year update of the best questions for you to ask in an interview.

I’ve put this list together because so often we can forget what an interview’s all about. It sure feels like it’s about you, but it’s really not.

An interview is actually about how you can help your future boss and future employer succeed. It’s about finding out what their requirements and hopes are and matching up your background and experience with what they need.

Overlooking these basic facts about the interview is easy. There’s so much else going on in your work, your life, and in your job search, that you can forget to look at the interview from the interviewer’s point of view. And that’s a shame, because you need the interviewer to walk away from the interview thoroughly impressed.

When I ran these questions previously, commenter “spiderji” wrote in and said:
Marc, I used some of your questions in a job interview today. When I asked how to get a “gold star” on the evaluation, the interviewers faces lit up!” I contrast today’s interview with others I’ve been on where I didn’t have any meaningful questions at the end. This one was electric! I won’t know the results for a couple of days, but if they hire me I’ll owe you a drink! Thank you!

And reader LBRZ shared:
I have to thank you! I had an interview yesterday and it went great. When I asked about his leadership style and reward system his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

After he answered the question “how can I help you receive your next promotion?”, he began to give me advice on how I should negotiate for a higher starting salary.

And that’s exactly the point, Readers. By asking these questions, which focus on the needs, traits, and preferences of your future boss and future employer, you’re demonstrating that you are somebody who is genuinely interested in their well-being. And the more interest we show in others, the more commitment they show to aiding our cause.

With that in mind, here’s the twice-a-year update to my collection of “best interview questions” below. My aim here is to arm you with easy-to-ask, revealing-to-answer questions for you to take with you to an interview:

1. What’s the biggest change your group has gone through in the last year? Does your group feel like the tough times are over and things are getting better, or are things still pretty bleak? What’s the plan to handle to either scenario?

2. If I get the job, how do I earn a “gold star” on my performance review? What are the key accomplishments you’d like to see in this role over the next year?

3. What’s your (or my future boss’) leadership style?

4. About which competitor are you most worried?

5. How does sales / operations / technology / marketing / finance work around here? (I.e., groups other than the one you’re interviewing for.)

6. What type of people are successful here? What type of people are not?

7. What’s one thing that’s key to this company’s success that somebody from outside the company wouldn’t know about?

8. How did you get your start in this industry? Why do you stay?

9. What are your group’s best and worst working relationships with other groups in the company? What are the pain points you have to deal with day-to-day?

10. What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest worry these days?

11. What’s the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you?

12. These are tough economic times, and every position is precious when it comes to the budget. Why did you decide to hire somebody for this position instead of the many other roles / jobs you could have hired for? What about this position made you prioritize it over others?

13. What is your reward system? Is it a star system / team-oriented / equity-based / bonus-based / “attaboy!”-based? Why is that your reward system? What do you guys hope to get out of it, and what actually happens when you put it into practice? What are the positives and the negatives of your reward system? If you could change any one thing, what would it be?

14. What information is shared with the employees (revenues, costs, operating metrics)? Is this an “open book” shop, or do you play it closer to the vest? How is information shared? How do I get access to the information I need to be successful in this job?

15. If we are going to have a very successful year in 2015, what will that look like? What will we have done over the next 6 months to make it successful? How does this position help achieve those goals? (This question helps show your ability to look beyond today’s duties to the future more than a year away.)

16. How does the company / my future boss do performance reviews? How do I make the most of the performance review process to ensure that I’m doing the best I can for the company?

17. What is the rhythm to the work around here? Is there a time of year that it’s “all hands on deck” and we’re pulling all-nighters, or is it pretty consistent throughout the year? How about during the week / month? Is it pretty evenly spread throughout the week / month, or are there crunch days?

18. What type of industry / functional / skills-based experience and background are you looking for in the person who will fill this position? What would the “perfect” candidate look like? How do you assess my experience in comparison? What gaps do you see?

19. What is your (or my future boss’) hiring philosophy? Is it “hire the attitude / teach the skills” or are you primarily looking to add people with domain expertise first and foremost?

20. In my career, I’ve primarily enjoyed working with big / small / growing / independent / private / public / family-run companies. If that’s the case, how successful will I be at your firm?

21. Who are the heroes at your company? What characteristics do the people who are most celebrated have in common with each other? Conversely, what are the characteristics that are common to the promising people you hired, but who then flamed out and failed or left? As I’m considering whether or not I’d be successful here, how should I think about the experiences of the heroes and of the flame-outs?

I hope you find these questions useful in your interviews, Readers! Have a great week in the job search!

Marc Cenedella is the Chairman of TheLadders, an on-line job-matching service. Follow Marc on Twitter at @Cenedella

 

May 21, 2014 In Uncategorized

Thoughts on Barbara Walters’ Retirement

When I was going to have dinner with Barbara Walters, my plan was to rip her a new one, to excoriate her, and show her to be a light-weight pretender. This was back more than a few years ago. I was a columnist with millions of readers in 82 newspapers around the U.S. I was going to expose this heartless fluff bag. The $3 million woman, my rear end! I was out to get that shark, the person who belittled, embarrassed and trod all over a real journalist, the widely respected Harry Reasoner.

OMG, as they say today. Was I ever wrong. I mean seriously wrong. Barbara Walters was a fascinating dinner companion. She was intelligent. She had a tremendous grasp of all sorts of issues. She was kind. Most surprisingly to me, she was gracious and genteel; very far from shark-like. She was entertaining and engaging.

I was fortunate, because of my position, to have been able to dine with some very well known entertainers, business leaders and politicians. Barbara Walters would have to be right at the head of my list of truly memorable people. She won’t remember me at all (I was, after all, a print journalist, not a broadcast one!) but I think I became a better professional through what I learned that night.

Back in those days, there was still such a thing as journalism. People who reported the news as accurately, and objectively as they could. People who actually strove to separate fact from opinion. People who tried to find and report the truth. Barbara Walters was one of those. And one of the best of them.

We wish her well on her retirement. She will be missed.

October 15, 2013 In blog

10 things to REALLY IRK a recruiter PART 2

As a career counselor for the last 22 years, I use my experience to help executives and attorneys find alternative careers or conduct their job searches more efficiently. This is oftentimes high end consulting dealing with complex career issues and job search strategies for those in mid-career or aged 50+.

 

Sometimes, though, my job is to stop people from shooting themselves in the foot and sabotaging their job search campaigns.

 

I am primarily a career transition advisor, but on rare occasion I function as a recruiter. I am told by experienced recruiters that finding candidates is easy, but finding GOOD candidates is hard. Now I understand why. Here is Part Two of our story on 10 Really Stupid Things job seekers do to peeve the people who can help them get work.

6. Ask us to call you at 8 p.m. —

Recruiters don’t have lives. We work 24/7 for the love of it. We understand that one cannot always talk at the office. But instead of offering to call us back during your lunch hour or on your way back from a meeting or court appearance later in the day, endear yourself to us by telling us to stay at our office so we can call you at night. That way you are sure to become one of our recommended candidates and we will be most eager to help you in your job search.

 

7. Ask us to call you back later –

We call you and get you at a bad time. You can’t talk. You can make it easier on us by saying you will be available after 3 or whenever and will call us back then – or you can make it harder for us by asking us to call you some other time. Well, let’s see. I have a stack of 146 resumes from job seekers  I need to call TODAY. (Yes, recruiters can be expected to dial 100 or more candidates PER DAY.) Of course, I am going to put your resume ahead of all the others I need to call. You are special!

 

8. Keep pestering us about your status –

We like your background. You were one of a handful of candidates we sent to the hiring partner to evaluate. Probably others recruiters are sending candidates, too. We want you to win the job so we can get paid. When we hear from the hiring authority about your candidacy – yes, no or maybe – we will tell you. It does not bother us at all if we have to reply to frequent emails or phone calls from you inquiring about your status, when we have nothing to report. Heck, no.

 

9. Apply for jobs in states where you don’t live and aren’t admitted

We love to use our imagination and try to ascertain why you reside in MO but are applying for a job in NY where you are not admitted, have never practiced law and have never even lived in – especially when the posting says you must have deep familiarity with NY courts. Of course our client will be more than happy to relocate you to our state, indoctrinate you in NY civil procedure, and have a 2nd year drive you around the 5 boroughs, show you the courts, and introduce you to the courtroom staff. There’s no one already in our State just like you!

 

10. Don’t get back to us after we have tried to reach you –

We have spent hours, days even, researching candidates and matching credentials with the job specs. On paper, you are a good candidate, which is why we are calling you and sending you emails to find out if you’d be interested in talking about the position. Play hard to get and holier than thou by not letting us know about your interest one way or the other, so we can spend more time chasing you. It makes us really want to help you!

 +++

If you are looking for a new job, or an alternative career, do yourself a favor and make it easy for hiring managers to find you and speak with you. Just avoid making these 10 silly errors and you can start moving your career forward.

 

September 10, 2013 In blog

10 things to REALLY IRK a recruiter

Confessions of a legal head hunter

If you want to sabotage your career and miss out on good jobs because of ego, stupidity or sloth, then pay attention! I am going to give you some career-breaker tips – straight from the real world.

I am a career counselor for lawyers. People pay me for my advice and my 22+ years experience in helping clients find new positions. But sometimes I function as a recruiter, and am paid by the hiring company to find lawyers for job openings. I am on a recruiting assignment right now – I have jobs to fill, for free to the taker!

But now I understand why other recruiters tell me that finding good candidates is a struggle. Some job seekers act like they don’t want to find jobs.

In this two-part series, we are going to look at 10 Really Stupid Things job seekers do that frustrate the bejeepers out of recruiters.

Here are five of the dumb things I have seen job-seeking attorneys do in just the last few weeks of doing this search.

1. Don’t put your name on both pages of your resume –

Make it hard for recruiters to get your whole story by leaving your name and contact information off your resume’s second page. We may get hundreds of resumes within a few hours posting a job opening. We print them out in batches. The pages get mixed up. If we find a loose page 2 with education and admissions on it, but we can’t immediately match it to the page 1, guess what happens to the resume? Nothing. It is put in the garbage.

2. Make sure to leave your old cell phone number on your resume —

You apply to our job posting by sending in your resume. We like your background. We call you. We get a message that, “the number you have called is no longer in service.” People change cell phone carriers the way they change underwear. If you don’t want us to call you, leave your old cell number on your new resume. The same goes for your email address; if you were Syracuse Law ’06, you are probably not @syracuse.edu anymore, but no need to keep your resume updated.

3. Ask us to go to your LinkedIn page to get your contact info and resume —

Instead of making it easier for the recruiter to call you about a job opportunity by giving us your phone number, make it hard for us. Tell us to go to your LinkedIn page to get your information, because we have nothing better to do than to spend our time trying to find you so we can offer you jobs and money.

4. Deny that you sent in your resume –

This one happened to me today. We received a resume in email account that we reserve for replies to posted positions. We liked what we saw. The candidate didn’t remember sending the resume to us. That’s OK, because in an active job search, you can send out lots of resumes. But this candidate not only said he didn’t remember sending it, he categorically denied that he sent it. Well then, have a nice day. Click.

5. Don’t put your email address and phone on your resume –

I couldn’t make this one up. We received a resume with NO contact information. No email. No phone. No city. No state. No joke. If you really don’t want the posted job, then send in a resume that makes it impossible for us to find you!

End of Part One. NEXT TIME: 5 More Really Dumb Things you can do to sabotage your job search.

May 29, 2013 In Uncategorized

6-month, interest-free financing now available! No need to use your credit card or checkbook!

Now you can take advantage of Career Strategies’ expertise and resources without having to hit your bank account or credit card. We are extremely pleased to announce we have been accepted as a Pay Pal / Bill Me Later merchant. Bill Me Later is not a credit card but is like one — it provides six-months of interest free financing to qualified persons, and offers even longer payment terms at a very reasonable interest rate. Very few people have “career counseling and job search assistance” in their budgets. This has made it difficult, sometimes impossible, for clients to retain us to help them in their career development. Career Strategies is not a bank — we are career counselors — and typically over the last 21 years of our practice, all we could manage was to allow clients to put down a meaningful deposit and pay off their balances in two or three months. That put us out of the reach of many people who wanted to use us. Since people can now purchase our services with a small down payment and long-term installment plan, that problem largely goes away. Our goal has always been to help people find jobs — the best jobs they can command, at the best salaries, in the best organizations. This new Pay Pal / Bill Me Later program will make it possible for us to help many more people — perhaps you!

April 22, 2013 In Career Change

Relying on Classifieds, Recruiters and Networking? You Lose.

Most  people want to find new jobs as quickly as possible, but they rely on the slowest and least productive job search methods — classifieds, recruiters and old-fashioned networking. These traditional methods are all most people know about, and are resulting in job searches taking months and months longer than they need to.

 

According to a just-released study by the highly respected Career Thought Leaders Consortium, 55%  of  executive and professional searches are taking 6 months or more, and a whopping 41% are taking from 11 to 24+ months! This is for a group where 89% of respondents were in very senior or C-level positions, and 90% were professionals age 40 and up.

 

There is no reason for campaigns to take this long. A career coach can help shorten your search by helping you find companies and by helping companies find you. We can speed up your campaign by providing you with new resources based on internet and database technologies. At Career Strategies, we spend hours and hours each month researching new on-line resume distribution tools and company information resources.

 

If you want to shorten your job search, call us TODAY.  914-437-9230

July 23, 2012 In Career Change

Hard job search facts of life learned by Dewey associates

Even if you are from a top law school and global law firm, winning in today’s marketplace takes more than just good credentials – it takes good marketing.

That lesson has become painfully clear to the many Associates and Of Counsel at Dewey LeBoeuf who have still not landed jobs following the collapse of that once-great law firm earlier this year.  The powers-who-once-were at Dewey sponsored a job search seminar for their former colleagues in New York City last week.  I was among a few career professionals who were asked to be panelists.

Differentiating yourself from other attorneys with similar experience, and getting past the obvious job search method of going online, hitting “apply” and praying, were the focus of my remarks at that panel.  I addressed these topics, and more, during a formal presentation, and then spent several hours leading two different workshop groups and answering questions.

I shared the dais with Margarett Williams, an Assistant Dean of Touro Law School; Katie Calabrese of Paul Weiss’ HR Dept.; and Sheryl Odentz, an experienced law firm outplacement consultant. All are former attorneys who ultimately transitioned to the legal career counseling and human resource side. Each panelist brought a unique perspective to the presentation,  and we all basically agreed with each other about how a proper job search should be done.

Showing potential employers why they should hire you vs. another attorney with similar experience, and being creative in your approach to job search by not relying on online postings and recruiters, are concepts that are valuable, if not critical, for all job seekers, young and old alike.

In a competitive market where the supply of qualified attorneys is greater than the demand for them – both in-house and in law firms – competing successfully requires a competitive edge, and breaking away from the clutter of the hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes that are received for jobs posted on the internet.

Even for cream-of-the-crop candidates like those from a great firm like Dewey LeBoeuf, applying the same old job search methods that everyone else is using is just not enough anymore.

I was pleased to be able to share my expertise with these young (and some not so young) attorneys, and would welcome the opportunity of doing so for you.  Please feel free to give me a call so that we can talk about your career situation and how I may be able to help you.

 

May 7, 2012 In Career Change, Interview Questions, On The Wire, Tips

Think recruiters can help you? Think again!

This is the toughest job market in 75 years, yet (allegedly) intelligent attorneys are being just plain stupid when it comes to their job search strategies.

If they want to remain ignorant fools, that’s their business – they can stay miserable in their jobs or watch themselves sink slowly into insolvency because they can’t find other work. Hopefully you are not like these poor schnooks — if you are smart enough to be reading this, then perhaps you really do want to make a positive change in your career.

I am a legal recruiter and job search coach who has talked with about 1,000 lawyers a year for the last 20+ years. Most of these attorneys are clueless about what recruiters can do for them. They don’t have faintest idea about what constitutes a “recruitable” candidate.

What I am about to tell you does not apply to executive recruiters, but most certainly does apply to legal recruiters. Go to Lawjobs.com or any other job site for lawyers, spend five minutes reading the postings, and you will see that what I am telling you is true.

In my practice, we started as career counselors, and eventually added recruiting to our services. As with any legal recruiters, we get 20-30% of a candidate’s first year salary as our fee. If you are in the $125,000 range and we place you, we will receive from $25,000 to $37,500. If we were to work with you on career testing and assessment to identify your career options, we would receive from $1,300 to $2,900 for the testing and evaluation, depending upon how many hours were involved in your testing program.

I am not stupid. Don’t you think I would rather make $25,000 for putting in the 20 to 30 hours so hours it would take me to find, screen and submit a candidate, than to make less than $3,000 for spending 12-14 hours on a career counseling case? Hello?

However, most of the people who call us are not recruitable candidates. We are able to help the few who are, and they make it economically possible for us to continue as counselors for those who are not. Truth be known, we actually prefer the counseling side so we are happy with this arrangement.

Here are the realities of the legal recruiting profession.

1. Legal recruiters are used by firms and companies to find candidates who exactly match the specifications of an open job, and who have the requisite practice area skills and experience. Recruiters will not submit, for example, a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney for a commercial litigation position.

2. The prime market for legal recruiters is young lawyers with from 1 to 6 years of experience. Once you have crossed the 7th or 8th year mark, you are no longer considered “recruitable.”

3. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you are beyond your 7th or 8th year, you can be recruitable IF you have a verifiable book of portable business. Depending upon where you live, this typically means $175,000 to $1 million.

4. The term “top academics” will appear in many recruiter ads. This means 1) top 10% or 15% of your law school class and  2) Top 10, 15 or 20 law school. If you were in the very top of your class – I mean, first, second or third — at a lesser ranked law school, you may also be considered.

5. Age matters in legal recruiting. Discrimination is, in fact, legal. A recruiter friend of mine who wanted my help in finding a candidate told me they wanted someone from the class of 2006, 2007 or 2009. “What about 2008”, I asked. “Oh no, no 2008s. They don’t have any slots for an ’08,” I was told.

6. Recruiters do not handle many in-house jobs. Two recent studies have shown that only 5% of in-house positions are filled by recruiters. Companies do not want to spend money on recruiters unless they have to. Nearly all law firm lawyers would prefer to go in-house. There is an oversupply of willing candidates that a company can attract without spending tens of thousands of dollars on recruiting fees.

7. When recruiters do get in–house assignments, it is almost always for an attorney with very specific skill sets in a particular discipline: SEC ’34 and ’36 Act, ERISA, pharmaceutical patents, FCC regulations and so on. They seldom use recruiters to find generalists.

8. Most often when a legal recruiter does get an in-house assignment, the hiring company wants a candidate with prior in-house experience. I think this is stupid, quite frankly, but it is what it is. As a career counselor, I once helped a law firm attorney land a position as a corporate general counsel. He then hired me as a recruiter to help staff his legal department. Like so many others, he only wanted attorneys with in-house experience. “But Bill,” I said, “you didn’t have any in-house experience when they hired you.” “Yes,” he replied, “but that was different.”  OK, sure.

9. Recruiters are salespeople who are only interested in getting a fee. They do not care about your best interests, they care about their bank accounts. There is nothing wrong with this! They are paid to find people to fill positions. If you match one of their open positions, recruiters will try to get you to accept a job that you don’t really want so they can earn a commission. You are just a fee to them.

10. If you are at a career crossroads and are not sure what you want to do next professionally, recruiters cannot help you. Recruiters are not career counselors. They are not schooled in career assessment. They are not marketing professionals or trained resume writers. Most legal recruiters – in fact, every legal recruiter I have ever met – are former attorneys. They are deal-makers who try to find candidates who match an employer’s job specification.

Like many lawyers, you probably want to see “what else is out there” for you that is not another law firm job, that  frees you from the nastiness of litigation and billable hours requirements, and that provides a more collegial atmosphere, better quality of life, and a consistent income. If you expect to achieve this through a legal recruiter, then good luck! I wish you all possible success. Stranger things have happened and you might get lucky – but probably not.

As an attorney, you are smart enough not to take on cases outside of your area of legal expertise; you refer the case to other lawyers who are more qualified in that area than you. Don’t expect legal recruiters  to give you good counsel and assistance on issues that are not within their practice areas and which are outside their expertise.

March 19, 2012 In On The Wire

Will You be a Job Search Winner or Loser?

There are good ways and not-so- good ways for doing a job search. Is your campaign going to be successful or is it going to languish? Here are a few questions to help you decide.

 

1) Do you have a Unique Selling Proposition? Why are you a better candidate than someone with similar experience? If you lack a clear “brand strategy,” your search will drag and you’ll miss out on interviews..

 

2) Do you have a well-defined Marketing Plan with targeted employers, decision-makers, daily search tasks and ways to reach companies directly? If you have not, you are trusting to luck.

 

3) Are you being creative in your  campaign?  If you are merely posting your resume on the web, talking with recruiters and doing some networking, you are missing out on 80% of the available positions.

 

4) Do you have a strategy for tapping the Hidden Job Market? Old-fashioned networking and job search methods will not get you there. If you are not ahead of the curve, you are behind it!

 

5) Does your resume show accomplishments or just duties? Your competitors have the same duties as you. If your resume isn’t showing results you have produced, you are under-representing yourself.

 

6) Do you have a compelling telephone introduction when calling employers? If  your plan is simply to ask if they have seen your resume, your chances of arranging an interview are minimal.

 

7) Are you sending resumes to companies that are not advertising openings? Only 7% of jobs are advertised. If a company wants to dump an employee, they don’t advertise that person’s job! Hello!?

 

December 19, 2011 In Uncategorized

Career Strategies Receives A+ Rating From the Better Business Bureau

White Plains, NY — Career Strategies is proud to announce that it has become a zBBB- Accredited Business and has received the highly coveted A+ Rating in Career Counseling and Outplacement.

In bestowing the new honor to Career Strategies, the zBBB- noted, “Your zBBB- Accreditation status makes a powerful statement about your commitment and consistent efforts to maintain a strong sense of accountability and responsibility. As a zBBB- Accredited Business,” they continued, “you work to uphold the trust and respect of your customers.”

According to the Better Business Bureau, the Accreditation and A+ rating is based on 16 different factors, including advertising, sales practices and service delivery, among others. Being granted Accredited status, said the zBBB-, “demonstrates your commitment to truth in advertising and gives consumers an assurance of your business’ commitment to stand behind your products and work.”

“We are deeply honored to be recognized by the Better Business Bureau,” said Bruce Blackwell, who founded Career Strategies in 1992. “We are especially proud to be given an A+, the zBBB-’s highest rating.” The rating system, like many schools, goes from A+ down to F.

In the all of New York State, only two Career Counseling and Outplacement businesses have been given Accredited status by the zBBB-. “This is a very rare honor indeed,” said Blackwell.

Accredited businesses are required to meet all applicable standards for the zBBB-’s Code of Business Practices, advertise its services honestly, ensure that all written materials clearly and accurately describe its services and “approach all business dealings, marketplace transactions and commitments with integrity.”

Career Strategies provides career testing and assessment to help clients identify their viable career options. It also assists job seekers by preparing resumes and marketing materials, creating personal marketing plans, distributing client resumes to companies and recruiters, and providing interview preparation and job search coaching. The company has served several thousand executives and professionals in career transition.

Career Strategies is located at 188 East Post Road, Suite 304, White Plains, NY 10601. Main line: 914-437-9230. Fax: 913-437-9229. Website: www.careerstrategiesgroup.com.