The Secrets - Peter Milmer.pdf

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THE SECRETS How to pass job interviews | Peter Milmer Forward I have coached hundreds of people to successfully pass upcoming job interviews. They have ranged in age from 17 to 63 and, in terms of abilities, from a labourer to a £400k banker. The amazing thing is that everyone faces the same set of challenges and, because of this publication, can now apply the same solutions. This resource is aimed at everyone. Public, Private and Third (not for profit) Sectors; every industry, segment and seniority. I have coached astrophysicists, professional footballers, accountants, head teachers, Armed Forces people and commercial jet pilots. I have worked with very senior County Council officials and young, bright graduates of every discipline. You need to trust my advice. I have been able to coach people closely and personally before an interview and often debrief them to ascertain what happened. I have also been engaged by a number of recruiting firms to make sure their candidates beat those of rival firms and, on average, achieve greater success. If people are not successful in job interviews, we need to understand that sometimes the internal political climate or public posturing of the organisation means that they were NEVER going to get the job. This happens and I’m afraid we just have to live with it. However, the upside is that I have had some people who interviewed really well and were hired by the company in another role – so impressed were they with the individual’s performance. Finally, let’s talk about hard work and strategy. To achieve your potential in a job interview you should be prepared to put in a few hours’ intense effort, following a clear, successful strategy. We all have busy lives so the best preparation will concentrate on the gamechanging aspects and build to a successful climax. That is why I believe this publication will be so useful. Rather than concentrate simply on ‘The Top Ten Questions Interviewers Ask’ (how can anyone know what the top ten questions are?) or any other such shallowness, you will be able to follow a method that is very well proven, is complete and is the best preparation you could make.

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Job Interviews and the Secrets to Success How many times have we gone forward for an interview with high hopes only to be told that the interviewer/s ‘liked us’, were ‘impressed’ or ‘saw our potential’ but had chosen another candidate? Well, study and apply these simple techniques and you will greatly increase your chances of success. The secret is to ‘sell yourself’ effectively but what does this mean and how can you do it? It sounds at best far-fetched but at worst cheesy and artificial. Thinking this, however, will be your biggest mistake. Selling yourself means making them want you for all the right reasons. The fact is that people will probably employ you when: 

 



They believe you can do the job. This is often a given – you would hardly be invited to an interview if the decision-makers thought you could not do the job. This is rarely the problem. It is more often a case of how you will do the job. Read on… They believe you can solve their problems and/or service their plans They believe you will fit in. This means they believe you are on their or their organisation’s/their team’s wavelength and you understand what they really need from you. They like you. Yes, they like you.

The last three points above are the areas in which you can substantially improve your chances. And, as a bonus, by working on these three, the first one will take care of itself.

What you can offer in an interview / What you have that you can give You only have two things you can offer. Just two things on which every opinion formed about you will rest. These are, quite simply: 



Your past. Everything that you have done or been that has contributed to the person they see before them. Let’s call this your experience but the word is not adequate to describe the full picture. It includes qualifications, history, etc but most importantly, an assessment of how capable you will be going forward. This is the judgment they make. If they don’t ‘get you’ and cannot imagine you working within their organisation and don’t feel excited, then you have missed a trick. Because they will not employ you otherwise. The way you come over. This means the impression you make. The, ‘cut of your jib’. How they feel when they meet you and spend time with you.

The amazing thing is that if you can improve in just one of these two areas, it will enhance the other area in tandem. For instance, get the first bullet right - your past – and this will automatically make you more physically impressive. You will ‘come over’ so much better in

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the way you appear to them. In a circular motion, this will then further enhance the value – as THEY perceive it - of your experience as YOU articulate it. If you improve your performance in both areas then this is a very powerful combination indeed and one we will achieve with these techniques. It’s a win-win because everybody gains from your preparation and techniques. It’s actually so simple, that it’s a wonder hardly anyone thinks about it. You’re different. You will have the insights. You can gain a significant advantage over the competition by some very specific preparation.

Selling Yourself – Rule Number 1 Answer questions with benefits and from the buyer’s point of view – NOT YOUR’S Imagine this. A couple with two young children walks into the local Audi showroom. The salesman approaches and asks, ‘Can I help you’. The father says, ‘Could you tell us about the new A4 saloon?’ The salesman replies, ‘Of course. This car was assembled in Germany out of 96 major assemblies and more than 5,000 components. The thickness of the bulkhead metal has been increased and the crown wheel on the differential has been re-engineered. This car is actually an evolution of many previous models going back to 19xx when, of course, there were no power brakes, power steering or electric windows. In fact, it was said of the early models that…..’ He need say no more because the family has already left and wherever they go one thing is sure. They will not buy a car from that salesman today or ever. It’s easy to see why this sale fell so flat. The salesman has not considered the question from the buyer’s point of view. If he had, his answer would have been very different, shorter and full of relevant benefits to the buyer (examples: safety, style, brand or price). Remember: in an interview, you are selling and they are buying. Always talk in terms of benefits, not just features. We will be using this technique time after time and it will serve you well in any interview. So remember, the product might be great (Audi in the showroom or YOU at an interview) but if you don’t SELL it you cannot expect the same level of interest. You must engage with your customer (the decision makers) and help them to see why they should choose you. This is a top tip. When you go for an interview, leave what YOU want, what YOU desire and what makes YOU happy, at home. Think only of the decision makers and what they need. Work on this during the interview and never fall into the trap of talking about you for the sake of it. Everything must be angled towards the personal or corporate good of the decision maker /company/ organisation/ department that you hope to join. If what you find yourself saying will not help anyone, stop saying it and concentrate on benefits. Do you want this job or not? If you do, concentrate not on yourself but on the interviewer(s).

Preparing the Evidence

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What I am about to show you is very powerful but it takes some effort to achieve. What we need is evidence to support our assertion that we can inhabit the new role successfully. The evidence that matters is ACHIEVEMENTS but presented in an especially skilful way. When things get tough in our lives, we tend to rely on proven formulas, reliable methods and stuff that we know works. In an interview, you need to have your evidence prepared so that you can present it with credibility. You need to come over as articulate, fluent and, more than anything, convincing. Carry out the following exercise. Dig deep and put your heart and soul into peeling back the layers of time and discovering what you really HAVE achieved. The chances are that you will be surprised at the things you have been part of that were successful. We do not need endless examples, usually 10 is more than adequate. Before you start, let me raise some critically important points. Please remember all these when you complete the exercise that follows: I have rarely met anyone (and I’ve coached 100s of people in these methods) who found this easy. It isn’t, but it is critically important and you will never have to do it twice. Everyone, at every level, suffers from the problem that they did not achieve anything on their own. Of course you didn’t. There were teams, colleagues, advisors, mentors, etc, from whom you received vast amounts of help. It’s always the same. However, remember that they are not being interviewed. It is only you who is being judged so you must be able to ring fence your achievements. To help you ‘ring fence’ your achievements learn this incredibly useful and effective tip. We know that people do not work alone; we know that there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’ and so on. We have been programmed to use the ‘We’ word all the time. Well, in an interview, don’t so much. When you are recounting a story, use the ‘I’ pronoun more liberally. This will have a very powerful effect on the listener. So use ‘I’ for the past and ‘We’ for the present and the future. Of course, don’t overdo either! The evidence you compile must be a series of stories that create a picture in the mind of the listener. This is so important I’m going to repeat those words. The evidence you compile must be a series of stories that create a picture in the mind of the listener. A PICTURE. If you follow the instructions, this will happen naturally. Keep the stories BRIEF and HIGH LEVEL. What is brief? You must be flexible but anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute or so. No more. I will return to why this is so later. Be clear in your own mind what strength, talent or characteristic you are aiming to convey with this story. These stories are like golden bullets that you can deploy at a moment’s notice and rely on to carry the correct, powerful messages. For instance, if you are a middle manager, say, you will have a story or two that illustrates your ability to solve problems creatively. Every

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middle manager these days needs to solve problems using creative methods. Therefore, whatever your story(s) are in this domain, make sure YOU are at the centre of the story not the company, department or organisation. The subject of the story must be YOU. What they see in their mind’s eye must be YOU. If, as is so often needed, you must show evidence of management skills, budget control, problem solving, relationship management, influencing, etc, you must differentiate between levels. For example, we could visit a Cub Scout meeting and the Cub Scout Leader will, no doubt, be managing a budget, managing relationships, displaying keen customer service skills, etc. So what’s the difference between them and you? The answer is SCALE and BRANDING (or context, or background). So, you must be careful to calibrate (pitch) your stories so that the scale (£5 million, 10 days, 40%, 25 people, etc) is clear to the listener. The branding (context or background) is achieved using brands that people would recognise or trust (Audi, Rolls Royce, IBM, Coca Cola, Qantas, etc). Make sure the listener understands this. Where you can’t achieve instant brand recognition, make sure that you explain that this or that company is the third largest in its sector, or turns over $xx million, or whose customers are Tesco, Asda and M&S or whatever. You must establish a plausible link between the places where you achieved success and the trust perceived by the listener. They will likely believe that if it’s good enough for Toyota or MacDonald’s, it’s good enough for them. Be prepared to apply a good degree of elasticity to these stories both in length and content. They should be like a joke you would tell and you adjust the content and length to suit the occasion, atmosphere or audience. But the punch line doesn’t change. What’s funny about the joke does not change and neither do the WAYPOINTS the joke that set up the punch line and ensure it is understood and laughed-at by anyone you tell. If you are familiar with the basic direction of travel of your stories, adjusting them as you go is relatively easy. Changing the emphasis or altering the detail is easy if you are secure in your knowledge of how the story works and delivers its effect. So you need to be familiar with these stories to the point that they won’t let you down under any circumstances, particularly during the stress of an interview. Give each story a nickname (example, ‘Leaking Bucket’, ‘Ptarmigan’ or Sweden Project’. This will help you later by ensuring one doesn’t merge with, or morph into, another. It also is a great memory aid and priceless when you prepare for the interview. I’ll show you how that is later. These stories take some doing. When you get them onto the page and you start to understand how you can deploy them confidently to illustrate particular strengths (or job requirements), that’s great, but it isn’t enough. This is where people go wrong. I need you to take this a stage further and learn to articulate or verbalise these stories which is another challenge again. This evidence is of little value sitting on the page if you cannot put it into words. Here I can promise you some really good news. You persevere in saying these 10 (or so) items out loud, you learn

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(like a good joke) how to get from the beginning to the end effectively and make your point, you practise these until you reach a stage where you can use them effectively, under pressure, at a moment’s notice and perhaps re-hash them slightly as you go to produce a particular effect then – YOU HAVE JUST ACHIEVED THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT WAY OF PASSING A JOB INTERVIEW. YOU HAVE LEARNT TO ARTICULATE YOUR STRENGTHS. This is incredibly useful and powerful and you will find you have a surge of extra confidence, flair and credibility to impress any decision maker. So please set about this crucial exercise and work hard to get the best result possible. This is the hard work. After this, things will be easier.

Your Achievements It is not enough for YOU to know what you can do. Neither is it enough to just tell someone else you can do it. Our task here is to make sure a decision maker sees and understands that you have already achieved significant success in the areas on which the interview will focus. As I have already said, the development of your achievement statements (stories) from an examination of your work history is critically important. These statements explain and enlarge upon tasks you performed in your job(s) and the responsibilities you fulfilled. By using statements like this at interviews you significantly increase your credibility in the eyes of the listeners and show your ability to get the job done. This delivery of a measureable, successful outcome is very important in nearly all job interviews. You must aim to give the impression that, broken down into its key components, you have successfully delivered all (or nearly all) aspects of the desired job before, and can prove it! Just think of the jobs you held in the past and consider what PROBLEMS or CHALLANGES you faced (what was the SITUATION), what ACTIONS you carried out to achieve a solution and how you measured that SUCCESS or RESULT. The more ‘official’ or ‘auditable’ the result, the more convincing it is but even evidence like, ‘the Chairman congratulated me on a great result’ or, ‘the customers were very happy with the new service level’ is still very powerful. Then follow the format below to write what are really short stories. 

State a problem or challenge you encountered in one of the tasks or areas of responsibility listed on the following page.



State what action you took to solve the problem or overcome the challenge.



State how the company or organisation benefited and the evidence to support the quality of the result.

Keep the results as ‘hard-nosed’ as you can. All businesses (and therefore interviewers) have the bottom line in mind. This is what drives them whether it is Oxfam, Boeing or a Government Department. In keeping with my previous golden rule of selling, consider the benefits from the employer’s point of view, not your own. State the problem in language and

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at a level that reflects the boss’s interests and level, not your own. Remember, businesses are interested in results and results equal MONEY. Therefore results should be quantified, if possible.

Situation/ Challenge/ Problem

Action (YOUR’S)

Result

The first box is where you paint the word picture of the big situation using (remember my comments earlier) scale and branding. Do not move onto the middle stage until you are certain the listener will totally understand what you were up against. And yet, keep it brief. This is why you have to practise and prepare. It won’t come to you under pressure. In order to remember this sequence, particularly under the pressure of an interview, you could choose Search and Rescue (SAR) which stands for Situation – Action – Result or you could remember going to the interview by CAR which stands for Challenge – Action – Result. If you worry that your story will sound rehearsed or robotic, don’t. It never seems to. This is because every time you say it there are differences of emphasis or detail. The key points (the ‘way points’ through the story) are fixed allowing you to relax and deploy a wonderful spontaneity and relevance in some of the detail based on the actual conversation you have.

Results and Benefits In defining the RESULTS and BENEFITS, consider some of the common result areas. These come up time after time in jobs and therefore in interviews:

Any area of the golden triangle: Orders, Shipments, Margin (always of interest to employers) Profits (including EBIT, EBITDA, Revenue, Turnover, etc) Quality Productivity Leadership and motivation of staff Thought leadership Technical competence Ability to see the bigger picture Strategy or strategic vision Commercial acumen Negotiating

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Communicating Influencing Problem solving Creativity Innovation Cost control or reduction Technology Customer relationship management Sales Marketing strengths, market share IT, information services, management systems Operations Planning Product development or management Employee services, HR, Administration Organisation development Add one or two others if it helps…but remember, always think from the boss’s point of view, never your own! Also remember, keep it brief (10 to 60 seconds) and keep to a high (the boss’s) level – more of that later. Because quantifying results is so important, these comments may help you in your ‘stories’. What you did (the action taken) pretty much always accomplishes one of the following: 

made money for the company



saved money for the company



improved efficiency for the company



saved time for the company

Now write your 10 stories constantly reminding yourself of my advice and the reasons why you are doing this. Remember, this is not easy for anyone, especially when it comes to the proof but you must try.

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Use this to help you recall challenges that occurred in those tasks or responsibilities. On the worksheet, provide specific examples of your work accomplishments. Look at your CV if it helps. In each case identify the initial challenge, describe the action taken and evaluate the outcome.

The So What? Test Make yourself be rigorous and conclusive. Apply the So What? test. If you can justifiably ask So What? to the consequences of the story as you tell it or even the methods you used to achieve a result, then you have not gone far enough to close the issues off. You have not done enough to show the real, meaningful impact of what you have achieved.

For example: You say, ‘My actions raised morale among my team.’ I say ‘So what?’ You say, ‘So my team felt better and performed better.’ I say ‘So what?’ You say, ‘Which meant productivity rose and there were fewer customer complaints.’ I say ‘So what?’ You say ‘Which meant that we did not have to recruit new people, saving the company at least £10k and revenue from customer services rose by an average of 5% per employee.’ I cannot justifiably say ‘So what’ again as your action has demonstrably benefited the company’s bottom line which is good enough for anyone. This lesson is very important. If, during an interview, you want people to understand your likely effect on their business going forward you must tie that result into something they can afford to care about. It is no good raising morale among the members of a team if the only result is happier people. This will not cut much ice. This test also forces us to consider the consequences of our actions and research, quantify and make clear the benefits. It also has the effect of making us sound more capable and to possess a more strategic mind set. These are things that every employer wants from their staff.

Before you try yours, have a look at some effective examples: From a Senior Executive in Industry Challenge:

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xxxxxxx UK market declining 10% yoy for 5 years ’04 to ‘08, £80+m to £50m. Having led the PMO to define the turnaround plan and define the key strategic improvement areas, I was appointed UK market head to implement the plans on CRM, New business acquisition / sales effectiveness and customer profitability. One key challenge was the drive for new business sales productivity from UK field sales force. Action I took: Restructured UK Sales Management team to improve credibility and calibre of Sales Managers. Established PDCA culture with sales of regular review and governance of performance and tracking of improvement. Coaching and mentoring of key staff. Transferred telesales from internal to a new external lead generation agency. Refreshed 70% of the field sales force of 30 in 12 months. Performance managed most but redeployed / promoted to key accounts others. Created new investment in sales training and competence development program. Put in place career development pathways for sales organisation to aid retention of key staff. Result: New business sales productivity per salesman up 120% yoy. Growth achieved in all key sales channels, reversing the 5 year decline. Machine placements up 62% yoy. Annual clients losses reduced from 15% to <10%

From a Chartered Accountant/CFO Challenge: Following 9/11 we suffered a significant and material drop in turnover as a result of losing all the airline business as they moved overnight to xxxxxxx xxxxxxx. Action I took: 

Rationalised all the warehousing and distribution within the UK and moved to third party contractors to cut fixed overheads



Shut the wholly owned distribution facility in Ireland with the loss of significant jobs many of whom had worked there for a large part of their working lives



Shut the Italian manufacturing facility and moved it to direct sourcing in the Far East

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

Shut and streamlined the Manufacturing facility In Australia and moved the whole operation to a sales and distribution organisation



Streamlined the Mexican operation to become a sales and marketing operation

Result: Moved each of the business units back into profitability and saw a significant increase in EBIDA

From a NHS Project Manager Challenge: I was asked to develop a tool for busy clinical staff at the University Hospital xxxxxxxxxxx NHS Foundation Trust to collaborate on bid production and reduce the impact of tendering on their frontline duties. Action I took: I worked with the IM&T Director to source appropriate software and negotiated funding from the Commercial Development director and separate funds for a consultant programmer to work with me on designing a bespoke programme for the Trust. The system was designed to capture, store and report bid documents in an intuitive way while providing excellent version control. I was given moderate administration privileges to authorise access for specific teams to their bid documentation. Result: The programme was successful and teams were able to collaborate on bids. By saving staff time at meetings, production costs reduced by an estimated £1,000 per bid. Now try your own… Story 1 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 2 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 3 (Nickname:

)

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Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 4 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 5 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 6 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 7 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 8 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Story 9 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took:

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Result: Story 10 (Nickname:

)

Challenge: Action YOU took: Result: Once you have refined and perfected these stories you must learn to lift them off the page and speak them. This is another step but totally necessary. If you have to say them while you’re driving, or in your sleep, it doesn’t matter. Learn to articulate your strengths in this way and you have crossed a vitally important line.

What are these stories saying about you? This should now be easy enough. Looking at the list of competencies/skills on pages 6&7, decide what each story is saying about you. Decide the strengths (up to, say, 3 but it could be more) that are showcased by each story. Story 1 1. Example: Leadership 2. Example: Communicating & influencing 3. Example: Technical competency Story 2 1. 2. 3. Story 3 1. 2. 3. Story 4 1. 2. 3. Story 5 1.

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2. 3. Story 6 1. 2. 3. Story 7 1. 2. 3. Story 8 1. 2. 3. Story 9 1. 2. 3. Story 10 1. 2. 3. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I believe I know what you’re thinking. You are thinking that the same skills keep repeating throughout many stories and themes keep recurring. Congratulations! You are the same as everyone else! What you begin to understand is that you must get close to the action and tease out subtle elements of the evidence (stories) that show your strengths and talents. You have to configure or select and present aspects that will not emerge or jump out by themselves. But if you know the direction of travel of the story and what makes it clear and effective, you can emphasise anything you want in order to achieve the clarity and purpose the listener needs.

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You also begin to understand that you can merge elements of one story into another. This is not artificial, dishonest or contrived. Take the example of a footballer in the English Premier League. If he is a striker, you naturally take evidence from many, many performances (games) to assemble a view of his goal-scoring prowess and potential. You do not stubbornly or irrationally stick to one game (one of your stories) to form a view and expect all the evidence you need to be available from one performance in one game. You take the evidence from a broad range of circumstances. Likewise with your stories at interview, when you are sufficiently familiar with them (like old friends) you can mix and match to achieve a much more coherent and convincing impression. Don’t be afraid to do this. Also, don’t be afraid to interpret events through your own perception. The Second World War is a different experience when viewed from London, Sweden or Berlin. As long as you maintain your credibility - and this is the critical thing - you can present evidence in any configuration and with any emphasis you want. Another point is that you can use the same, powerful, story to illustrate different aspects of your abilities as required. For example, an IT Programme Manager has a story that is basically one of successful delivery (to time, budget and quality) against all the odds. That same story could be used to illustrate leadership, or customer management, or commercial/contract management, or motivating staff, or change management, or team selection, or successful P&L activities, or Prince2 competence, or supplier management or many other things. It’s up to you. It’s YOUR past and YOU must select and present to achieve the desired outcome. Be creative and open your mind to the power of well presented, coherent, confident evidence.

It’s All Over in 15 Minutes! I have asked the following question countless times to people of every age, every sector and every seniority: When you are interviewing someone, how long does it take you to make up your mind? Would you like to know what everyone says? Are you ready for this? I have heard every answer from 10 seconds to 15 minutes. No one has ever said to me they make their minds up slowly and gradually over the course of the whole interview or that they keep their decisionmaking until the end of the interview or the next day. Be careful though, I asked make up your mind or form a view. I did not ask, ‘How long does it take you to decide who to employ’. This is not the same thing. The decision can rely on all sorts of other, external factors such as other candidates, commercial decisions, etc. However, the result of the interview is always known, according to all my evidence, at a very early stage. People form a first impression, and it sticks. Look at the diagram below.

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Full buy-in

YOU – ‘Preferred Candidate’ Candidate B

Candidate A

Never

Rarely seems to happen Time 60 to 90 Minutes?

Candidate C No buy-in No buy-in

How Interviews Work I’m very conscious that this looks complicated but the key feature, and the thing to understand, is that people make up their minds quickly and generally don’t then alter their view. Certainly not in the limited time available. I want you to succeed at your interview because you have competed well in a number of small but significant ways, rather than rely on a game-changing big statement or Act of God . The aim is to achieve the status of ‘Preferred Candidate’. You will almost certainly be up against good people who will give you a run for your money. Therefore, it is important that, just like an athlete preparing for a major competition, everything you think about and do is directed towards success. That means SELL, SELL, SELL. All the way to the wire, if necessary. That first period of time (the green shading) is, as you can see, critically important. Notice that the earlier in the interview it is, the more influenced the decision makers will be with first impressions. This is just the way humans are and we, in my experience, are all the same. So, the first few seconds and minutes carry far more weight than the succeeding ones, and so on.

The Most Important Question They Will Ever Ask Like it or not, fair or unfair, the most important question anyone will ask you at interview is, ‘How do you do?’ This is a moment when you will be judged heavily. Keep it VERY SIMPLE. Say how do you do back and SMILE. Do not use humour but do show plenty of warm engagement. Let the eyes smile and hold their gaze. Do not look away or falter. Let them stare at you. They

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want to, they are mammals and this is the jungle. A simple handshake that is neither too firm nor too soft and that is neither too short nor too long in duration. Allow them to speak and don’t be too talkative or needy. It is far better to keep your powder dry at this stage. Remember the warm engagement.

The Second Most Important Question They Will Ask There is a question, usually the second one, which you absolutely must get straight before the interview. This question could be asked in many different ways. I guarantee that as this question is asked, you will be able to hear a pin drop in the room. Everyone will be looking at you hard. No one will cough, look for a tissue, fidget or move about. Instead, all eyes and everyone’s attention will be fixed firmly on you. The reason for this intense scrutiny lies on the chart on the previous page. You are in that early part of the green zone where the strongest impressions are being made in the shortest time. The line is nearly vertical such is the rate of assimilation of impressions. If you were a fly on the wall, you would notice that 10 or 15 minutes later, the steely, completely focused concentration has passed. You have moved out of that green area on the chart opposite and people have FORMED A VIEW. INCREDIBLY, IT’S ALL OVER!

This second most important question is always thought to be an easy ice-breaker. It isn’t any such thing. It is a deadly trap. You will lose the momentum of the interview within 30 seconds if you don’t handle this well. Don’t forget, I am talking about you competing with very competent candidates not ‘getting by’ or ‘fielding questions’ as though that was all that matters. If you have understood my messages so far, you will know that if you do not race up that line in a nearly vertical climb, someone else will and they will pip you at the post. Look back at my first paragraph on Page 3 and remember those words. This question can take many forms so I give the most common ones below. I want you to think of them all as THE SAME or VERY SIMILAR questions that require the SAME or VERY SIMILAR answers: Tell us what interest has brought you here today? Take us briefly through your CV. Tell us something about yourself. Tell us about yourself. Tell me about yourself (‘TMAY’) Take us briefly through your career to date Tell us why you want this job Give us a brief account of your life to date Why should we choose you?

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

And so on……. You will think of others, I’m sure. If you think the purpose of the question is only to gain ‘information’ or ‘data’ about you, or if you think the question is solely to kick start the interview then let me tell you that you couldn’t be more wrong. The interviewer will, with all respect to he or she, probably believe that too, but you must not believe it. Interviewers don’t tend to understand what you are now beginning to understand. So much rests on your answer and, apart from the stories you have so diligently worked on, this is the single most important piece of preparation you can make. How many times do we have to read or be told that much more than half of the content of any verbal communication lies beyond the words? How many times must we hear this before we believe its significance and understand the power of confidence (not brashness) and articulate, impressive credibility?

Let’s call this generic opening statement TMAY (Tell Me About Yourself). Remember it is generic in the sense that the question can emerge in a hundred different guises but it requires the same sort of answer each time. This TMAY statement is the only thing I will ever ask you to learn by heart. It is so important when the pressure is on and first impressions are being formed, that you perform confidently, sound good, look good and enjoy the experience secure in your answer. If you doubt this (and I don’t think you will) keep looking at that diagram on Page 22.

Benefits and Features of a Good TMAY A good TMAY is no more than 90 seconds long (a minute is fine). It is kept deliberately BRIEF and HIGH LEVEL in order to have the maximum impact. Delivered well, it can be startlingly effective. Look at the benefits: 1. You begin the interview, the most important stage, with confidence, lucidly and impressively. The confidence it gives you cannot be overstated. It is a massive benefit. 2. You establish early win-wins so that, whilst you are talking about yourself, everything is about the decision-makers and their interests. 3. It is short and at a high level. The best interviews are dialogues not stilted, unexciting Q & A sessions. Without being in any way less than respectful or compliant we should seek to reduce the Master & Servant feeling/atmosphere and replace it with a more collaborative, creative ambience. The TMAY helps set this up because it is short and very sweet, it encourages follow-up, probing questions. You need these follow-up questions. The reason is that when people are asking questions they tend to be buying-in. The body language changes, they lean towards you and there is the feeling that YOU ARE ON THEIR WAVELENGTH. This is essential. Absolutely ESSENTIAL. Also, when they ask questions, it tends to resemble a drillingdown into the detail. This is great because they have chosen the topic therefore are probably talking about the THINGS THAT INTEREST THEM. If you have successfully

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

painted a big picture then talking about the detail is a must and, happily, it will be an area within which you feel totally secure. You did, after all, carry out this work, so answering questions on the detail is usually straightforward. Still keep it brief, though. There is something very interesting going on here. People buy into your brand, the big picture, the big impression but you SELL yourself at what I call the level of the table top. This is the day-to-day transactional level where, to be honest, most of our jobs lie.

Let’s return to the Audi Showroom for a moment. The marketing and branding have done their work. The customer believes in these cars and feels well-disposed to owning one. The questions preceding a sale will be relatively minor. If the buyer, kicking the tyres, asks for the second time, ‘Tell me again, how many A5 models does Audi import into the UK every year?’ the customer is not buying. If they ask ‘You mentioned 3 shades of blue. Could you show me those please?’ they are buying. The detail is minor because the big decision is made. It is the same in an interview. Paint the big picture, skilfully and full of benefits, wait for the questions to follow and enjoy answering at the working level. Keep all answers succinct and brief to keep the questions flowing. Are you getting this? Such is the power of the TMAY and the stories you have diligently prepared. I will explain the TMAY template very shortly but I need to make quite sure that you understand all the thinking behind it. If you do, you will be more motivated to put the effort in to making your TMAY special. When I was in the police and I used to arrest people in the UK, it is impossible to do so effectively without knowing the Caution. Imagine, it’s Saturday night and there are a crowd of drunken people causing trouble in the centre of town. You move into make an arrest and you have a lot to think about. The arrest has to be quick and effective otherwise it might turn into a public spectacle which a Police Officer always tries to avoid. So, with the drunk flailing arms and legs and you trying to attach the kwik cuffs, double locking with the key and making sure they – and you – are safe, this is no time to reach into your pocket, extract a plastic memory aid and read out the Caution: ‘I am arresting you on suspicion of being Drunk and Disorderly. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention now something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’ The first few moments of an interview is NOT the time to mumble and bumble about yourself, have no idea where the whole thing is going and go on for ever about stuff that doesn’t matter and won’t get you the job. It was the same when I was in the British Army. When the SLR 7.62mm rifle stopped firing, the Immediate Action was always, ’Cock, Lock and Look’, a very effective, necessary drill. When I ran an Aerospace company, Bids and Tenders were often formalised. Why? Because it’s stupid not to free your mind up for the creative, vital stuff rather than get bogged down in the method or the script. Worse, starting from scratch every time. So it is with TMAY (and your stories). You will know your TMAY so well it will free you up to do your job – that is to Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

read the interviewers, their faces and expressions, to pick up on subtle things and to sell yourself well by working the room with good eye contact and calm body language born of confidence that you know where you are going.

Framework for TMAY (‘Tell Me About Yourself’, ‘Take Me Through Your CV’, etc) Consider the effect on the other person – not too long (45 - 90 seconds so aim for 60 seconds. Yes, that is just one minute!) and not too much detail to remember. Keep to the highlights, the top notes, that are going to be of interest to the interviewer/recruiter. Short sentences – they are easier for the listener to process. You don’t have to slavishly follow the template but it is a known, good approach that usually has an impact far beyond the words themselves. Part 1* Part 2

Objective* Career Highlights

Part 3

Skills (with proof) Background

Part 4

Role* Current/last position, with 1 or 2 key achievements - briefly First Skill (with proof)

Sector* Other compatible example, with 1 or 2 key achievement - briefly Second Skill (with proof)

Education/Prof Quals

Community/Social

Write out what you want to say. You’ll probably find when you read it out loud that it doesn’t sound natural. Go through it sentence by sentence. Say the sentence as you naturally would, then rewrite it exactly as you have said it. What you’ll end up with is a script. Exactly what the best ‘off the cuff’ comedians or speakers use to make sure their performance has the impact they want. Notes: 1. Warmth? – yes. Humour? - be careful. Keep the humour to a minimum. Actually, none is needed. However, maintain plenty of warm engagement with good eye contact. This is far easier when you feel secure about what you are saying. 2. Keep to time limit so impact is high and you encourage a question or questions to follow. You need to stimulate more of a conversation. Don’t rant, preach or go beyond the time limit. 3. Only when you know this TMAY well can you adapt ‘on the hoof’ to meet the circumstances of any given situation. Part 1 best left for interviews with recruiters only. Can be inappropriate in a formal interview. Start at Part 2 for most ordinary interviews with prospective employers.

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Now prepare your own, unique TMAY. Here is an example of some good ones, all different. All four people had early interview success but don’t forget the power is in the telling - this does not come over so much from the words on the page but through your voice and presence. I’m an experienced Director of Operations in FMCG, B2B and retail operations. I’m widely recognized as a strong, natural leader, able to persuade, motivate and drive teams to achieve business transformations and profit growth in very demanding circumstances. I have a broad portfolio of functional experience in senior Commercial, HR and internal consultancy roles - primarily gained in my 24 year with XXXXXX Incorporated. I’m currently seeking a roll as MD/COO/GM or Operations Director in high volume manufacture, packaging and distribution of beverages, food, electro mechanical goods, or general sale and supply environments. Most recently, I’ve led a highly successful cross-functional business turnaround team at XXXXXXX. Leading 850 field based employees, I delivered a 30% reduction in operating and OH costs and achieved a 5% rise in EBITDA, whilst at the same time improving customer net promoter scores from 20 to >25%. Prior to that, I had total P&L accountability for a £50m UK division of XXXXXX XXXXXX, where I led the transformation of the Sales and Customer Service capabilities, increasing the new business sales productivity by 120% in less than a year and reversing 5 years of revenue decline.

My key skills are Leadership and Cross functional Team Building – where I’m widely recognized as a natural leader with an open, inclusive management style - able to recruit, mentor and motivate individuals and create highly performing teams. I also have focus, tenacity and enthusiasm which consistently delivers results. I’m an experienced ‘leader of change’ in culture and performance, business turnarounds and the delivery of operational excellence. ___________________________________________________________________________ I have a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and considerable functional and international experience having worked extensively in Europe, the Americas and Asia. I’ve got a deep understanding of Lean Business Principles and have significant experience in leading strategy developments, new geography and factory start-ups and organizational transformations.

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Outside work, I love food, travel and the great outdoors (whether on the water, in the hills or on the golf course). I’ve been married to XXXXX for 22 years, we have 2 children (XXXXX and XXXXX) and a black lab called XXXXXXX. I’m a keen photographer and I chair my village charity. Here is another… I am looking to continue my career as a Project Manager within a forward thinking successful company such as xxxx. My most recent project management role has been with XXXXXXX XXXXXXX where I introduced a project management ethos and culture to the business. I achieved this by establishing a cross departmental project blueprint which aligned and contributed to their strategic plans for future growth. I also led business wide product innovation and implementation including the introduction of a new product division. In a previous role I managed multiple revenue and capital projects totalling over a million pounds for XXXXX XXXXX. I led a partnership team to develop and commission appropriate services for a cluster of twenty schools within a geographical locality. I did this by establishing a partnership board which I was accountable to. My strengths include relationship management where I am able to build the credibility and belief by motivating stakeholders to work together. An example of this was when I matrix managed department wide projects and was required to influence and persuade senior management through to clients to move projects along against the agreed timeframes and quality expectations. Another one of my strengths is my ability to manage change positively. An example of this is when I was tasked with decommissioning a service and disbanding a team. I used effective communication and involved the people concerned to not only use their expertise but to gain their buy in and understanding during the whole process. Academically I recently completed a master’s degree in professional communication, which I studied part time through XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX University. I have also been awarded a certificate in management through the chartered institute of management. In my personal time I enjoy playing the flute, swimming and spend time with my friends and family.

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

And another… After nearly 24 years’ service as a Weapons maintenance engineer in the Royal Navy I am looking for employment as part of a project management team where I can use my experience as an engineering manager and apply them in a project management role. (Optional)

Career highlights: My last engineering management role was on board HMS XXXXXXXXX where I successfully project managed test firings of the primary weapon system on two separate occasions ensuring optimal use of resources. Also I deputised for senior managers whilst retaining my own engineering role and maintained full service in both roles.

Skills: On previous ships I successfully led the project team that rectified over 150 defects on the flight deck and hangar services in a short time window enabling the ship to conduct flying operations. I have project managed many test firings of my ships medium range gun including a time when I diagnosed and led the repair team to successfully rectify a defect on the gun to ensure that a practice target was sunk before it drifted into shallow waters.

Background: I have gained a HND in Electrical & Electronic engineering whilst in the navy and as part of my development to start a new career I have completed the PRINCE2 practitioner course. I am also heavily involved in the Sea Cadet Corps, which is a youth organisation that gives me opportunities to teach skills to youngsters that wouldn’t normally be taught in schools and it also gives me the chance to take part in boating activities.

And one more…

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

I am currently seeking a senior leadership role in a sales and/or operations in high end branded goods with a company engaged in retail, leisure or hospitality. (Optional) Until recently I was an Area Director for XXXXX UK where I achieved business turnaround and profit growth in a number of areas across Southern England, in the most demanding circumstances. Before that I worked with XXXXXX in the Middle East as an award winning Sales Manager and ultimately an award winning Area Director where I successfully grew the regional turnover from £2m to over £15m in four years. Prior to XXXXXX I was the Financial Client Sales Manager for the XXXXX XXXXX newspaper whereby through hands on management my team improved annual advertising revenue from £35m to £50m. I see my main key skills as being leadership and the development of high performing sales teams, relationship management and problem solving. I have a BSc in Psychology obtained from XXXXXXX University and have undertaken a yearlong leadership development programme through High Performance Development. When not working I can be found spending time with my young family, undertaking one of my sporting pastimes , whether it be golf, scuba diving or running, or as a volunteer coach in the Junior Academy of my local rugby club.

Final words… My final words on TMAY are to really enjoy this sublimely satisfying moment when you feel yourself ‘bonding’ with people as they quickly ‘get you’ and understand ‘what makes you tick’. It can be deeply satisfying and rewarding for all concerned.

Deeper into the Interview We have made a great impression but the clock is ticking. We are perhaps 2 or 3 minutes into the interview, looking good and feeling good, with everything to play for. We must keep the momentum up and not forget to concentrate on good evidence, story-telling and maximum benefit to the listeners. The interview could, naturally, pan out in any number of ways but there are three questions I call the Holy Trinity that, without comfort in those areas, it is impossible to see how anyone could employ you. Moreover, these questions, however framed, will arise early in the interview so are of critical importance. Consider, ‘Why did you leave your last job?’/’Why are you leaving your present job?’ This question is always linked in the interviewer’s mind to ‘Why do you want this role?’ So the first question of the Holy Trinity could be put, frankly, as:

1. ‘Why are you here?’ Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Continuing the win-win theme, it is always best to be leaving a role because, ‘I had achieved everything I needed to achieve and it was/is a good time to leave. I can take the skills I have learned and apply them in a fresh environment.’ You will have your own variation of this but, trust me, employers far prefer willing, motivated people rather than comfort-seekers. What you have ‘Learnt’ is up to you but they MUST be BIG TICKET items such as business transformation, team working/management/leadership, communication, etc and must be supported by a good story (evidence). If you keep the, ‘What you have learnt’ at a high level it is easier to introduce and talk about. You ‘Want this role’ for exactly the same reasons. It is never to ease a commute, or because you find the work interesting, or the money’s better, or whatever but should always be linked to the requirements of the new role and the expertise gained in the previous one (or several). Think of it as a continuum that will make perfect sense to the listener. So think about this in advance, not on the spot in the interview.

2.

When you look at this role, do you see what we see? Do you understand what is critically important? Are you on our wavelength? All this surfaces as: What do you see are the key challenges of this role?)

What kind of question is that you might ask! Well, from the decision-maker’s point of view, they are all very hung up on the success of their business or the alleviation of their problems. They all think their circumstances are unique, particularly challenging, etc and will need to know that you see things the same or you have the same vision. Technical or transactional knowledge is fine but never enough. You must see the role through the eyes of the decision maker. Here we have to turn to our only sources of information:     

The Job Description (JD) (or equivalent) Clues from a recruiter, HR or third party (ask them!) Knowledge of the company/organisation Common sense and imagination Clues gained during the interview

Read the JD and look at the items near the top of the list. I have never seen a JD where the most important items, the drivers, are near the bottom. What you find is that 80% of the job lies within the top 20% of the JD. The show-stoppers are always at or near the top of the list. The top items are where the money is and often the remainder, whilst all important, are not mission critical. You will also probably find that the critical items near the top (and the judgments about who is selected lie) are wide-ranging, perhaps vague or difficult to quantify easily. This is the point. The key drivers of a role can be easy to state in a few words, for example, ‘Take the Company to the next level’, or, ‘Act as the public face of the whole organisation’. When you read the JD, especially items of critical importance, you come the Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

closest you normally can to hearing the actual voice, probably lone voice, of the decisionmaker. Look at this typical JD for a senior person:

Job Title Department/Division Line Manager Reportee(s)

Chief Technology Officer (Designate) Management CEO VP Technical Services, Development Manager

Responsibilities

Main Duties:                   

  

Building, managing, leading and inspiring the development and technical operations teams including mentoring teams and individuals; Promoting coding conventions, documentation standards, QA standards and development process, such as Agile methodologies; Working with project managers, business analysts and others in the company to ensure work is delivered into development in an appropriate form and that high quality product is delivered from the technology teams in a timely manner. Keep abreast of developments in technology to ensure that the organisation is always using the right solutions and providing the best services to clients, whilst identifying opportunities for growth and mitigating areas of risk. Maintain CNL’s reputation as a market leader in the design, development, testing and delivery of the company’s products, including implementation of high quality IPSecurityCenter™ solutions P&L Responsibility for all technical departments Ensure the accurate and timely billing of all chargeable work Manage the resolution of any escalated internal or external issues Define and implement an agreed strategy that supports the future plans of the business Work with fellow members of the Management Team to deliver against the overall business Strategy Provide a clear technology roadmap for the organisation for the multiple business segments for 1-5 years, by distilling ideas and developments from internal and external data sources Implement an effective and dynamic technology innovation pipeline process for ‘step out’ advancement to augment the supporting ‘incremental’ transitions as well as disruptive technology opportunities Developing and delivering the technology roadmap and developing technology strategy across all areas from development practice to hosting solutions. Put in place clear evaluation protocol and systems for assessment Work closely with the senior management to ensure the company operates as one fluid organisation Engage with key suppliers to determine new advancement opportunities Attend trade shows/ exhibitions and deliver technical papers to enhance CNL’s position in the marketplace Provide expertise at key customer accounts and installations, including troubleshooting support Holistic approach to excellence within the company’s technical capability through understanding of: the industries we serve; key evolving dynamics, competitive environment, global movements in PSIM technology and the gap analysis for our the organisation Technical benchmarking of our technology in relation to performance, speed, yield and fit for purpose to link into the marketing positioning strategy Provide best practice documentation to the field sales to enable smooth and timely commercialisation of new products/processes, which would include training programmes. High degree of drive and enthusiasm for the role and the company.

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

The following areas fall within the remit of the CTO office:Development & Testing Monitor and manage against roadmap & product delivery cycles Monitor and manage against testing best practices and delivery cycles Assist Development Manager in management of the overall program Identify solutions that reduce costs and improve efficiency Maintain fiscal control over the development budget 

Professional Services o Support and help grow the Channel model o Recruit, appraise, and discipline (where necessary) personnel within the Department o Maintain training plans to ensure all members of the team have the necessary skills to perform their jobs o Responsible for all bids, including collateral to promote all Client offerings of product and service deliverables o Manage P&L for client accounts including some responsibility for unpaid invoices



Consultancy o Maintain an updated implementation methodology o Identify solutions/templates to reduce the implementation timescales



Training o Implement a training programme that meets the needs of our internal staff, customers and partners o Ensure training material is up-to-date and structured to meet the target audience o Provide different training techniques and delivery mechanisms to enable cost effective training across all regions



Project Management o Monitor the success of all implementations against the success criteria as documented within the SOW using Customer Assignment Reports and PostImplementation Reviews o Monitor the success of all development and testing against the company’s agreed road map for development and testing o Introduce and adopt appropriate test plans o Ensure all necessary pre-requisite information has been provided prior to commencement of a project o Achieve project sign-off with customers as quickly as possible o Ensure all work is invoiced according to agreement with client o Maintain high usage rates for internal PSG resources o Manage fiscal control over the accounts for delivery of services



Pre-Sales/Sales o Provide assistance to the Sales team during sales cycles as and when required o Responsible for quality and accuracy of complete tenders, RFI, ITT responses o Assist the delivery of POCs to win new business



Support o Manage the resolution of all internal and external tickets in accordance with agreed SLAs

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

o o o o 

Other o o o o

Key Skills

Introduce Technical Bulletins and FAQs to minimise the number of the tickets being created Notify Sales of any up-sell opportunities Highlight product issues and potential improvements to the Development Team Set up and maintain 27/7/365 support help procedures

Assist Development with the testing of new releases Health & Safety representative for the Company Be the main liaison between Client Services and Product Management (and Product Marketing) in order to ensure the customer driven aspect of internal developments Assist and share resources with our North American operations to manage best usage of our combined resources

Required qualifications, skills and experience:       

Experience managing Enterprise Level service departments Experience of leading Enterprise Level development teams 6 years experience of project Management Excellent communication, negotiation and time management skills Strong management and interpersonal skills Good broad technical knowledge Attention to detail and ownership of issues

Desired experience, qualifications and skills:  Prince 2 qualified  Proven experience in implementing software solutions  Knowledge of running a Support Help Desk  Experience delivering and maintaining Training Programmes  Good understanding of software implementation lifecycles

This is very detailed, you’ll agree. Have a look at the top item, reproduced below: 

Building, managing, leading and inspiring the development and technical operations teams including mentoring teams and individuals;

What you will find is that the judgment about the job lies largely in these words. If the interviewee does not ‘get’ this, if the candidate cannot gain credibility in this respect, if the size of this challenge is ducked in our preparation, the interview will likely go badly. Contrast that with most of the statements or requirements on the list and little comes close. So, THIS STATEMENT IS WHY YOU WANT THIS ROLE AND THIS STATEMENT IS WHAT YOU SEE AS THE KEY CHALLENGES OF THE ROLE. You CANNOT discuss all these other points one by one, so don’t try. Make your mark with that big statement (there are several others – you have to find them) and support your successful selection with evidence that you have done that very thing, or something like it, before and preferably recently. Spend the preparation time mapping your experience, which is never, for anyone, a perfect match, constructing your case for these biggest most important requirements (that you judge, instinctively – and will be right) to be show-stoppers.

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

3. So, what do you bring to the role? It is now obvious what you need to bring to the role. Take the first statement again.

Building, managing, leading and inspiring the development and technical operations teams including mentoring teams and individuals;

You bring:  

The ability to build, manage, lead and inspire. The ability to mentor teams and individuals

Notice these are all based on soft skills (acquired through experience, for example) rather than hard skills (learnt on the bench or in the lecture room). The money always rests with the soft skills. The example above centres on leadership, a soft skill. Soft skills take the transactional activity (accounting, surgery, project management) and turn that skill into transformational results (improved bottom line, more funding for the hospital from Government, higher margins or happier customers). I would go so far as to say that 90% of the judgement in an interview is about your soft skills. That is, judging how you take a technical knowledge base and turn it into money, customer fulfilment, etc. So concentrate on the soft skills (the list earlier in the book) because that is where you need to shine to beat the competition. Look back at your stories and the list of key competencies. Think of stories that deal with these topics (there will always be some) and adapt them to the requirements of the role. Learn to press the right buttons and you’re on your way to a good result. So, we have seen that even the toughest questions, the ones that underpin the whole result, the transformational ones rather than the transactional ones, can be prepared in a very effective way. Stories, stories, stories. Remember, FEATURES (FACTS) TELL but STORIES (BENEFITS) SELL.

That All Important JD Having prepared the key points of the JD, don’t stop there. In the absence of any other information, the JD is the best guide we have about the job and what the company requires. If you really want this role, and you like the idea of looking forward to the interview because you cannot wait to discuss your experience in all the areas needed, read on. My strongest advice, the preparation I want you to carry out before any interview, is to take a hard copy of the JD and isolate every stand-alone clause or requirement. Put a loop around this requirement and annotate it with the nickname of the appropriate, best story or stories. Look at the next JD.

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Enterprise Business Representatives (Inside Sales) Xxxxx Inc- London (United Kingdom)

Job Description xxxxxxx is looking for exceptional graduates / recent graduates who want to work within a tech start up. Joining the pre-sales team, the right candidates should possess high business acumen, strong technical aptitude and natural sales instincts. Candidates applying should currently be located in UK. Responsibilities:         

Work strategically with the Worldwide Sales team in a business development capacity Respond to all inbound queries Prospect in the field rep's account set Generate new qualified business opportunities to fuel the sales pipeline Create and prioritize strategic target account lists within a defined territory Leverage our extensive resources and unique methodology to research and build 'cold accounts' (i.e.: adding contacts, sending emails, cold calling) Conduct high level conversations with Senior Executives in prospect accounts Advocate for xxxxx and the xxxxxx movement Hand the field reps well qualified leads

Desired Skills & Experience Requirements      

Bachelor's Degree Fantastic understanding of enterprise social media space Prior sales prospecting experience a strong plus but not required Ability to work in a fast paced, team environment Must be highly motivated, tenacious, and self starters Must be willing to work odd hours

To be considered for this role, you must be highly motivated, talented, have a great passion for social media, understand cloud technology and have the determination to succeed.

Now look at how the candidate might have prepared for interview…

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

This is how to prepare a JD so that you can answer any question, under pressure, fluently and confidently. It works for every type of interview including phone interviews. Take this document to the interview but if you have prepared it, say, the day before, you will know it backwards anyway and will remember the best evidence to support a particular requirement. This, along with your stories in general, plus the TMAY is the best preparation you can make. Obviously it applies most where there is a reasonably clear JD. Notice the repetition of stories. This doesn’t matter. The repetition of themes is a good thing. I told you already that you do not need many examples of each major area. What you need to be is clear and convincing. The typical question arising from this JD could be: We need you to be able to conduct high level conversations with Senior Executives in prospect accounts. When did you do this before? The answer is a brief, high level story you have nicknamed 3M (Challenge-ActionResult). Get the questions flowing and the dialogue moving along.

Questions, questions, questions Have you ever wondered where an interviewer’s questions come from? To me, there are 7 sources:       

JD Soft skills needed for the role Your CV Your cover letter (where appropriate) Knowledge of the company or organisation Unpredictable off the wall questions Technical knowledge

JD We have dealt with this. The JD will usually provide the richest source of questions.

Soft skills needed for the role We have dealt with these. Most things come down to leadership, management, problem solving, innovation, communicating and influencing, all on a bed rock and within the context of some sort of technical knowledge.

Your CV We have hardly mentioned this document but it will be one of the main reasons why you got the interview. It has acted as a door opener. People think that many of the questions will be ‘about your CV’. I have found this not to be true. I think the reason is that the decision makers have you in front of them and we quickly tire of discussing the past and really want to establish your suitability for the role going forward. In any event, you are now too skilled and aware to

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

let the process be derailed by irrelevant chit chat about your past. You know that it is your job to sell yourself so you will constantly be linking, via your stories, your past with this company’s future. To be more exact, you need to establish an archway linking your past (your CV) with the decision maker’s future.

Your cover letter (where appropriate) I would say that at least half of job applications still require a covering letter. Indeed, this is the only medium through which the company can hear your voice, particularly in regard to the future role. The CV is always a pretty general document but the covering letter is targeted right onto the job. That is why it remains so popular because it forces us to break cover and show ourselves more clearly. My advice is to treat it exactly the same as the JD. Be able and ready to support every statement you make with appropriate evidence (aka, a story).

Knowledge of the company or organisation This, of course, is vital. BUT, I have known lots of people (most candidates, actually) who spend too much of their time preparing for the interview by researching the company more than anything else. They get to the point where they know who sits at the desk 4th on the left in the main office! Please don’t make this mistake of poor time management. I am not saying that this research isn’t extremely valuable. I would say, however, that having established the parameters of the organisation, its mission, main numbers, competitors, etc you MUST spend time doing what a lot of people fail to do or don’t even think to do. You must spend time on yourself, researching yourself. You do that by following my advice in this book. Believe me, beyond an essential knowledge of the company basics, nothing is going to bring success to your door more assuredly then researching and preparing YOURSELF to SELL YOURSELF in the way I have described from the first page. People are buying into your potential not a knowledge of the organisation that everyone knows can be picked up so easily anyway in the first few weeks of employment. Please let’s be clear. I am saying that given most people’s paucity of spare time, spend the time you have largely on preparing yourself, not uncovering ever deeper aspects of the company or organisation. This rarely is the deciding factor. What excites employers is growth, success, financial/market strength, not a deep knowledge of the same old same old. It’s a priority call and you must make the most of your finite time.

Unpredictable ‘off the wall’ questions By their very nature they are unpredictable. Don’t worry about them or loose a moment’s sleep trying to second guess what they could be. You cannot know in advance so just handle them when they come remembering everything I have told you about selling and credibility. However, because people worry about these questions so much, I include below some ‘common’ questions and some good answers. Some of these are especially good (flexible)

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

because they can be manipulated to answer other questions. But please remember, I have found that the answers to these odd questions, as long as you don’t answer extremely badly or aggressively or just go to pieces, are rarely show stoppers. Two of the reasons are that they are fillers, usually, and they occur later in the interview and we know that, by then, the decision is largely made.

Technical Knowledge A doctor (GP) is being interviewed by senior partners with a view to becoming a junior partner in the Practice. I cannot believe that just because they cannot remember 5 symptoms associated with meningitis in children below the age of 12, they will not select him/her. A serial lack of knowledge would be a deep worry but no one example is likely to cause serious problems. No, we can rely on our technical knowledge in our field not to let us down. In any case, it is usually impossible to revise all one’s technical knowledge. So, the issues rarely lie there. They lie with the people skills, the soft skills, the ability to fit in, the ability to change and improve things with innovation and energy. That’s what people want in a worker at every level.

‘Common’ Questions and Good, Proactive Answers There is no end to the number of different questions you could be asked particularly, as we have seen, many of the questions later in the interview are somewhat superfluous to the result. But they must be answered and answered well as there is a chance that they could tip the interviews’ favour slightly away from you to another candidate and that is unacceptable. Here I list a number of common questions and advice you how to answer them. Before that, it is worth stating the golden rules: 1. Keep answers brief. 2. Introduce a win-win into every response where possible. 3. Never criticise anyone or any organisation as it seems always to end in tears. It always goes against you one way or another. Damn with faint praise if you must but that’s the limit. What are your strengths? I expect you to have answered that already in so many ways from your TMAY onwards so don’t be surprised if the question is deleted from the running order. However, always draw the key strengths you need from the JD or intuitively from the role and concentrate on evidence that supports these strengths. Choose 2 or 3 key aspects of the role and imagine what strengths would be needed to be successful. Then work back through your stories and select the best example with the highest impact. What are your weaknesses? Try to answer this question, as always, as a win-win. You have no structural or very serious weaknesses but you do have areas that are ‘work in progress’. For example, you ‘Can be a bit of a perfectionist. This means that I probably work extra hours and I am always aware of that but I want to produce the best result’. This answer clearly has a benefit for the employer as, Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

yes, you can be fussy but you will produce top results. Also, just add that you are always conscious of the need for a work/life balance. Describe a difficult work situation and how you overcame it You are now really reaping the benefit of your earlier work. Select an appropriate story and go for it. It’s easy when you have the material at your fingertips and on the tip of your tongue. What will be your first steps/actions in your new post? (We need you to, ‘Hit the ground running’ scenario): In order to become as effective and efficient as possible in the shortest time, you will explain that you are going to attend to the following priorities. Let’s call this the ‘Five P’s’. Plans - always first. Your personal ‘mission’ and how this relates to the organisation’s ‘mission’ is the most important thing to understand. It also sends a subliminal message to the decision maker that your priorities are driven by their priorities. People (Who you are working for or with, customers suppliers, third parties. Important relationships across the organisation). Products (The true nature of what the company is selling, delivering, re-engineering, etc). Processes (How we complete our work and create beneficial impacts). Problems (Important, urgent, must-do’s in our in-trays/inboxes. This should really read ‘immediate challenges’ but that is not a ‘P’). Tell me about a time you made a mistake. Again, it’s now easy, because you have your stories to interrogate. By all means talk about mistakes but make sure that whatever the scenario you depict it ended successfully, at least from your point of view. How would you describe your management style? This is not the 1980s so let’s not talk about ‘Open door policies’ or ‘Firm but fair’ approaches. These still have enormous benefit but they sound old fashioned and you do not want to come over as yesterday’s person. Instead, stress the flexibility and always the inclusive or collaborative style. Be prepared to give 2 good examples (story based, of course). How do you handle difficult customers or staff? Again, a story. You can see that your evidence, so carefully gathered earlier in the process, will provide you with the answers to nearly every common question. Always frame replies, where possible, within the context of real, personal examples.

More on Interview Questions Take time before you reply to any question. Give yourself time to think and do not blurt out an answer with the risk of seeming ‘lightweight’. This has a twin benefit in not only will you Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

give a far more solid reply, you will also come across as more ‘senior’ and capable. By the way, speaking slightly more slowly also gives us an air of authority and in many jobs one of the key (perhaps unspoken) requirements is ‘gravitas’. By the way, the internet is full of answers to popular interview questions. Have a look. You will quickly tire of these as it is such a tedious, vacuous exercise without the preparation of real evidence you have carried out earlier in this book.

Have YOU any questions for US? One thing we know for sure is that the interview will eventually draw to a close. If you have followed my advice above you will likely find that the interview skips along, you enjoy the experience and you will have covered a lot of ground. You will also be surprised at how quickly the time has passed. Almost inevitably, the decision maker will say something along the lines of, ‘Thank you Jo for coming in to meet us today. Time is against us I’m afraid and we have to finish soon. Before we do, have you any questions for us?’ I don’t know about you but this always seems slightly contrived and somewhat artificial to me. I know it is courteous and so forth but there is a kind of convention going on here rather than a genuine forum for questions. In any case, interviewers usually only allocate a short time (5 minutes?) for questions and too many questions might irritate them. Let’s look at this differently. If there is some genuine question you can ask that has arisen during the interview or that will genuinely move matters along, fine. Ask it. However, have we forgotten this is really a sales meeting? Have we forgotten that we are selling ourselves and they are buying? Has the process completely finished and we are all just being nice to each other? Take a look at the diagram on the next page. It is the familiar one from earlier but something (albeit perhaps slightly exaggerated) has happened to your credibility in the final stages. I’ll tell you what has happened: you have asked questions that help identify the objections. These are the (private?) thoughts of the interviewers, their doubts, their hang-ups with you or small areas of concern. Even niggling feelings that they can’t put a finger on, because they don’t know what they don’t know. This is why asking a question about the culture of the company or its record on green issues or where the company is hoping to be in five years’ time can be so unhelpful. These questions sound good – and there is nothing wrong with them as such – but they do not uncover the elephant in the room or the private misgivings of the people interviewing you. Neither do they give you a second shot at something, perhaps earlier in the interview, that did not go well (in your view), that felt weak or unsatisfactory. Neither do these questions, smart though they might sound, give you an opportunity to revisit areas of the interview that, with hindsight, could have gone better. Perhaps you have thought of a far more effective example than the one you gave 20 minutes earlier to describe your experience of, say, forming strategic partnerships. Even if the interview has seemed so perfect and so thrilling for both ‘sides’ that there is simply nothing to revisit or ‘polish’ how do you know what is in the minds of the interviewers? How Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

do you know that they do not harbour some objection that, with some (perhaps further) exposure and discussion, you could not ease their worries or reassure them? One thing we can be fairly sure about is that, once your questions begin, you will be out of that door fairly soon. Unless you do secure the role or you are invited back for another interview, you will probably never see these people again. My strongly stated message to you is do not waste this opportunity to grab another bite of the cherry or secure extra advantage. To do this, we must expose and deal with OBJECTIONS not pile more icing on the cake of areas and issues where we have already done more than enough. So they like you. So they enjoy the interview and meeting you. You then might get a call a few days later to say that everything went well but, regrettably, you did not have enough international experience or project management skills or whatever. Don’t let this happen to you. Make a note of the weak areas (if there are any) or any points you would like to revisit and use the questions to create an opportunity to do so.

Job Interviews Full buy-in

Have you any questions?

YOU – ‘Preferred Candidate’ Candidate B

Candidate A

TNever Time 60 to 90 Minutes?

Candidate C No buy-in No buy-in

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Have you any questions for us? Questions from YOU that will sell you all the way to the ‘Goodbye.’

1. What was it about my CV/my application/my profile/etc that prompted you to invite me in today for an interview/this discussion/to meet me, etc. The cleverness of this question is easy to miss. What you will be doing when you ask this question is exploring the whole area of what they EXPECTED of you and what you DELIVERED. Like any successful sales meeting, the more insights you can gain about the customer’s needs the stronger you can appeal. Be careful with any follow-up discussion. Don’t be pushy or obvious or too needy. Simply discuss the revelations and understand what gap you might have to fill. If there is a gap, do everything you can to close it or mitigate the risk. People going for interview tend to think that the interviewers know exactly what they want in advance and know exactly the sort of person they want to hire. They don’t. If they did they would be billionaires because their recruitment and selection processes would be so good their organisations would be full of the most perfect fit people. Their teams would be unassailable. What happens in practice is that you, walking in the door and discussing important issues in a certain way, will influence their own thinking and move their own internal goalposts. But you must ascertain what they expect and want. This question helps you do that. Now for the second question…

2. Is there anything about the discussion we’ve just had that you would like me to clarify? Choose your own words but ask this, or a version of this, question every time. This question is very, very clever. It gently exposes any delta or gap between what you could have/should have delivered and what you did deliver. It seeks to tease out any objections that are in the back of people’s minds. If you don’t show some initiative or bravery in the closing moments, how else will you ever know what could have been put right so easily. Because everyone is human, what issue was allowed to linger and perhaps subsequently adversely affect your chances? I know of no other way, other than an Act of God or some unpredictable event, which will more surely allow you to further improve your standing during the closing minutes of an interview. It is this question, more than any other, which will give you a true ‘second bite of the cherry’. But the question is even cleverer than that. Can you see, given that you could easily have had one or two flat spots in the interview, how this question not only potentially opens up a discussion of the interviewer’s misgivings but ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO TALK ABOUT THE THINGS YOU WANT TO CORRECT, IMPROVE OR EMPHASISE. A priceless opportunity and infinitely better than asking some lame question and heading for the

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

door. Instead, my advice is to ‘stand up and fight’. As I said earlier, ‘Do you want this job or not?’

The Third Bite of the Cherry If you have followed my advice so far, you will almost certainly have enjoyed the interview. You will have made a strong and favourable impression on the interviewers and will have every right to feel satisfied with your performance. No one would blame you for making your way home and relaxing in a hot bath, enjoying a glass of wine or just switching off from the day’s tension. But you can’t just yet because you have one more job to do. Before your head hits the pillow that night you must have emailed a letter to the decisionmaker and all other interviewers thanking them for the opportunity to discuss this role and adding, where possible, an extra element of the right encouragement. This letter will work so well on two levels. Firstly it is a thank you letter. Everyone appreciates being thanked and if we believe that the world has become so fast-paced and so lacking in soul that there is no place for this kind of thing then we have failed to see that, underneath, people are people. People want and appreciate healthy engagement and a sense that other people (you) value their time and effort. This is pretty much universal and provides you with your final opportunity to make a more favourable impression – and rightly so. The follow-up letter or focus piece is one of those things that a lot of people understand they SHOULD write but most people do not. Why? My experience is that people are not so much lazy or nonchalant as concerned that this letter will appear cheesy or pushy. Can I tell you that I do not have a shred of evidence to support this fear? As long as the letter is upfront and honest it will serve you well. Write to everyone who interviewed you. You need the support of Jack from HR equally as much as Charlotte the MD or whoever interviewed you. See this letter as more than just a thank you. See it as a way of correcting any minor inconsistency or to recall and maybe stress some strong synergy or shared value. Keep it succinct and light and it will work well. It should be a proper letter attached to an email, NOT text embedded in the email as this is just not right. Look at the example below:

INTERVIEW FOLLOW UP LETTER 3 London Road Wokingham Berkshire RG22 3DR Title Initial Surname Job Title

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Company Name Address line 1 Address Line 2 Town / City/Postcode Date 3rd January 2014 Dear Mr Smith/Alan Thank you for taking the time to meet me earlier today. I enjoyed our discussion and felt there was a lot of common ground between what you were looking for and what I can provide. I believe my experience in managing events around the world will go a long way towards meeting your requirements and my proven ability to engage stakeholders across the organisation and successfully include them in the event management process is a key element of the Global Event Manager position. With respect to the concern you mentioned relating to my lack of experience of working in the financial services sector, I would like you to consider the fact that I have a transferable set of skills and my work history shows that I have been able to deliver events for a wide range of organisations who operate in different industry sectors. I believe that being able to adapt to challenges presented by different markets is one of my strengths, and industry knowledge can be gleaned quickly when working in a specific sector. My record of achievement shows that I have been successful at organising events in different sectors, and I have even won awards for my efforts, so I strongly believe that I have an excellent skill set which can adapt to different markets and make a positive contribution to your business. Once again thank you very much for your time. Yours sincerely

Paul Jones

One final thing, ask reception for the interviewers’ email addresses before you go into the interview. Tell them you want to write to them, thank them for their time and for giving you the opportunity to meet them. This will go down very well with the staff. Of course it will because it’s genuine, thoughtful and unusual.

Other Things to Consider Body Language and Nervousness I will never forget coaching an ex Royal Marine who folded his arms, legs apart, looked at me face-on and said that he did not believe in body language. However worthy an individual he

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

might have been, in this regard, he was dead wrong. Anyway, we talked a bit and I was not the least bit surprised to see his posture change. It got softer, more accommodating and less aggressive. Why? Because the trust began to grow and, despite himself, he relaxed. I told him that wild animals, domestic pets, everyone responds to body language whether we are conscious of it or not. I am not a great advocate of micro managing one’s body language to such an extent that we cease to be ourselves. That doesn’t work anyway. But we should be acutely aware that the person we are when we meet someone should be the same person we seem to be 10 minutes later. This is crucial in a job interview as other people’s opinions are formed so quickly. If we are going for a reasonably senior role, we can expect people to judge us if we appear nervous and edgy when we meet them. They know that this version of ourselves is what other people, their stakeholders, will see – including customers, clients, peers, etc. By all means take a second or two to settle down but that’s it. You must get hold of yourself and calm down. This is the beauty and big extra advantage of calm body language that is rarely mentioned. It will calm you. Choose a pose that is natural and relaxed without looking sloppy or casual. The internet is full of diagrams of aggressive body language so there is no need to reproduce that information here. Avoid the obvious traps and simply seek to bring forward into the first few seconds and minutes of the interview that ‘way’ you are when things have settled down and you are happily answering questions 30 minutes into the interview. Remember to breathe deeply from the beginning and maintain a calm even voice, free of shakes and signs of nervousness. SOME nervousness is tolerable. Visible, abject fear is hard to commend. I have to say, though, that unless someone suffers from deep, structurally bad body language most people are ok. It’s the nerves that undo them. My simple cure for that is the surge of confidence you will feel when you have prepared for the interview in the way I have described. Nothing will cure nerves more quickly, with more certainty, then feeling prepared.

Dress and Appearance Everyone worries about what they should wear. There is a simple set of rules that will never let you down. These apply equally to male or female candidates. 1. Everything you wear must be clean, fresh and well pressed (where appropriate). 2. If you are uncertain about how formal to dress, always overestimate the formality rather than underestimate it. You will be totally forgiven for wearing a business suit if other people are in more relaxed attire but it will not work so well the other way round. If you are a male and you are wondering whether or not to wear a tie, wear one. Clothes should be sober and business-like. Jewellery should be at a tasteful minimum. You might not agree but it is rare for employers to welcome face piercings or obvious visible tattoos. I don’t make the rules. It’s just what nearly everyone quietly thinks. 3. The crucial bit of our bodies, the part that people remember, is the shoulders and head (face). So, for men, a crisp white shirt and decent tie (for example), hair neat and

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

a good standard of overall grooming, clean fingernails, etc. For women, feminine but not overtly sexy. No low cut tops or anything too revealing. Just be professional and remember those first impressions. You can wear what you like when you are successful and you join the company or organisation but in the meantime we have a serious game to play.

Social Media I’m guessing that there cannot be many people left who are not aware that recruiters and future employers will possibly Google you and look at as much of you on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin as they can. This is especially so if you have an unusual name (like mine) that is easy to trace. So what’s the advice? Censor and clear out anything from a misspent youth or misspent middle age that you worry might have an adverse effect on your reputation. Obviously there is no need to go overboard but a hard look at your online profile is a must.

Order of Appearance at Interview There is an odd but undeniable correlation between the time of day that a defendant appears before a judge in court and the likely sentence. This aberration of the expected outcome is small but measureable and repeats itself across the world. On average, you will get a slightly different sentence if you appear at 10.00 am then you will if you appear after lunch.

There is a similar effect in interviews. On average, there is a slight difference between the successes of those that are interviewed first (first of, say, five) and those who are interviewed last or second to last (fourth or fifth out of five). Earlier I said that interviewers and business owners do not necessarily know what they want or even how to solve their problems, never mind know what their problems necessarily are. It is a total myth that bosses have all the answers at interview. We know this simply isn’t the case. My own view is that interviewers learn a great deal about what they want and feel about a new role, particularly if they really are the BOSS. When free of internal political shenanigans, we learn much from listening to and discussing our issues with prospective employees (job interview candidates). Furthermore, as decision makers and interviewers, it is not until we really engage with the process and the problems that we truly begin to THINK about where the solutions might lie. I believe, therefore, that interviewer’s mind-sets change as a result of interviewing good people and what they thought they wanted at the beginning of the process is not exactly the same as what they want at the end. So the impact of this on us is that, given the option in discussions with recruiters or HR departments, we should aim to be interviewed towards the end of the process. My feeling is second from the end is ideal rather than be the very last to be interviewed as this somehow seems risky.

Ageism

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).

Ageism is a very common prejudice but can be partially mitigated if we know some simple but effective tricks. Let’s remember, though, that it happens at every stage of our lives. We can be too young at 21 or 36. Too old at 36, 48 or 55. But most complaints I’ve heard voiced about ageism come from the 50 to 65 year olds. The key way to reduce the negative effects associated with ageism is not to act and speak older than our years. We must avoid the temptation to come across as ‘elder statesmen’ or the like and instead present a modern, up-to-the-minute impression. We must be very much children of our times, not of bygone times. The main things to avoid are talking as though everything you have achieved happened years ago and not to push our (successful, brilliant maybe) pasts further back into the abyss by saying things like ‘In my day…,’ ‘Back in 19xx before we even had email…’ or ‘I remember when I worked for IBM, many years ago, …’ I have frequently noticed that over 55s tend to talk more about the past than younger people. So here’s the risk: people might be careful about employing over 50s or over 55s because they want relevance and present-day effectiveness. So give them that in what you say and how you come over. Give them the evidence of currency they need. Don’t time-tag everything, instead give the impression that everything happened just yesterday or the day before or last year. Or in the recent past. Do not keep talking about the past in distant terms. Quick movements and sharpness of understanding helps people to come across as vigorous and energetic. Perhaps another reason on the part of an employer to feel ageist is the ‘know-it-all’ mind-set in some older people and the feeling that they have lost their curiosity, their joy in just being alive and the feeling of boundless optimism for the future. Maybe a younger boss might feel uncomfortable in employing us, no matter how capable we might be, if we appear judgmental or sarcastic. If we can somehow bury our tendency to judge, to reignite our curiosity and love of learning, to act and speak in a way that shows we are people of the very times we live in, not of 10 or 20 years ago, we can showcase our strengths and win the confidence of younger bosses.

Finally… Do all the above. Put the work into your preparation and allocate the majority of your precious time to research on YOURSELF. Few people see how crucial this is. Good luck in all your future interviews. If you have prepared in the way I have described, you can be certain that you have done everything possible to ensure the best result. Get ready to take that call…you have been offered the role!

Pairview Training Services is a trading name of Pairview Limited Company No. 06988921. Registered Office: Threefield House, Threefield Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 3LP Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 649638).