The Interview

Personally, I'm not a fan of interviewing people.  Which is not necessarily a good thing since it is a solid requirement for my position.  No matter what, there is turnover - whether voluntarily or matters of circumstance.  Currently I am interviewing for a newly formed and much needed position that will greatly help a member of my team and create efficiency for the entire department – and when I say much needed, take that with every bit of urgency you can think of.

I should be elated.  I am elated.  I should be clearing my schedule for interviews and second meetings.  I am not doing that.  

But I should be.  

In my efforts to get better at interviewing (or at least like it more), I researched a bunch of articles and blogs - the things to do and say; how to act; how not to act, etc.  Some solid advice.  Others... smoke and mirrors.

Which is probably why I’m not a huge fan of interviewing.  The smoke and mirrors.  Sometimes, there is so much fluff before you get to the grit of the person and how they would fit in the role that it is EXHAUSTING.  I have also been in the following two situations:

1) Amazing interview, excellent references, glowing personality.  Could not wait until the person started.  BAIT AND SWITCH.  Everything fell apart once said person had the role; communication was terrible, expectations on status was jaw-dropping, and ease of work relationship was tempered.

2) Absolutely awful interview.  Minced sentences, said "um" every other word, couldn't explain current skills or what they were looking forward to in the new role.  Acted apathetic to the position and showed no enthusiasm for moving up.  Thank GOD this person was already working for me and I knew she was nervous.  It was the worst interview I had ever experienced but I talked my boss into giving her the job and she was brilliant.  BAIT AND SWITCH in reverse.

Rant over.  I don't like interviewing.  But in order to keep building my amazing bad ass team I must.  There you have it.  And if you want to know...here's what I look for:

·         A Clean Resume. No fancy font or weird color hipster blocking. I also don't need a resume titled "Ashley's Super-Awesome-So-You-Should-Hire-Me-Kay-Resume". Because I won't. And if you are even thinking about adding a super sexy glamour shot of yourself in the top right corner, stop thinking. Oh, and DO NOT ADD THE PHOTO.

·         If you can't understand the sentence, neither can I. I'm an intelligent woman, however, reading something like "Extremely driven multi-tasking oriented executive looking to drive ROI through various channels of expertise with satisfying outcomes and effective communication skills" makes me only see "I am full of BULLSHIT". You have skills - you are good at what you do - bullet point them and make it easy. Don't get passed over because you made someone's eyes cross reading your opening paragraph.

·         Do not go back to the end of time. I don't want to know what you were doing in 1995. Plus (secret) it gives me an idea on how old you are - which is ILLEGAL to ask in an interview - highlight your most recent experiences, it is not a biography dating back to when you worked at the roller skating rink.

·         When you get the interview: Be prepared, come with copies of your resume, research the company, and most importantly BE YOURSELF. This is the time to tell me your history and the skills you learned; where you are currently at and where you want to be. Anyone can read the duties and accomplishments you listed – go beyond that. I recently interviewed someone who is currently a store manager for a popular chain and she blew me away by explaining how she re-caps the past weeks sales, what she does to re-merch the store to highlight strong sellers and tweak slow sellers, and how weekly scheduling eight teenage employees has caused her to become an organizational guru. It was gold and I was incredibly impressed, because she helped me see past the normal routine or the basic definition of her role – she illustrated examples that allowed her to learn and gave takeaways from them in addition to explaining why she was ready for a new challenge.

So…do THAT. Be yourself.  Know what you want and the skills you have.  And refrain from adding the sexy headshot to your CRV. 

You got this.