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The Art of Interviewing Part 3: Game Day
Gus Downing, CEO Downing & Downing, Inc.
Loss Prevention Magazine - April, 2004
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It is 5:30 a.m. and you’re wide awake. Glancing at the alarm clock that’s set for 6:00, you finally surrender the night, and turn it off with force. Your mind is wrestling with all the information you’ve crammed into it. Yet, a single thought repeats itself—“I have to do well today.”
Stress ruled the night and nerves will impact your day right up to game time. And once the game starts, you’ll find a zone and either win or lose.
Winning the game is mostly up to you. But most importantly, it’s how you played the game that actually matters the most. Because a season much like a career is comprised of a series of games. And it’s how you play all the games that determine whether or not you make it to the Super Bowl.
Losing a game or two is an inevitable consequence of trying to win. Learning how to lose is as important as learning how to win. But for those who at least try, they know the taste of their goals and their dreams. And they will be the future leaders of tomorrow.
So, the question for all of us is, “How do I make sure that I perform my best in an interview?” In the first two parts of this series, we talked about educating yourself and preparing for the interview. In this column, we’ll talk about the most personal part—the actual interview itself.
Managing Your Nerves
Up to this point, the process has been fairly academic. Researching and reviewing information, discussions with family and friends, conversations with other executives, and your own introspection.
But now, the interview is here and you are alone. With this solitude comes a degree of insecurity commonly referred to as nerves, which is something we all deal with in our own way. It might be overcompensating with ego, adapting a blasé faire attitude, withdrawing completely, or shifting into fourth gear, risking it all and going for broke.
While the experts all have their own formulas and remedy’s for dealing with nerves, the overwhelming suggestion by most is the statement, “With acceptance comes freedom.” Accepting the fact that you will be nervous, regardless of how successful you are or what stage of your career you’ve reached, is the first step toward allowing it not to rule your day. It’s absolutely impossible to eliminate if one plays to win and has the desire to perform at his or her best.
For those who deny these feelings, one must question their personal and professional commitment to the process, to the prospective employer, and to their own advancement. Because to truly perform at your best, you must completely invest yourself emotionally, personally, and professionally. Without that personal investment, your odds of success are greatly diminished.
By making this investment or not, you are either psychologically activating or deactivating your nervous system. With deactivating it and not committing yourself to the process, you are sending a message that is reflected in your persona that you don’t care whether you get the job or not.
Corporations are looking for people who are committed, who are willing to invest themselves personally and professionally to their own individual success and to the success of their organization. That attitude begins in the interview and showing it, if it truly exists, is something we cannot talk about enough. This attitude translates into enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can beat opponents who are better skilled and have more experience. Without enthusiasm, even the mightiest will lose the day.
Your Approach
In approaching the interview, one must first understand that only three things can happen. You get the job, you don’t get the job, or you make such an impression that they recommend you for another position in their organization or even for a position in another company. Therefore, you actually have a 66 percent chance of having a positive outcome when you bring the right attitude.
The retail industry, and the LP community especially, is quite small. Seeing your interviewer in the future is almost a definite. So realizing the significance of how you perform in the interview is imperative and should motivate you throughout the process.
The evolution of the dress code of corporate America to “business casual” has certainly sent mixed messages to those interviewing for jobs. In some cases it has absolutely destroyed the phrase “making a good first impression.” It is my opinion that a candidate should not follow the business casual rule. You should in all cases, except when specifically directed by the prospective employer, wear a business suit or sport coat and tie.
An interview is comprised of two variables: first impression and content. The first impression comes from the professional look and demeanor of the candidate. The content comes from your conversational style and abilities. Your style is determined by the approach you take in the interview. And this is where the most failures occur.
Over the last twenty years I’ve seen some of the strongest executives in this industry fail in interviews because they approached it wrong, or were unable or unwilling to commit themselves and show enthusiasm.
I’ve seen individuals go into the interview with the intention of interviewing the interviewer and to determine if they are “good enough for me.” With all due respect to those executives, this is absolutely the worst approach and is doomed for failure. Should you ever find yourself thinking that way, I strongly recommend you not go on the interview. Quite frankly, it’s an insult to the executive interviewing you, and an insult to their organization. Your attitude will speak a thousand words.
The approach you take should be one of being totally open and excited about learning about each other as individuals and as companies, and allowing them the opportunity to see inside you.
Now having been in LP all of my life, I understand that the typical psychological profile of a loss prevention professional is high control. This need doesn’t lend itself well to being totally open and feeling comfortable with someone probing us. It has probably been the root cause for many interviewing failures. Nonetheless, one must accept the fact that you are not in control here.
At this stage of the process, this is not about you, rather it’s about them. This is about a company trying to determine whether to make an investment of approximately 150 to 200 percent of your starting salary in the first year alone. If you were spending that kind of money out of your own pocket, I’m sure it would be all about you as well.
Certainly your opinion matters and will ultimately drive your decision. But try not to formulate your opinion while in the process of the game. Try to remain focused on one objective—putting yourself in a position to turn them down and not of being turned down. This should be the objective of every interview and introduces the need for you to market yourself. It keeps you focused on the end result and not the individual components.
Marketing Yourself
While not a particularly appealing function for some, marketing yourself is a reality of life. We do it every day of our lives, whether it’s for the affections of another, or for our personal or professional survival.
Learning how to market yourself during the interview process will increase your success. It must be realistic, honest, and peppered with humility and confidence. The number one way to ensure all of the above is to talk about your weaknesses.
Our weaknesses have been pointed out to us our entire lives. Learning how to discuss them with what appears to be an objective third party just might be a growing experience. In reflection is born truth, and it is in our weaknesses where most people hide. A good interviewer will find them. So, why not head them off at the pass and be prepared.
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of people over read and overreact during the interview. Oftentimes an interview will lead to other interviews and actual store visits. This overreaction can cause an executive to pull out of the process or lose enthusiasm in an individual interview, which causes the company to lose interest.
Understanding the reasons why an individual would do this, I’d like to caution executives to be sensitive here to one expression—“Don’t be too quick to judge a book by its cover.” Sometimes, what starts out to be an interview for one position ends up for a better opportunity due to the performance of the candidate and the desire of the company to get that individual into their organization.
If you’ve invested the time, finish the game and never fool yourself into thinking you’ve got it in the bag. Every step, every interview, especially the ever popular “courtesy” interview, is a test and demands your absolute best performance. Prepare yourself every step of the way as if it’s the first interview. Allow them to get to know you and have the confidence in yourself that they will see the best of you and that you will know enough about them to make a decision that will change your very life.
Yes, it is a two-way street, but stockholders, legal issues, and individual agendas take priority over every candidate initially. Realizing this is a step towards increasing your ability to get to the Super Bowl and learning how to work within it will almost guarantee you play there one day.
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