WIT H D IR K S P E N C E R

S OC IA L M E D IA R E C R U IT E R

C R E A T OR OF R E S U M E P S Y C HOLOG Y©

2 0 1 3 ©

Interview Psychology Preparation Attracts Offers

PEOPLE NETWOR KIN G REQUI RIN G

BABY KISSING ,

RUBBER CHICKEN EATING &

WEARING OUT SHOE LEATHER

IS THE FASTEST PATH TO

YOUR NEXT JOB!

Disclaimer

W H A T T O E X P R E S S L I S T E N C A R E F U L L Y

H O W T O A N S W E R Q U E S T I O N S

W H A T Y O U M U S T M A S T E R

Interviews Generally-Speaking

What You Must Express in the Interview

Confidence

Competence

Capacity

Where they

need you

to be

Listen to Their Questions

Answer what they ask

Not what you think they asked

How to Answer Interview Questions

Be direct

Be concise

Be truthful

Stop Doing These Things

Deflecting, defending, demanding

Being too “honest”

Saying “the money is not important”

Dancing around being “fired”

Stuff You Must Master – About You

The money

Resume content

Career experience

Past failures

Stuff You Must Master – About Them

Industry trends

Regulatory impacts

Best practices and standards

W H A T I T I S

W H Y I T M A T T E R S I T I S A O N E - S I D E A F F A I R

Pre-Screens

Interview: The Pre-Screen I

This is a pre-qualifying process

Interview: The Pre-Screen II

They are:

Verifying your availability

Checking your interest level

Interview: The Pre-Screen III

This is how they manage their workload

They may not share much with you

They might not know much

Regardless – Act Normal

Pre-Screen Goal: Be the Normal Person

…Who is qualified

…Who sounds reasonable

…Who projects self-awareness regarding:

Skills

Experience

Scale

Market Conditions

Industry Changes

Historical Context

The Pre-Screen is Expectation Setting

The pre-screen is designed to verify your:

Rate or salary

Availability to interview

Work authorization

When you can start if an offer is made

The Pre-Screen is One Sided

Them asking about your stuff

You telling them about your stuff

R U L E S F O R A N S W E R S

D E V E L O P A N S W E R S B Y W O R D C O U N T

T H E B A S I C Q U E S T I O N S

T Y P E S O F I N T E R V I E W S

C R A Z Y Q U E S T I O N S O V E R - L E A R N Y O U R C O N T E N T

Interviews

The Rules to Interview Answers

Rule 1 – There are no wasted questions

Rule 2 – It is always about them

Rule 2.5 – Seriously it is about them

Rule 3 – Every answer must be job related

Rule 4 – Be honest

Rule 5 – Be brief

Rule 6 – Be engaged

Prepare Interview Answers by Word Count

Have a 15-17 word introductory answer

Have a second 20-30 word follow-up answer

Have a 15-17 word closing answer

Integrate relevant skills in every answer

Realize timed-answers encourage faster talking

Become comfortable with pauses and silence

The 6 Basic Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Tell me about a time you failed

3. Tell me about a time you succeeded

4. Tell me about your greatest weakness

5. Tell me about your greatest strength

6. Tell me how you handle stress

Tell Me About Yourself

Doing Great – How About You?

They are gauging pessimism versus optimism

They are measuring energy

They are measuring enthusiasm

They are calibrating interpersonal norms

They are evaluating your communication style

Tell Me About a Time You Failed

“Let me think…”

Make this work related

Failure – What They Want to Know

How you handle failure?

Want did you learn from failure?

Are you self-aware regarding failure?

Failure – All About Ownership

They want to know

1. If you own-it

2. or if you blame-others or circumstances

End the example on a “Positive” outcome

Tell Me About a Time You Succeeded

“Working with a team allows for…”

They want to know: Do you share the credit for success?

Do you work well with others?

Do you do the work?

Do you delegate the work?

Is there more to you than the resume?

Tell Me About Your Greatest Weakness

“Professionally speak there was a time…”

They want to know:

Are you self-aware of a short-coming?

Are you recovered from your weakness?

What adaptation did you implement?

Tell Me About Your Greatest Strength

“When it comes to this job…”

They want to see energy – not cheerleading

Demonstrate “relaxed confidence” about your skill

This is where you can drill down on “their” needs

This is when you can demonstrate professional commitment

Tell Me How You Handle Stress

Amateur answers to avoid:

I jog 3 miles, lift weights and do yoga

I have my black belt in karate

I never get stressed out

Answering the “Stress” Question

Answer to the best outcome: Give a work example

Share a business-case

Convey your experience managing stress using skills they care about

Interviews – Summarizing Your Career

What you have to know & know cold:

Companies – Know the value of a brand

Job Titles – Translate the jargon

Dates – Be consistent

Have 4 or more stories “over-learned”

Interviews - Consulting

What you have to share & share well: You expertise on topical matters

Products, services, methodologies

Industry best practices

Interviews - Behavioral

They are gauging your : Reaction times

Reaction consistency

Comfort level in your own story telling

Purpose of the Behavioral Interview

Break through the professional persona

Measure candidate comfort with others

Gauge candidate’s aptitude to adapt

Preview a candidate’s authentic self

Behavioral Interview HR Mantra

“Past performance is the best predictor of future performance”

The Crazy Questions

Realize

The answer is irrelevant

There is no correct answer

They are watching for “how” you answer

The Crazy Questions - What Matters

Consistent delivery

“Be Cool Under Fire”

Give interesting answers

“Participate Ethically”

Demonstrating logic

“…One bite at a time”

Purpose of the Crazy Question

Determine how you handle the unexpected?

This is all they want to know…

&

Are you normal under 2 conditions:

When things are going well & not so well

The Logic for Crazy Questions

How do you handle fake stress created by a fake question?

If you crash here you must share experiences showcasing victories over real-stress

O V E R L E A R N I N G

Interview Preparation Strategy

How to Over-learn Your Material

Stage Right!

Practice your stories like stage actors reciting scripts

Rehearse, rehearse, rehears, rehearse

Rehearse a little more

Rehears a lot more

Rehearse aloud

Rehears with others

Rehearse using audio & video technology

Why Rehearse?

Build, train and reinforce

Nero-pathways in the brain

Vocal and facial muscles

Why

Creates a superior level of confidence

Reduces stress hormones

The Goal of Over-Learning

It allows for spontaneous responses to new stimuli

Cognitive answers to unrehearsed questions

Translation

You are able to say something relevant and correct to new questions even though the response was not rehearsed

Over Learning is Not Memorization

Memorization Fails

It does not allow for integration of experience

Interruptions can break concentration

Pauses can break story continuity

Internet Resources

Google “Interview Questions”

Find samples and variations of interview questions

Find sample and variations of interview answers

Jeanine Rickson Blog

Chief Talent Officer (CTO) at Genesis10 -

http://careerpointe.wordpress.com/interview-preparation/

Lastly

Do not get bogged down in rate discussions

Showcase how you adapt to change

The proof is in the offer

- not the interview!

Dirk Spencer – Social Media Recruiter

DirkPMP@Yahoo.Com

214-295-8687

@DirkInDallas

http://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkindallas

Slideshare.Net/Dirk Spencer

Dirk is a former DOD Computer Specialist turned Recruiter and Social Media Tactician.

He is the creator of "Resume Psychology – Get the Offer Not the Interview©.

Dirk Spencer – Social Media Recruiter

Beyond resumes, Dirk’s expertise includes talent acquisition, deep-web sourcing, social media recruiting and linguistics.

He has worked agency recruiting, contract recruiting and corporate recruiting.

Dirk is regularly invited to speak to career groups, industry recruiters and professional organizations on resume strategies, network tactics, sourcing and communication strategies and professional branding using social media.

Information Technology

Telecomm

Semiconductor

Banking

Consumer Goods

Accounting

Finance

Project Management

Engineering

Executive Leadership

Networking

Aviation

Defense

Supply Chain

Software Development

Fast Moving Consumer Goods

International

Dirk’s recruiting experience includes:

Dirk has worked for these companies

Previous Recruiter Events & Speaker Mentions

Dallas Fort Worth Texas Recruiter Network (DFWTRN)

Executive Search Owners Association (ESOA)

Inter-City Personnel Associates (IPA) Associates Food & Beverage

Pikes Peak Recruiter Network (PPRN)

Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference

The Rick Gillis Radio Show in Houston, Texas ESPN Radio

CareerRocketeer “The 150+ Experts on Twitter All Job Seekers Must Follow

The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram

Previous Speaking Events Professional Organizations:

Colorado Association Healthcare Executives (CAHE) Annual Conference

Meeting of the Minds Conference

Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce Breakfast of Champions

North Texas Small Business Summit

TalentNet Live Social Recruiting Conference

Frisco Connect Job Seeker Strategy Summit

Texas Small Business Summit

Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference

American Society of Quality (ASQ)

Texas Workforce Commission Veterans Support Group

Intuit Women’s Network

International Institute of Business Analyst (IIBA)

National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).

Previous Speaking Events Ecumenical & Volunteer Organizations

• St. Jude Career Alliance a Chapter of the Catholic Career Development Community (CCDC)

• Career Counseling Group (CCG) of DFW Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT) • Career Counseling Group (CCG) of DFW Islamic Center of Irving (ICI) • Crossroads Bible Church (CBC) Career Transition Workshop (CTW) • Jewish Family Service (JFS) • Career Jump Start - First United Methodist Church Richardson (FUMCR) • Carrollton Career Focus Group (CFG) • Carrollton City Job Hunt 101 • Custer Rd Church Job Net Plano • Fort Worth Career Search Network (FWCSN) • MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church (MBBC) Career Transition Network (CTN) • McKinney Trinity Presbyterian Church Career Transition Network (CTN) • McKinney Workforce Networking • Preston Trail Job Network (PTJN) • Saint Philip's Episcopal of Frisco Job Ministry • Southlake Focus Group (SFG) • St. Andrew UMC Sales Group with Dennis O’Hagan