Career Coach Office Hours: July 12 2022 | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I answered questions about #jobsearch #hiringstaff #management #leadership #workplace issues. Join me at 1 PM Eastern on Tuesdays and Fridays. You can also message me on Linkedin before the show and I will answer it, too. #careercoachofficehours #careercoaching #careercoach #jobsearchtips #jobsearchadvice #interviews #hiring #managingpeople #leadershipskills #linkedinlive #linkedinlivestreams
FEELING DEPRESSED About Your Search? Struggling? Feeling Fatigued?
02:06
After an interview today, I got an offer. And I asked for a week to decide. But the consulting company pressured me to sign it ASAP. I’m waiting for my other options which I will get soon. Can I get quit the job I haven’t started if I get the other job I want? The answer is absolutely. Not only that, you can quit the job after you start for the one that you really want. So the long the short of it is you can do what you want that serves you. Now it’s not ideal if you want to want to quit a job that you’ve started. But I will tell you firms let people go, and you have a responsibility to yourself and to your interest to do the right thing for you. So the long and the short of it is yes, you can quit. Yes, you can accept the job and then change your mind and do something else. So yes, you can do that. Don’t sweat it.
03:26
I run a tech startup, and we’re finally expanding. Yay. I’ll be hiring and interviewing machine learning engineers for the first time. I’ve never done an
interview before. So what is important to focus on during these interviews? And the answer is two things. Number one, are they qualified to do the job? What are the basic skills that someone needs to have in order to perform the job? And how will you ask questions to determine if they know what you need them to know? What questions would you ask everyone in order to verify their knowledge? And then from there, the other thing is selling to them, making them want to join you. And by selling I want to be clear, I don’t mean lying. I mean, very simply that you’re talking about the opportunity that you have in a way that’s going to make them complete the interview and go ‘I really want to work for this firm. Oh, they didn’t choose me. Dang, that’s terrible.’ So that everyone knows that they want to work for your firm, and they’re really excited about doing it. And thus they become a sales force for your organization. Years ago, when I did recruiting, there was a consulting firm that was a startup, and they were great at this. Everyone walked out of interviews wanting to go to work for them. And when they weren’t hired, they were so disappointed and they would tell it ‘oh, I had this great interview. They didn’t choose me blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.’ And that’s it. They became like a sales force for the organization. So many people wanted to work for them. So those are the two primary things. And the third one is connecting with the people that you’re talking with. That’s part of the selling process on the opportunity and on the firm. So, sell to them, make them fall in love with your firm, because if you like them, and you’re not interested in joining, that’s so disappointing.
05:37
Do I just ignore interview offers from applying for a bunch of jobs, when I already accepted another offer? So if I’m understanding this question correctly, this person has accepted an offer and is getting contacted about other interviews. So the answer is I would not ignore them, I would give them the courtesy of letting them know that you’ve accepted another offer. And if you’re not interested in what they have to propose, just be courteous. Let them know, ‘I’m already joining another firm, and move on.
Answering Behavioral Interview Questions The Right Way
06:19
During second, and last interviews for a job, the person said they’ll reach out to my references and hear from them afterwards. She kept talking in ifs, like, if we were to move forward, etcetera, I don’t know what to think or expect. Is it bad? Actually, it’s not bad. They’re just telling you what will happen if they are interested. They are not committing to being interested, or committing to you becoming an employee of the organization. So I’ll simply say that, from your vantage point, there’s nothing there to hang your hat on, good or bad. What you have is someone who’s telling you what their process is. And really, that’s it.
07:17
What would you make of one of a company’s core values, lean into discomfort? What would you ask about on that interview? I think that’s a great question, Donna. Let me give you my take on it. And my take would be does it tend to be a lot of discomfort in the work? Like, what form can discomfort take? difficult work? Difficult hours? I don’t know what to make of that. Could you be a little bit clearer about what that core value means to you and to others here. So wading into is just one of those terms that Sheryl Sandberg made popular. And it just basically means instead of turning and running away, you’re going to stick with it. But in terms of core values, you just want to get clarity about what that means. Lean into discomfort could basically mean we’re gonna work you to the bone. I don’t know. And obviously, you don’t either. So just very simply ask them about that core value by saying, ‘you know, I keep zeroing in on, lean into discomfort. I interpret that as this could be really, really difficult. And they can also mean, I’m gonna be here all day and night, and going to work 90 hours a week, and I don’t know which way it is, to me, what to make of it. Could you give me a sense of what it means to you, and how it gets applied here? And that that could happen? Donna, I hope that was helpful.
09:01
This is continuing the question about what you would ask the potential person that you’re interviewing. Focus on whether they’re a good thinker, how will they solve a problem they’ve never dealt with before? Great advice. So I’m not sure who LinkedIn user is. But that’s great advice for anyone who’s interviewing. But I start off with core skills and for someone who’s new to interviewing, I try to keep it at basic levels. Can they do the job? Can I connect with them? Can I say things or make them want to join? So that this way, if I decide to hire them, I can actually get them. In terms of a good thinker, I’m going to ask someone to decide how that being a good thinker, problem solving, especially since this is going to be new work in an organization, how they can evaluate for that in the course of an interview? Again, great recommendation, thank you for offering it I appreciate the support. I’m sure that particular person does, as well.
10:24
Why do people who have retired, tend to pick up a part time job? Well, there are two basic reasons. The first one is they’re bored. They want something to do. They’re used to working. Most people are used to work in a full time schedule for many, many years. And now they’re sitting home and they don’t know what to do with themselves. So it gives them some meaning to their day so they’re not just sitting home doing nothing, or watching TV, or being online and getting angry. So that’s number one. Number two is they can make some more money. Now, if you’re in the United States this answer. If you’re collecting Social Security, and you’re in the middle tier, which I believe is age 67, you can earn as much as you want on top of your Social Security. At the original tier, the first tier, which I think is 62, you can’t do that. What some want to do is earn supplemental income. And between those two that really covers it for most people.
11:42
What does it mean, when your online job application says in consideration? Very simply, it means they have your application. They haven’t decided favorably or unfavorably; it’s still being considered. No choice has been made to interview you or not. That’s it. You’re just told you’re being considered.
12:13
Does having to do repetitive work all day a sign that your organization is understaffed? No, it means that the work is repetitive. It doesn’t really require a
lot of thinking. Thus, repetitive work means doing the same tasks over and over again. It’s kind of like being in a factory on the assembly line and you’re the person who has to manually place the bolt in. No factory would operate this way. But you’d have to put the bolt in so that a machine could come down and wallop it. It’s repetitive, right? The same thing every day, every minute of every day. So it doesn’t mean that they’re understaffed. That’s basically the job is dull and boring. It’s really that simple.
How Do I Follow Up on an Application When I Haven’t Heard Back for 2 Weeks?
13:19
So an interviewer asked me for work samples to see if I have enough experience for the role. She later asked if I can do a mock up project for the company using their info, as well. Am I still likely to land the job or should I look elsewhere? I would look elsewhere, but not for the reason that you think. They’re asking for free consulting work. You’ve already demonstrated your ability to do the work with the original answers to their request, that you provide them with work samples. Now that they’re asking you to do something specific and unique for their company using their information, that’s different. That’s more like working for them. And it’s what’s nicknamed often as ‘free consulting.’ In the course of evaluating you for a position, they’re asking you to do work that benefits them. And they may have no interest in hiring you, but getting you to do this work. So I wouldn’t do it. I would politely just tease them and go, ‘Are you trying to get me to do free consulting for you,’ with a big smile on your face? And don’t start laughing. ‘Oh, I’ve had firms try to do this with me in the past. So respectfully, I’m not going to do that. I’m sure there’s someone in your organization who can. So I’d rather spend some time with my husband, wife, partner, my kids, the dog, the cat, and I’d love to come to work for you but I’m not going to do free work for you.’ And I would push it off in that way, so that as a result, they get pretty quickly that you’re not a dope. Because the people who do the free consulting work for an organization, you’re not going to get hired. All they’re trying to do is to get free work out of you that benefits them.
15:21
If an employee quits their job and wants to come back, do we have to take them back? No. You don’t have to take them back. You may have replaced them already. And thus, they’ve decided to leave. They want to return to their job. ‘Sorry, we’ve already had someone doing that work.’ Now, if they quit, and they’ve regretted the decision, but haven’t gone? Well, you have a choice to make. You don’t have to take them back. You can politely say ‘We’ve made other plans already and sorry, you’ve resigned your position. And we wish you well. But we’ve already made plans to replace you.’ And move on from there. And if you haven’t made plans, this is a solution to your problem is that the person can come back and continue with their job. But I would first sit down with them and ask ‘why do you want to come back? What’s going on? What’s changed? Why did you look to begin with?’ Because you don’t want to take them back and then have them quit when they get a better job. So obviously, the next firm changed their mind or something happened like a background check. We don’t know. That’s not included in the question here. But it’s certainly possible that that occurred. Thus, you’re in a situation where . . . you’re going to be kind to them, and then they’re gone anyway. So, no, you don’t have to take them back.
Recruiters Are Not Your Friends
17:12
Are companies replacing the senior employees with junior staff since the stock market started falling? No, because junior people cannot do the same work as a senior person. So as a blanket question as to whether or not they’re taking on junior people to replace the seniors? No, I don’t believe so. I see no 
evidence of that. If you think that’s a smart move to take people on who may not be qualified to do the job, okay, that’s fine. But I don’t see it that way, I see that most organizations have a decision as to whether or not they’ll replace someone who chooses to leave. And then from there, I think many of them will try and get their existing staff to do more work to cover for the losses. So not replacing seniors with juniors, but pushing their people to do more and more. I know I’m Les to enable, I’m just going to have the time to do this one last question. And that is,
18:25
What are the chances of getting hired after a second interview? Well, let me start by saying, I don’t know your definition of the second interview. It could be the one after the screener. It could be you’ve met the screener, and the first person you’re meeting is the hiring manager. And now you’re meeting the department or you met the screener. You’re not counting that again. And now you’re meeting the department and now the hiring manager. There’s no way to answer the question because we don’t know what’s already transpired up until this point, who’s evaluated you what you’re considering a second interview. If it’s the screener, and now your first interview, you got a lot more to go. So always, whenever you meet someone in an organization, make them fall in love with you. Because if they don’t, you’re not going to get hired. Anyone can say no to you. And that’s just the fact. I’m so sorry.
[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc6iuXmF4zs[/svp]
Career Coach Office Hours: July 5 2022
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2400 episodes.
Are you interested in 1:1 coaching, interview coaching, advice about networking more effectively, how to negotiate your offer or leadership coaching? People hire me to provide No BS career advice whether that is about a job search, hiring better, leadership, management or support with a workplace issue. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
My courses are available on my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses The courses include ones about Informational Interviews, Interviewing, final interview preparation, salary negotiation mistakes to avoid, the top 10 questions to prepare for on any job interview, and starting a new job.
I do a livestream on LinkedIn, YouTube (on the JobSearchTV.com account) and on Facebook (on the Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter page) Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 PM Eastern. You can send your questions about job search, hiring better, management, leadership or to get advice about a workplace issue to me via messaging on LinkedIn or in chat during the approximately 30 minute show.
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