Tag: tough interview questions and answers | Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Do You Understand Our Corporate Culture? | JobSearchTV.com

June 12, 2019June 12, 2019 by Jeff

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A classic question that can be asked of people at all levels.

Now, the question I'm going to answer for today is one that . . . I think it works well, if you were to be asked this for a senior position or a staff position. So, from the standpoint of answering the question, I think the answer is going to work in both contexts.
So, the question for today is, "Do you understand our corporate culture?"
Now, let's assume we were talking about a well-known organization, public firm, yada, yada. So, the correct answer would wind up being, "You know, I know what you want us to know. After all, you have a well-oiled publicity machine and PR for the organization is spectacular. People talk about the firm in this, that or the other way." Then, you describe how the organization is thought of from a positive perspective.
But from there, you continue on by saying, "We both know this is part of what you're putting out into the world. There are people who leave this organization who, if I called, would say something different. How do you perceive the corporate culture because you're living in? I'm not. I'm reading about it. I'm talking to people who work for the firm, AND who leave the firm. How do you see the corporate culture? What does it take to be successful here?"
Thus, you turn the question back to them, so they talk about it and, thus, you're giving them a non BS type of answer because what you're saying is true.
Apple, Facebook, we would talk about smart organizations with enthusiastic people who are committed. You know, it's all this publicity stuff that each organization puts out in order to be seen in a favorable light.
"We reward success. We've got a top management team. We are committed to excellence."
Tell me what form doesn't say that . . . but the reality is different. It's far more nuanced. Thus, you want to remind them of that, so that, in this way, you can get some real insights from them about the positives and the challenges that the organization is facing directly from them.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1400 episodes and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice.” He is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council. “No BS JobSearch Advice Radio” was recently named a Top 10 podcast for job search. JobSearchTV.com was also recently named a Top 10 YouTube channel for job search.

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What Don’t You Like About Your Job? | JobSearchTV.com

May 31, 2019May 31, 2019 by Jeff

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer the job interview question, “what don’t you like about your current job.”

Summary
So, what didn't you like about your last job? So, what didn't you like about your job?
You know, basically, it's an opportunity where, frankly, you can disqualify yourself from being hired. It's not like anything that you're going to say is going to make them go, "Yeah, that's the guy we want to hire." But it can swiftly make them go, "Oh, this is a guy we've got to stay away from, like the plague. So, you want to be smart about your answer and not say anything immature.
An immature answer is, "I hate my boss," or words to that effect. Or "my work is boring," or words to that effect, not necessarily that specific answer. But giving an immature answer where you spend a few minutes trashing your current organization. trashing your job, trashing the people you work for isn't going to get your hired. It's going to get you rejected.
So, let's be smart. What do they want to hear from you?
If you think about the typical interview question, what they want to hear is, "I want to learn, I want to work hard. I want to get ahead," and if you remember that theme over and over again, when they ask dumb questions like this (And it really is a dumb question), you're always smart.
So here's the way I would suggest answering that question. "You know," (again, remember, I'm a big believer, you have to act and even though you may have answered this question 1000 times already, you have to pretend like it's the first time you've heard the question. It's not like, you can sit there we go, "Oh, I'm ready for that one.")
You can't act like you're prepped and rehearsed. You have to make it seem like you're thinking about this for the first time. "That's a great question. As I think about it, probably the thing that is frustrating me the most is I want to be challenged more.Like, initially, when I started my job, there were new things to learn. There were opportunities for advancement. It was a very clear picture of where I felt like I could learn and grow. And as time has progressed, I become sufficiently good that I'm seen as indispensable in this role. I want to keep learning and growing because I'm only (fill in the blank) 27. 35. 42. Whatever it is. Because I'm only such and such age, there's more stuff I want to learn. You know, I want to grow and want to develop. I don't want to be seen as the indispensable person around such and such. I want to join an organization that sees me as having an upside, wants to train me will provide me with mentoring and help me grow because frankly, I believe I have even more of an upside."
And what you do by saying that is . . . it's not like they're going to hear anything and go, "Well, that was a good canned answer." They are going to go, "Okay. You got through that one and let me give them another one." So, recognize, again, this is not an answer that's going to get you hired, but it can be an answer to get you to disqualified.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

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Tough Interview Questions: Think Back to Your First Job. How Did You Learn The Ropes?

May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 by Jeff

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An employer will learn a lot about you from asking this question. How do you think you would answer?

Summary

This is one of those tough interview questions that has an intention behind it that may not be obvious. And the question is, "Think back to your first job. How did you learn the ropes?"
I think it's a fun question and it just affords you an opportunity to reveal something about your character. So, one thing, one way to do it is, let's say you're an individual who wound up being in a first job where they were doing sales. You were given a lot of rope, because no one really had time for you. You really had to figure it out.
So, you tell a story. And questions like this suggests that they want you to tell a story to them. So, let me try doing that now, following the acronym called SOAR-- S-O-A-R-- where you're coming up with the situation that you are in, the objective that you had, the action that you took, and the result that you achieved.
"So, my first . . . I remember back then . . . my first job when I was 16 years old . . . Well, I worked at a pool company and I was doing sales at the pool firm. They kind of gave me some basics, like, answer the questions, be friendly, but, you knew what they really wanted was you to close sales and they didn't really do a lot of teaching around that.
"So, I really had to figure it out on my own." So that's the situation. The objective that I had. Got it? "So what I did was, number one, is I didn't hide from the customers, I went out there and tried. And what I noticed certain responses, I started to file those away in the back of my mind so that, in this way, I could see whether it was a onetime thing or this was a pretty standard response to what I said, or what I said to a particular type of customer.
"Eventually, what happened (Now, we're getting to the result), I became the top part time worker for sales in the firm by better than three to one." And what you're doing is demonstrating to them that you're willing to figure things out, that you're aggressive, you're ambitious, stuff along those lines.
Let me give you another example. "You know, my first job was at a fast food place and I noticed that a lot of the workers didn't seem to really care. I really didn't want to work that way. So, I went about my business. If they told me to do it, I did it. And I did it faster than anyone else. It just became a game for me. I wanted to see if I could help reform other people who've been there for a while, and would naturally start to notice that I was outperforming them.
"I noticed that they would started to give me more assignments faster than other people. Like I got promoted from prepping this to front of the house working with the customers. I started to notice that and every time I tried to work faster and harder, and with a smile on my face so that in this way, no one would think I was run down."
Notice what you're trying to do is instill what habits or demonstrate to them what habits were instilled in you at an early age and why. So, I think it's a fun way to answer the question.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

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Tell Me About a Time When Something Went Wrong at Work and You Took Charge | JobSearchTV.com

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGKDh_MgPj4

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This is one of those tough interview questions that can be asked of people both had a senior level in the staff level.

Summary

The question I'm going to work with today is one that it's pretty clear. It's a behavioral interview question. It asks about a behavior that you've had previously and this one is geared towards leadership. You can always recognize the signal a behavioral interview question because it starts off with, "Tell me about a time when you . . . " and in this particular case, "tell me about a time when something went wrong at work, you took control to charge took action ..." something along those lines is what I'm looking for.
That really is the launch point. They want you to tell them a story and, again, following the format that I teach -- the story starts off with a situation, what the objective was, the action and the result and, in providing the result, you want to provide a metric for whatever impact was. That's a numerical measure of money saved, money earned, percent improvement, how you turned around the project and what the impact of your work was.
Now, if you're at a staff level, instead of this acronym of SOAR (situation, objective, action, result), I suggest situation, task, action ,result. Slightly different when you you are at a staff level than when you're at a leadership level.
So, what do they want to hear from you?
Number one is a time where you actually stepped up because a lot of people talk the talk and when asked the question like that, they provide a story that doesn't indicate that they've ever done it. So, they are listening for cues that indicate that you actually did step up, that you didn't take a back seat. In the course of working with other people that you actually stepped out front.
In telling the story what they don't want to hear is a lot of criticism. They don't want you complaining about your colleagues. They don't want you to get triggered emotionally and freaking out in front of them.
They want to have someone tell them a story that's clear, concise, and to the point that demonstrates that when the going gets tough, you step up. That, in a sense, that there's enthusiasm and passion and a commitment to lead no matter what's thrown at you . . . dare I say a little bit of bravery maybe. So, that's what they're listening for in your answering the question. Give it to them. It's really that simple.
If you don't, it's a void that they can fill in with their story about weakness and lack of suitability for leadership roles.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No

BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1300 episodes and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice.” He is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

If you have questions for me, call me through the Magnifi app for iOS (video) or PrestoExperts.com (phone)

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

Join and attend my classes on Skillshare. Become a premium member and get 2 months free.

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Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Would you like to talk through a salary negotiation or potential negotiation you’re involved with? Order and schedule time with me.

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Answers to Tough Interview Questions: How Do You Keep Your Team Focused? | JobSearchTV.com

December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 by Jeff

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A question you need to be ready for if you lead or manage people on up to running an organization

Summary

Now the question for today is, “so how do you keep your team focused?” This, of course, can be directed toward anyone from a manager level or above.
The typical answer is to talk about, "I try to schedule 15 to 30 minutes daily with my senior leadership." Now, for a manager, you don't have senior leadership. It's really with your team and you try and do a quick huddle up in the morning to get people focused and directed.
"I understand that sometimes it's not possible and people will have to interact with others because of other situations come up. But, we have 15 minutes blocked out on the calendar each day to check in."
That's the basic typical answer that firms would expect. But let's go a step further with the answer and say, "and then I try to notice patterns. So, for example, I notice if someone isn't there, whether they're being ganged up on I notice whether in the course of talking with people, I'm listening for emotional things that are going on to indicate that the team is strained in some way, that there's something going on beyond simply the data of what needs to happen so that, this way, I can address it with them privately and just see what's going on.
"Kind of like in football (and I'm going to use American football as the example), sometimes teams put in place too quickly the players get overwhelmed, they start reacting slowly and they don't perform well, Or, they're just feeling overwhelmed. Then, the coach will cut back on the on the playbook for a week or two in order to make sure that the team is not stressed out.
"The same thing applies professionally. Sometimes, your team has been working hard for so long that just needs it a little bit easier for a period of time and I sometimes will cut back on my playbook and my expectations of them and let them I don't want to say coast but we're going to cut back on the things that they're going to be doing and trying to structure things a little bit differently so they can catch up."
So again, it's a little bit more complex an answer than, "I just simply we meet for 15 minutes, trying to all get on the same page with one another. No, it demonstrates the emotional intelligence that, at least, American firms demand of their leaders-- that they're sensitive enough to the moods and personalities of their team, which is a social organism that it moves, its sways, it evolves, it changes and you need to change with it.
Sometimes, and not always drive the bus and sometimes you do have to drive the bus because you can't cut back

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

than 1300 episodes and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice.” He is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

If you have questions for me, call me through the Magnifi app for iOS (video) or PrestoExperts.com (phone)

your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

Join and attend my classes on Skillshare. Become a premium member and get 2 months free.

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If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Would you like to talk through a salary negotiation or potential negotiation you’re involved with? Order and schedule time with me.

Do you have questions or would like advice about networking or any aspect of your search. Order and schedule time with me.

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Tough Interview Questions: Are You Actively Interviewing? | NoBSJobSearchAdvice.com

December 21, 2018December 21, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nab3Cj3f0JE

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http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thebiggamehunter/2018/03/23/tough-interview-questions-are-you-actively-interviewing

EP 1052 How do I answer when a recruiter asks me “Are you actively interviewing, and do you have any deadlines, pending offers, etc.?”

Summary

How do you answer the question, "Are you actively interviewing?

What are they really trying to find out?"

There are a few ways to answer this question based upon where you are in your job search.

If you have been out of work for 6 months and they asked this question, they are tossing you a lifeline. After all, if it is been 6 months that you've been out of work, they are thinking that there was something wrong with you. It gives you a chance to say, "I took a few months off. I never did that at any point in my life before that. The kids have grown up. I decided to take it a little easy. It's time for me to get back to work." That's the way to answer the question if there is been a period of time where you been out of work.

If They Recruited You . . .

Let's work with the assumption that they are recruiting you and they asked this question. Then, the purpose of the question is very different than when asked of the person is been out of work for 6 months.

Here, they are trying to figure out whether (1) you are out interviewing and where you are in your job search. (2) I've had people who contacted me about position side advertised for, and they have 3 job offers and expect my client to jump through hoops to compete with those other offers in one day. after one meeting that lasts for 1 minute.

It doesn't work that way. You went out on a bunch of dates before you decide to get married, right? Employers are no different.

The implication for the person who was recruited and is asked this question is to figure out whether we were lucky enough to just find you and your background fits the job or did we stumble across someone who is actively interviewing and is been on 27 different interviews… You get the idea.

The correct way to answer if you have been on a few interviews is to say, "Yes, I have been on a few interviews recently."

"Where are you in your search?"

"I don't think I'm close to an offer. I have had firsts and seconds at a few places. Firms seem interested, but I don't have any offers yet and no one is talking to me like I am getting one yet. That's a good way to deflect the question.

Now, if you are close to an offer, from the recruiter's perspective, they are thinking, "Why should I invest time in this person when I not going to make any money or my client will take too long for this person and their timetable. I know this hiring manager can take a month to even decide to interview this person." On and on and on.

From the standpoint of the employer-recruiter, based upon what they know of the hiring manager, they are trying to figure out whether they have the time to get you into the process and bring it to a successful end.

If you say something like, "I have a few things I seem to be on final rounds for but I don't have any job offers yet"

"What would keep you from accepting an offer from 1 of those firms?"

"Well, money, of course. After all, I'm not looking to take a lateral or less. If they offer too little, I'm not going to join."

"How much would you be looking for?"

"Well, that depends upon the opportunity. I obviously want to contribute to an organization . . . "

I'm trying to give you a sense of the flow of the conversation as you answer questions.

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, all as well as executive job search coaching and life coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1000 episodes,“ Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

Are you interested in 1:1 coaching, interview coaching, advice about networking more effectively, how to negotiate your offer or leadership coaching? Visit <a href=”http://
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How Lucky Are You and Why? | JobSearchTV.com

September 27, 2018October 28, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzCI_0wdGJI

I explain what the trick is in this question and how to answer it.

Summary

This is one of those fun trick questions. I have to say, "trick" because let me explain the trick to you because it suggests the answer and most people miss it entirely. The question is, "How lucky are you and why."

The key to suggesting the answer is the "and why" part because most people are going to go off on a tirade about an incredible luck lock luck or they have no luck. Pretty predictable answers.

Now, what the employer is suggesting with the question is that there are reasons why people are lucky and they want to know what your reasons are so it let's you know right off the bat they're thinking it isn't about luck afterall. Now, you might just simply start off by saying, "You know, luck is one of those funny things. You know, for example, there are musicians who are incredibly lucky but no one talks about the 25 years they've spent in the studio working up to the point where someone would notice them. Thus, they become the luckiest musicians on the planet because they've got the hit record. Or, you know, a variety of things. You can use movies as an example of that.

But, fundamentally, what employer generally wants to hear is, "Some people talk about karma and I've thought a lot of great things in my life that help to create circumstances where I receive good fortune. And thus you translate luck into good fortune. "But I don't want to make it seem as though these things happen by accident. I work incredibly hard to make my "luck" as you will to put myself in the position where I have the opportunity to have good things happen to me. You know I do the work. You know I drive the sales (You talk about the nature of work).

You know, in answering the question, you lay out a couple things that you do that helps make you "lucky" so that it is really about the luck. Most people don't know how much I've done up until this point to arrive at the stage. Where they think it's luck, I think it's the effort that's gone into it."

And then they'll ask you, "Can you give me an example of that? Can you talk about something from your history where people were amazed that you did something but you spent 20 years of my life working up to that point?"

Maybe it was how you came up with a solution to a problem where you'd seen something similar or in junior high school. On and on and on. You can use examples like that but you know the trick is not that it's a luck but that you've put effort into getting "luck" to put yourself in the position to be able to be lucky.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1200 episodes, “Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

If you have questions for me, call me through the Magnifi app for iOS (video) or PrestoExperts.com (phone)

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

Join and attend my classes on Skillshare. Become a premium member and get 2 months free.

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Would you like to talk through a salary negotiation or potential negotiation you’re involved with? Order and schedule time with me.

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Tough Interview Questions | How Do You Manage Conflict? | JobSearchTV.com

October 9, 2018October 9, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xX536FS650

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I love tough interview questions and this one has a pat answer and a better one. I offer the pat answer and then the one that you should give.

Summary

I'm Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I'm the head coach for JobSearchCoachingHQ.com. I coach people and organizations.A lot of my work involves career coaching, leadership coaching and executive coaching. Here, I have one of those tough interview questions that, for you, asa single professional, is an important one to be prepared to answer. I want to say. I know the traditional answer but there's got to be a twist at the back end of it and it has to be delivered well.
Ifyou've watched any of my stuff before, you know that I'm a big believer in "the theater ofinterviewing." Part of it is not just simply what you say but how you say it in order to be persuasive and to demonstrate congruence with the ideas that you're trying to communicate.
So, when I see this question,, "how do you manage conflict," the traditional answer is to talk about consensus-building you listen to the opinions and inputs from other people. You negotiate. You persuade. You build consensus among the different constituencies until you come to aresolution. Yeah, that's one answer for someone at a manager level.
But when you start entering the C-suite or executive level positions, you have to add a twist to this and the twist is to say, "and sometimes you have to do the unpopular thing. You have to bring the discussion to a close because eventually when all you're doing is going around in circles with people stating and restating opinions, once we get to a point where I notice this happening,I have to make a decision for my team and decide the way we're going to do it. I want to bring this to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible, but always making sure that people believe that they're heard. So yes, I try to do consensus-building. I listen to my team because they are my team and they give themselves to me freely. And I don't want to lose them. These are important people in my success, but they also know that there's a point where we have to come together. And,ultimately, I have to make the decision. So once I made that decision, I want everyone on board with it.
And that's one of the things I seek out at the beginning. Is there agreement that once we've gone through my process, once I've heard them heard them twice, heard them state and re-steak thereopinion, I make a decision. We all have to come together. "
So that's the twist. If you area more senior individual, as opposed to at the managerial level, you focus on the consensus building.
Yes, it's true of you as well. But the expectation of the answer is different when your manager versus when your executive .No that difference,, position yourself accordingly in how you answer this question.
So, I'm Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. If you're interested in my coaching you, connect with me on LinkedIn atlinkedin.com /in/thebiggamehunter. Mention that you saw this video because I just like knowing that I've been helpful to people and, once we've been connected, message me about one-on-one coaching.
I look forward to being of help to you. Hope you have a great day. Take care.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No

BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1200 episodes, “Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

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Tough Interview Questions: The Country Club Question | NoBSJobSearchAdvice.com

May 27, 2018September 5, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DeKw9eX60

Listen to the full episode here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thebiggamehunter/2017/09/09/tough-interview-questions-the-country-club-question-video

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter offers and he answer to this question that is designed to see whether you have self-confidence.

Summary

I have another 1 of those fun tough interview questions for you today. Here's how it goes: "You're invited to a party at the country club. As a matter of fact, you are 1 of over 200 people who has been invited. At the time you walk in the door, more than half the people are there. How do people react when you walk in?"

Isn't that a fun one?

The ideas that they want to get a sense of your self-confidence. So, certainly, the correct answer is NOT, I want to repeat, NOT to say, "No one is going to notice me because of very unimportant."

Instead, you provide an answer that demonstrates that you have self-confidence.

The correct answer is actually the honest one.

"Some people would see me and some wouldn't. After all, they are engaged in conversation. It's not like I am The Great Gatsby and people stop in their tracks and started dancing around me and music starts playing, and the party swings in my direction! It's nothing like that. There a lot of people would walk over to me and try get my attention and begin a conversation with me."

That's the most simple and fun way to respond to that question.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for what more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1100 episodes,“ Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

Are you interested in 1:1 coaching, interview coaching, advice about networking more effectively, how to negotiate your offer or leadership coaching? Visit www.TheBigGameHunter.us and click the relevant tab on the top of the page.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com offers great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a

community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

Join and attend my classes on Skillshare. Become a premium member and get 2 months free.

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Would you like to talk through a salary negotiation or potential negotiation you’re involved with? Order and schedule time with me.

Do you have questions or would like advice about networking or any aspect of your search. Order and schedule time with me.

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For more about LinkedIn, order “Stacked: Double Your Job Interviews, Leverage Recruiters and Unlock LinkedIn.”

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Explain to Me What You Do and Why You’re Good at It | JobSearchTV.com

October 1, 2018August 31, 2018 by Jeff

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF_F3snjlr8

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A great question from Inc. that you ought to be prepared for–“I’d like you to pretend like I’m 8 years old. I’m in 1st or 2nd grade. And, I’d like you to explain to me what you do and why you’re good at it.”

Summary

This is a question I pulled, I believe it was from an article on Inc. where a hiring manager claimed that he asked these particular questions in every interview. I believe I’ve covered the first one elsewhere at another time. He uses a slightly different language to it, but it's the idea of, “how did you get here on this particular day,” when you're inviting someone to go beyond the standard answer of “tell me about yourself,” and talk about your life story that got you to the point of being in there office.

This question actually is framed a little bit differently than the title of this. The question basically reads or, “Pretend I'm an eight-year-old or, I'm in first or second grade period explain to me what you do you and why you are good at it.”

I think this is fabulous question and I want you to recognize that, as adults, most of us get caught up in the jargon of our profession and the ones who are exquisite at what they do are able to translate seemingly complex ideas into really basic language that anyone can understand. That’s really what they're looking for you to do. Are you someone who hides behind the jargon or are you someone who really can explain what you do and this requires a little forethought.

So, if you haven't taken the time to think of this question in advance (and you really should), one of the versions of this answer comes in another video I've done about the XYZ statement where I encourage you to say something like, “I help organizations to do X by helping them solve problems that they have (that's the Y) and the Z indicates the outcome is that they receive.

So, “I help organizations achieve greater sales growth by streamlining operations and creating effective results that yield at least 20% increases in sales.” How do I do that? Then, you go into an explanation.

So, think in terms of X, Y, and Z. What you do. How you do it. What the outcomes are Think simply. Continue with the follow-up.

“Would you like me to give you an example of that?”
“Would you like me to go into greater detail?”

In this way, an organization gets the sense that you can provide a higher-level perspective and you can use simple basic language.

“I help organizations improve their sales by streamlining operations (or whatever you do) that results in an increase in sales of minimally 20% and that’s what I had been able to do consistently throughout my career.”

You come up with your X, Y, and Z so that you can explain this simply to an organization and have a big smile on your face. Again, you think in terms of the theater of interviewing. If you watch my stuff ready period of time, you know I believe there's an acting job that goes on with answering questions. I didn't say a lying job; I said “an acting job.”
You want to make it seem that you have a thought about this before and you can start off with a big smile on your face. You can laugh and say, “This is a fabulous question,” and buy a few seconds to form your answer. Then, you may close your eyes for just a moment and then come back with an answer looking them square in the eye that covers this XYZ model that I've covered elsewhere

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for what more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1200 episodes, “Job Search Radio,” “and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.

If you have questions for me, call me through the Magnifi app for iOS (video) or PrestoExperts.com (phone)

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

Join and attend my classes on Skillshare. Become a premium member and get 2 months free.

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Would you like to talk through a salary negotiation or potential negotiation you’re involved with? Order and schedule time with me.

Do you have questions or would like advice about networking or any aspect of your search. Order and schedule time with me.

Would you like me to critique your resume. Order a critique from me

For more about LinkedIn, order “Stacked: Double Your Job Interviews, Leverage Recruiters and Unlock LinkedIn.”

Jeff’s Kindle book, “You Can Fix Stupid: No BS Hiring Advice,” is available on Amazon.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

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