There is an abundance of advice for executive job seekers these days that is driven in part by the large numbers of people in the hunt for new positions. The value of this advice is in the eye of the beholder. As one of those "beholders," and a veteran executive recruiter, I have some insights and opinions as to what works and does not work for me in interview situations. One technique being touted lately involves urging candidates to come to the interview with a "90-day plan" that would be implemented if they were to be hired. Proponents of this approach acknowledge that a candidate has to stretch a bit due to a lack of information. Yet, somehow, this is deemed appropriate. I place this question in the same vein as the ubiquitous "Tell me about yourself."
There is another school of thought in the art of interviewing that goes by such names as behavior-based interviewing, targeted selection, etc. This school of thought is based on the premise that one's past behavior and actions are the best indicators of future behaviors and actions. One cardinal rule in this approach is that the interviewer is never to ask a candidate what he or she would do in a given situation. Those types of answers can be rehearsed in such a way as to give the "school solution" to the question.
There are several ways to ask a behavior based question. The scenario goes something like this: "Tell me about a time when you were faced with ___circumstances requiring you to act. What was the situation? What did you do to solve the problem? What was the outcome? (And my favorite and most enlightening addition...) What did you learn from the experience? It is easy to see that the trendy prospective, ill-informed 90-day action plan question can be turned instead to a request to hear about a past example of what a candidate did in the first 90 days with a previous employer.(and follow the above flow of follow-on questions). Interviewers will learn much more about the viability of the candidates being interviewed if they take this historical approach.
I learned early in my career as an executive recruiter that a powerful tool to give to my client is a questionnaire that the candidate completes on-line that addresses several required competencies and experiences. Most questions are asked from this historical perspective. My clients' testimonials attest to the value of this questionnaire. Whether asked these questions in person, via a questionnaire, or both, there is much value to be gained from this historical, experiential approach.
If you are unfortunate to be asked this "What would you do in the first 90 days?" question in a future interview, turn the question around and instead share what you have done in the past to ensure that you made the most out of your first three months in a previous job. Use the flow outlined above and also share what you learned from the experience.
That said, there are ways you can give thought to your first 90 days that are prospective versus retrospective. In my new book, Before Onboarding: How to Integrate New Leaders for Quick and Sustained Results, I provide a framework for action in the first 90 days. There are other books that are more self-directed. Two that come to mind are The First 90 Days, by Michael Watkins, and The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan, by Bradt, Check and Pedraza. None of these three books suggests the appropriateness of a hypothetical action plan. Be prepared to tell what you have done versus what you would do. Smart employers will appreciate self-reflective responses and be able to project your past into a future that could involve them. Executive recruiters will too.
No comments:
Post a Comment