Peak interview

New Insights into Winning the Interview and

Getting the Job.

© Bill Burnett 2010

™

The

Peak

Interview

© Bill Burnett 2015The Peak

Interview™© Bill Burnett 2015

The Peak

Interview™

Management’s

Position• We can’t do everything

• We can only afford so many new

projects

• Our market share is good

• There are only so many good people

• We will always have projects on our cut-

off list.



The Peak

Interview™

A Leader’s

Perspective

• We can’t do everything

• We can only afford so many

new projects

• Our market share is good

• There are only so many good

people

• We will always have projects

on our cut-off list.

• How can we do everything?

• How can we finance every

project?

• Fulfill every customer.

• They are all good people. Let’s

make them great.

• How can we do everything?

.



The Peak

Interview™

Different Perspective

• Oh, I don’t think that’s for me.

vs

• How can I make this work for me?



The Peak

Interview™

The Recruiter Story



The Peak

Interview™

Are you a salesperson?

What’s the product?



The Peak

Interview™

Maturation of Sales

• Get to the Close

• It’s a Buy not a Sale

• Two Problems

• It’s a Relationship



The Peak

Interview™

Evolution of Product

Development• Features and Price

• Features, Price, Benefits

• TV and Brand

• Niche

• Identity (The “I”)

• Meaning (The “Me”)

• The I and the Me



The Peak

Interview™

History

• Maturation of Sales

• Evolution of Product Development

• The Interview: It’s all about Me



The Peak

Interview™

The Interview

• Structure vs Unstructured

• Work Demo, IQ, Honest

• Fit, Likability

• Symphonic Audition

• Daniel Kahneman



The Peak

Interview™

The Interview

• Your Strategy

• The perfect baseline interview



The Peak

Interview™

Do the Basics RightStep Developed Tested

Interests/Passions/Values Inventory ☐ N/A

Abilities Inventory ☐ N/A

Competencies Inventory ☐ N/A

Ideal Job Description ☐ N/A

List of people in your network ☐ N/A

Elevator Speech ☐ ☐

Two Minute Commercial ☐ ☐

Resume ☐ ☐

Cover Letter ☐ ☐

One Page Handbill ☐ ☐

Stories around accomplishments

and situations you’ve resolved.

☐ ☐

Stories around your strengths and

weakness.

☐ ☐



The Peak

Interview™

The Interview

• Your Strategy

• Behavioral Event Interview

• How to answer the 64 Toughest

Questions



The Peak

Interview™

Stories• Simple, Unexpected, Concrete,

Credible, Emotional, Stories

(S.U.C.C.E.S)

• “What is your greatest weakness?”

• “Tell me about something you did, or

failed to do, that you now feel a little

ashamed of.”

• “Tell me about a situation when your

work was criticized?”



The Peak

Interview™

The Interview

• Perfect Base Interview

• Behavior Event Interview

• Stories (dozen)

• Practice, Practice, Practice



The Peak

Interview™

The Three Peaks

• The 20 minute peak

• “I am very interested in how an individual can make a difference in the

workplace. If I were the ideal candidate for this position, with exactly the

right skills, competencies, attitude, and personality, what could I do, or

help to do, that would make a positive difference, perhaps in your

department, or even in the broader company?”

Talking vs Listening



The Peak

Interview™

Peaks

• Counterfactual Hypothetical

• Relevance

• Elaboration



The Peak

Interview™

The Three Peaks

• The 40 minute peak

• “Earlier I asked how the ideal candidate for this job could contribute to

making the company better. Wherever I’ve worked I have always been

interested in helping my boss accomplish a special goal. If I were the

ideal candidate, possessing exactly the characteristics you could use, how

might you be able to leverage me to help you accomplish something

important?”



The Peak

Interview™

Bonus Question

• Counterfactual Hypothetical Power

• “Suppose you hired me and I’d just

completed my first year. Imagine that my

contribution has been extraordinary.

What have I accomplished?”



The Peak

Interview™

End/Peak

• Barbara Walters



The Peak

Interview™

The Three Peaks

• The End Peak

• “I am keen to work in an environment where a person can make a real

difference. In that line, I would love it if you tell me about a time when

working here that you were able to do something special, something

significant, something you are proud of.”



The Peak

Interview™

Follow-up

• Send a Thank You

• Express your interest

• Would love to hear more about...(the

third peak)



The Peak

Interview™

Try the End/Peak

• Within the next 24 hours, strike up a conversation

with someone, and end with the Peak/End

question, something like:

• “You know, you are an interesting person, I’d

love to hear a story about something you’ve

been able to accomplish that you’re particularly

proud of.”

• DON’T INTERRUPT!!! When the story is over

express real interest in the story and let the

conversation come to a natural, and immediate

end. You’ve just created a bond.

Available online at

Amazon and Barnes

and Nobel websites

Additional Material in the Appendix

Creating Interview Stories that include

Competencies and Character

How to create Unexpectedness in your

storytelling

Creating a Cover Letter

List of Interview Questions to Ask the Hiring

Manager

List Social Networking Questions to Build

Relationships

List and Discussion of Discovery Questions to

Ask

LINK to How to Answer The 64 Toughest

Interview Questions

Three examples of doing better than what’s

recommended above

How to get a list of local upcoming happenings

for networking

Peak interview

Recruiting & HR

Transcript of Peak interview