Tag: interviewing

An interview is two-way

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Your next boss is going to be disproportionately more important than your next role, your next company, your next sector. So, when the time comes for you to ask questions, be ready to interview them. A few ideas.

Tell me about the last time you changed your mind.

What would you do if a colleague and I disagree on how to move a project forward?

What were you doing at my age / at my level of seniority?

Tell me about the last organizational change you managed and what did you do?

What of my background do you find most interesting?

What is the number 1 problem you are trying to fix these days?

How would you react if I’d told you that I want to invest part of my working time for personal development?

I understand, it is challenging to get yourself to ask those questions. That’s because we have been told that during an interview, we ought to do anything to land the job. And that includes being nice and pleasant. And that does not include asking questions that might make the hiring manager uncomfortable.

But if they are uncomfortable with that, isn’t that a sign already? Does it not tell us they will be hiding when the time comes for them to support us? Or to tell us we are not doing a good job? Or to find a better role for ourselves, so that we could thrive in the company?

Interviews are always two-way. You can get better at extracting the information you need out of them.

On the periphery

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What if you are not it?

What if you are not the best choice for that role you so much want?

What if you are not the outstanding writer you have worked so hard to become?

What if you are not the father of the year?

What if you are not the person that will lead the company out of the crisis?

What if you are not the one who has a solution for every problem?

We rarely plan for failure, but at some point, we ought to consider the possibility that we are simply not it. Perhaps, we are not the main character, after all. What happens when we realize that?

There are still a lot of things we can be. We can be the guide, the supporting role, the cameo, or the director. We can still play a part and also decide that, after all, it is not the movie we want to be part of.

A narrow approach will limit our peripheral view.

And there’s so much more out there that’s waiting to be appreciated.

Three sources

Fabrizio1 Comment

In any role, there are three sources of motivation.

First is what the company you work for values. This is not about the principles you read on the website, but what happens at the company at certain critical times. Is it an environment where people generally care about each other? Is there a lot of control, processes, red tape? What happens when somebody disagrees or fails? Who gets promoted?

Second is the relationships you have. Both with your peers and with your managers. When the first source fails, this becomes incredibly powerful. How often do you hear from them? Do you know them on a personal level? Do you have supporting people around you, and do you have people you feel like giving your support to? What happens when somebody leaves?

Third is the work you do. When the first two fail, this is all you have left. How do you feel about the tasks you are being assigned? Are you proud of what you do? Are you learning something new? Would you do this somewhere else? Can you?

The most important question: where do you get your motivation from right now?

Unique personality

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In whatever you do that matters to you, make sure to put a touch of your own unique personality.

When you apply for a job, when you write a blog post, when you deliver a speech, when you interact with others, when you are in a meeting, when you are bringing your boss up to speed, when you are out with your kids or talk to your parents. In every single situation there are many rules that have but one job: to make things predictable and dull.

Rules are important, and you should follow them. Few people are happy when all of their expectations are disregarded.

But remember to add a touch of your own unique personality. Few people are happy when all they see around is predictable and dull.

It is a difficult balance to strike. Just don’t forget who you are and what you stand for.

Legendary

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You can’t start with great.

You might start with average, decent, ok. Or more often, you will start with poor, näive, ineffectual.

And that’s where you will have to continue from. One step after the next. From horrible to passable, from decent to respectable, from good to fantastic.

You can’t start with great.

You can, though, end with legendary.