Interviewing in 2011

As I sit here on Thanksgiving evening, with more to be thankful for than I have time to mention, I look ahead a few weeks, as I face certain layoff on December 22.

If you've been through a layoff before, then you know the roller coaster of emotions you ride.   I have had 3 months' warning, and have been doing all that I know to do to find a new gig, both inside and outside of my present place of employment, but at this writing, I have, at best, a few warm leads.


Some might be content to have leads, but I'd be a lot more content with a job offer.   The truth is that I've applied and networked as much as I can while working full time, and it has produced calls from potential employers.  I have done multiple phone interviews, follow-up thank you letters, a couple of really good face-to-face interviews, but that is as far as it goes.  Naturally, I'm wondering what I might be doing or not doing in the interview to not move past the initial face-to-face interview.


Many thoughts go through my head about my interviewing--- too confident, not confident enough, wasn't specific enough, went into too much detail, etc., etc.    The truth is, I do not know what is going on.   "Behavioral interviews" are the interviewing style du jour, and depending on how strict to form the interviewer is, it can be very difficult to answer the unspoken questions being asked by the question being asked.

For example, if you are asked "tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with your boss.  What was it about, how did you approach it, and what was the result?"   Is the interviewer interested in that specific incident?   Somewhat, but more than that, the real questions being asked are "How do you relate to your boss?  How do you handle conflict?  What people skills do you have?   Will you fit in to our culture?"   etc....or at least that is what I perceive to be the questions behind the questions.   I've had one interviewer give me feedback about these questions behind the question, and it is very difficult to understand what the interviewer really wants to know or hear.   It is sad that this newest form of interviewing is seen as superior to having a conversation with the person you are interviewing about their experiences and accomplishments as they relate to the specific position for which that person is being interviewed.   In all honesty, it is much easier to fool the interviewers using the behavioral interviewing approach if you know the game and can play well, especially in a situation where the interview is short and there isn't a lot of other discussion before a hiring decision is made.

Behavioral interviewing is all the rage today, but I would caution anyone who thinks it's a panacea for poor interviewing of the past.   It wasn't that past interviewing techniques were inferior; it's that the same bad interviewers of the past are now doing bad interviews in the present with the behavioral interview model.    Frankly, anyone can talk a good game using any interview model.   Multiple discussions over time and with different people about experience needed for a position should not be replaced by an "all powerful" behavioral interview. 

Perhaps a better approach to the behavior interview is to ask interviewees about specific skill/experience/accomplishments that would show that an interviewee has the skills and experience needed to be successful in the role for which they are interviewing.   For example, "How do you work with a group of diverse people as we have at our company?  Can you give me an example of when you have done that?"    This is straightforward questioning that will generate a straightforward answer.   If the interviewer has no ability to discern the skill level from this approach, behavioral interviewing will not help them. 

I've had several behavioral interviews lately, and people will ask me about an organizational development experience, I answer the question with a clear OD example, only to have them say that they did not hear an OD example, and they re-ask the question.   The issue is not so much that I didn't answer the question, but that they are non-OD people, do not understand what OD people do, but by using a behavioral interviewing sheet, believe they can discern if I have OD skills.  Ludicrous.

Perhaps it is just me, but behavioral interviewing is another "HR trend" that HR believes will suddenly help bad hiring decisions from being made.   Giving a person a supposed tool does not enable a person to suddenly have discernment or make them analytical enough to read the human being with whom they are thinking.  It is unfortunate that the root cause of bad interviewing hasn't been truly addressed--the interviewers themselves.   More skill building in this area with hiring managers and HR personnel would greatly improve the interviewing process.

Feelings, Part Deux

So, I know that I can trust God to take care of us; He's proven it over and over....why do I have this fist-sized knot in my stomach?

The easy answer is that I'm human, that I'm not fully trusting God, and I'm sure those are partly to blame.  More than that, I think it is unexpressed frustration and anger.   I know life isn't fair, but as I look at what is going on in my company ahead of the layoff, I am both saddened and angry that I have not had any input to the "big plans."

I watched as a VP touted the new plans as innovative and "course changing," and how excited HE is,  as HR will be taking care of everything that specialists (training, org development, recruiting, talent management--whatever that is) have spent considerable time developing expertise through study and practice.   My comment to my coworkers as we left the meeting was, "I hope if he ever gets a heart attack, that he'll have a GP (general practitioner) to care for him instead of a cardiac care specialist."   Maybe then he'll feel differently.

This is the logic that is currently being spouted from our corporate leadership--that HR people (they include us professional training and org development people in with them!) have to be able to be a jack of all trades.   They are entitled to that opinion, but my guess is that within 5 years, that "logic" will fall apart.   Of course the entire HRBP (HR Business Partner) is the concept du jour of the HR world, but I wonder how many business leaders look at this and snicker.

I've spent about 20 years in training and development, and personally, I consider it an insult to say that an HR Business Partner (should there have ever been an HR person who wasn't aligning their efforts to the business?) can take on training/OD as well as recruiting, compensation, benefits, etc. and perform well.   I know the years I've spent dedicated to training and OD and how much I am still learning.  I think it amusing to assume that because it is pronounced, HR employees will suddenly become expert in fields they've spent little time learning about and practicing in.

Well, I thought I'd feel better getting this off my chest, but it's just sunk down into my gut again.  This is going to be a fun Fall!

Feelings...woe, woe, woe feelings....

Not being a new comer to the job search discipline, you'd think by now that I wouldn't get too excited about having to go through the whole process again.....but you'd be wrong.

First and foremost, I know God in is control, but why do I feel like "this" on Sunday night before the first round of layoff notices go out tomorrow morning?   Perhaps it is the whole uncertainty of the future thing.  I like where I live, I like what I do, and even I like where I do it.  Who would want anything to change?    Even if you are miserable in your job, the prospect of being laid off and having to search again just seems to trump the other feelings of misery.   Of course, we'd all like to think that we're in control of our own destinies (an illusion), and having something happen to us is most disconcerting.

We all are disturbed at the prospect of change while in our comfort zone at a job, regardless of how "bad" we thought it was.   We realize the prospect of having no job at all is very real and no longer an academic discussion at lunch with our coworkers.  

I'm watching people who've been at my company 25+ years struggle with the feelings that go with the question "what will I do if I'm laid off," and that's just no fun to watch.  Mind you, I'm not having happy feelings at the prospect of being laid off, but I'm not struggling with feelings over the fact that the last time I had to look for a job was when Ronald Reagan was president.

Think about where you were 25 years ago and HOW you looked for a job.  Are newspapers still the first place you'd look for a job today?  Will you go "pounding pavement" and knocking on doors (you won't get past the security desk)?  Will you look for any job just to get into the company and work your way up?  If you've had to look for a job this century, you know that all three of the questions above no longer are possible (or are rarely possible).   This fact, in and of itself, can lead to panic.

I was at a job search resource group and sat down next to a man who'd been in his job with a large, well-known company for 25 years.  We talked a little, and though we were both out of work, I felt bad for him.   The only good thing I could tell him was that being at that job search group would help him tremendously and that he should throw himself fully in all its activities and workshops.  Still, there was a look of doom and gloom on his face that my encouragement just couldn't seem to erase.

Now, we all should keep the perspective that there's always someone worse off than I am, but even knowing I'm not months from retirement or have been in the company 25+ years with no clue how to find jobs in the outside world doesn't seem to make these butterflies settle down in my stomach.

"The Only Thing That Remains Constant is Change"

So, I am at my current job for a year and a few months, and I've now received news that there is going to be a 5% reduction in force.  Needless to say, there are a lot of "non-value added" discussions taking place around the office.  Everyone is wondering if they'll get the call.

The first thing I tell people when they hear this news is that no amount of worrying, scheming, nail biting, trash talking, etc. is going to change what's going to happen.  HR folks are looking at workforce and numbers, and in a large company, they surely do not know who they are cutting by recommending that Dept X cut heads by 10% vs. Dept. Y who is told to cut by 5%.  That's when I tell people to remember that God is in control of the company as well as our lives.

Even with that being the case, it is prudent to get your job search "machine" in motion.  Since you've kept your resume up to date (HAHAHAHA), you're at least 2 weeks ahead of everyone else.  Make sure you begin contacting your professional acquaintances (hopefully, you've never let those relationships slide) and let them know what's going down, and that you'd appreciate any input they have on the job market.  Also, now is the time to locate a few of the key job sites for your profession, and use an RSS reader to subscribe to job listings in your field and area so that you can review the jobs pulled to your reader quickly without having to wade through the muck of a gazillion job listings.  Get your resume out on a few job boards, into professional associations' job banks, and most of all---NETWORK with others in your profession to learn of opportunities and what has been happening in your field, since you most likely got lazy/busy for all the time you've been gainfully employed.

But first of all.....deal with your feelings.  I've talked to a couple at my company that have been with the company for a long time (20+ years) who think it may be "their time" to go.   If that is you, you'll have more emotions to deal with that many of the others, but it isn't the end of the world, just the end of the world as you've come to know it.  It may be that you are about to embark on a new chapter of your life, even if you thought the book of your life had been finished ages ago.  For most who fit that category, the timing stinks, as you are probably struggling with mid-life issues anyway, and now, your job, the thing you may have thought defined you, is going away.  Your life isn't going away, but you may feel like it is.

For the rest of us, it will be an emotional time until all of the layoffs happen, even if we don't think we have anything to worry about.  Of course, now is the time we start thinking about the Dave Ramseys of the world who try to get everyone to get out from under their debt.  Heavy consumer debt can make layoffs even seem more like the end of the world.  Get your spending under control, because you might need some cash for a rainy day very soon.

All-in-all, the emotional part of a layoff seems hardest to deal with for me.  I'd almost prefer for it to happen as it did for me a few years ago---rumors of layoffs were all around, but I didn't see it coming until the boss called me into his office one Friday morning.

Bottom line:  ALWAYS be ready to find a new job, and ALWAYS keep your networks warm.  In this or any economy, none of us know when/if the boss will insist that we come to his office on Friday morning.

Really?

It's been approximately 8 months on my new gig---the best job I've ever had in many ways.  I haven't written a blog entry in 2 months.   So, should I be thinking about my next job?  How many of you say "NO!?"   You're wrong.

The thing is, none of us know how long our jobs will run, with long tenures and golden watches for retirement not the norm, none of us can afford to get complacent.  Have you done a skills inventory lately against the skills currently being sought out in your field?  Is it time to hit a couple of seminars in 2011 to get yourself up to date or to inspire yourself to grow intellectually? 

I've been at my job for 8 months, and since I was, more or less, in job search mode for 1.5 years (though I was working contracts), I find myself like a coworker who, after completing his Master's degree, found himself going to his study on Sunday afternoon as he'd done for a couple of years, realizing that he no longer had to spend EVERY Sunday afternoon in study and paper writing.  It feels weird to NOT be on an intense job search--of course, I'm not complaining.

If you haven't taken stock of your current position/employer/field in a while (like over a year), I would strongly encourage you to do so.  Do a skills inventory, research jobs in your field that you qualify for and/or would like to do and hiring trends at companies that you think you might like to work for.  Expand your social networks, especially LinkedIn.   Right now, employers can afford to be selective when interviewing candidates for the positions they have open, and seeing the skills and experience for which they are looking might be a good indication of where your skills development plans should be going.  Some of the skill needs you may find that your field desires may be something that would take you a few years to acquire.  If you're working now, don't wait until you aren't to update your skills and make yourself more marketable.

*Scratches Head

Every time I have to ask myself this kind of question, I realize that I have that much more maturing to do, but I'll ask anyway.....

Why is it that people who are out of work are reluctant to try new methods of job hunting?  I offer to help people where I live, and there seems to be few takers in a down economy.  I'm not a job hunting expert, but having done enough of it, had outplacement training a couple of times, etc., I have some insights and contacts that I'm happy to share with job seekers, but I get few serious requests.   (checks armpits---nope, nice and clean).

I especially get concerned about those who haven't had to look for a job in a long time (anything over 10 years, or as close as 5 years ago), as the "game" of job hunting has had all kinds of rule changes.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me implore you all again---be preparing for your next job while in the one you have, and if you find yourself out of work, be a guerrilla job hunter, working every angle at finding your next gig.  I feel deeply for people who are unemployed, and feel frustrated when I see them not aggressively searching with a variety of methods that are necessary in today's job hunting climate.

Running the Good Race

I'm now on the job a couple of months now, and I can honestly say that I enjoy my job.  The first 8 weeks have been tough, as I am learning a new system, learning a job from a consultant, developing relationships, handling issues that I didn't create but have to learn to solve, considering the future vision for training and support, etc.

It's been busy and stressful at times, but it most assuredly beats being stressed by spending a zillion hours a day duing a job search.  Some may want to argue that work can't be fun, but since God created us to work and not to lay around and do nothing all day, I feel fulfilled in helping others learn and improve their lives, and that is core to who I am and why I am here.   It can't get much better than that in this life.