[Jobs] Learn what damage you do in interviews

[Leslie Fitzpatrick]

thanks Antonio.

Les Fitzpatrick


-----Original Message-----
From: jobs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:jobs-bounces at nfbnet.org]On Behalf
Of ANTONIO GUIMARAES
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 8:32 PM
To: Jobs (E-mail)
Subject: [Jobs] Learn what damage you do in interviews


To Win an Offer, Learn What
Damage You Do in Interviews

By Joann S. Lublin

From
The Wall Street Journal Online

William Olson has switched employers seven times in 25 years, usually
because a search firm pursued him. His success stems in part from his
refusal to cooperate
unless the recruiter promises to give him frank feedback about his
performance during interviews.

He became a regional manager at Guinness Brewing North America, for example,
after a recruiter recommended he tone down his aggressive manner. He rose to
the top post there five years later. "With good feedback, you can adapt
during the recruitment process," says Mr. Olson, now president and chief
executive
officer of MRINetwork, a Philadelphia search firm.

That's one way to solve a persistent problem. Most job seekers never
recognize the shortcomings that kept them from a job -- and so go on to
repeat them.
The fix: Persuade key players that you will all benefit from an honest
reaction.

Lacking a strong rapport with a recruiter, you may never learn about
mistakes made. "It's not my job to tell candidates why they didn't get the
job," especially
if they were a poor fit, treated the receptionist rudely or looked
disheveled, says Dora Vell, managing partner of Vell & Associates, a
high-tech search
boutique in Waltham, Mass.

Yet sometimes, Ms. Vell does help contenders who help her. She recalls one
IBM general manager who lost his bid to run a division of a major
business-services
company last summer. He talked excessively about his lengthy finance
experience during the job interviews. "He spoke like a CFO," she says.

When the manager met Ms. Vell for coffee months later, he casually inquired
about his failed candidacy. She divulged his blunder because he had opened
doors
for other Vell clients keen to do business with IBM. "I would definitely
present him again for a general manager's position," she says.

Try to solicit criticism from recruiters without sounding defensive. "Some
of my best clients are former candidates I have coached through more than
one
search" because they showed willingness to hear constructive feedback,
reports Jordan Hadelman, chairman and CEO of Witt/Kieffer, an Oak Brook,
Ill., firm
specializing in health-care hunts.

Well-prepared, neutral questions "can distill out a pretty accurate picture"
after a turndown, says Gary Ambrosino, chief executive of Sensicast Systems.
The Needham, Mass., manufacturer represents his ninth start-up. He suggests
asking a recruiter, "Was there anything that made me less competitive?"
Another
nonthreatening query: "Tell me about the person who got the job."

However, outside recruiters don't always know the real reason that employers
reject prospects. And hiring managers rarely cooperate. "They are too busy,"
a 52-year-old merchandising director frets. Though she has interviewed with
nine companies since her August layoff, only one hiring manager provided
feedback.

When you request a hiring manager's reaction, emphasize your continued
interest in working there. The best time "is at the end of your interview,"
advises
Jeff Kaye, CEO of recruiters Kaye/Bassman International in Plano, Texas.
"You may reignite interest in a dead deal." He has hired people he initially
rejected
because they dug hard to understand why or pledged to fix deficiencies he
cited -- such as repeating "you know" 64 times within 15 minutes.

A Kaye/Bassman managing partner interviewed dot-com business manager Andrea
Chamberlain last spring for a recruiter's spot. As their session concluded,
he told the curious applicant that she was unqualified.

She reiterated her strengths. "I may not have the recruiting experience
you're looking for," Ms. Chamberlain remembers saying. "But I have the
energy, I'm
motivated and I want to work for your company."

Kaye/Bassman subsequently invited her to interview with a different managing
partner. He hired her the day they met.

You might find other ways to learn why you didn't get picked. Mr. Ambrosino
says his most accurate assessments of his turndowns have come from board
members
and investors he already knows.

With knowledge comes the power to repair correctable flaws. A Dallas
high-tech executive unsuccessfully sought to become chief operating officer
of a small
concern in late 2005. The outside recruiter informed him that he had acted a
little nervous and lacked skills needed to take a company public. The
executive
quickly changed tactics, and got a job offer elsewhere.

"Simply being told that you presented as 'nervous' or 'weak' doesn't provide
any concrete, usable feedback," remarks Donna Schwarz, a partner at
ImpactCommunicationExecutive,
a New York communication-coaching firm. She suggests a good coach could help
polish your inadequate interviewing skills through techniques tailored to
your personality.

Can't afford a coach? Conduct mock job interviews with friends. "Or, listen
to your enemies," Ms. Vell proposes. "Maybe they have a point. Hear what you
don't want to hear."

Email your comments to
joann.lublin at wsj.com.

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