Powerful Phrases for Successful Interviews

by Tony Beshara

  INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

  Q. What makes you a good industrial engineer?

  Not only do I have a good track record of making processes more effective, more efficient, and safer, I have been really good at getting my ideas integrated into the people side of the organizations I have worked for.

  The people I’ve worked with don’t see me as an industrial engineer so much as they see me as somebody who helps make their life better by integrating my suggestions and ideas into their everyday work life.

  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

  Q. What sets you apart from the other successful IT candidates we have interviewed?

  I’m a student of my profession. I truly love what I do. When I’m not doing it, I’m thinking about it. I’m always taking extra courses and seminars to keep me up on what I love.

  INSIDE SALES

  Q. How would you describe a successful inside salesperson?

  First of all, someone with very high energy to make lots of calls. Secondly, someone bright enough to know who to call and what to say with very little direction. Thirdly, someone motivated enough to push themselves without being micro-managed.

  INSIDE SALES MANAGER

  Q. What makes a successful inside sales manager?

  Recruiting and hiring the best people available . . . training and compensating them well, but also making them feel good about what they’re doing and making them feel special . . . hitting a reasonable quota . . . letting the folks that work for me know that I have their back and push them gently and firmly.

  LEGAL ASSISTANT

  Q. How do we know you will work well under pressure?

  It seems that every firm or attorney that I’ve ever worked for saved everything to the last minute . . . the last minute before depositions, trials, even settlement negotiations. I learned that I have to accept that we are running on Mach speed all the time.

  I stay calm, take a deep breath, and don’t get emotionally distracted. I focus on the goal and write out plans to reach the goal. I seem to provide a calming tone to an intense environment.

  LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

  Q. What is the major contribution of logistics management to our business?

  The real opportunity in supply chain and logistics is to understand your trading partners and be conscious of the cost savings that the department can control. With efficiency, the logistics department becomes an integral part of maximizing the ROI.

  MACHINIST

  Q. What are the three most important traits of a good machinist?

  The first is to be dependable . . . so many people in my line of work are undependable. Second, practice a lot and rely on your experience. Third, be a student of the work and teach others when possible.

  MARKETING

  Q. What is the most significant accomplishment you have had in the last three years?

  In the last three years, I’ve managed two major marketing projects. I delivered both of them before the deadline and well under budget. Both projects led to significant revenue and profit.

  MORTGAGE BANKER

  Q. What are the most important things you’ve learned that make you a good mortgage banker?

  The best mentor I ever had told me that the difference between a good mortgage banker and an excellent mortgage banker is that the excellent one asks for and works mostly off of referrals. He or she listens to the clients, guides them, and works for them. After that it’s a numbers game . . . the more people you talk to, the better you do.

  NETWORK ENGINEER

  Q. We’ve had some problems with our networks. What can you do to make them more reliable?

  I’m a self-motivated network engineer with proven abilities and expertise in architecting, implementing, and troubleshooting a wide variety of cost-effective complex network and security solutions that really work. I take ownership of my space so you don’t have to worry about it.

  NURSE

  Q. What made you become a nurse?

  I truly love people and what I can do to help them. I’m a natural caregiver. Even before I got into the profession, I loved every one of my courses and graduated with excellent grades. Since then, I’ve worked in a number of different departments in a number of different settings, had very diverse nursing jobs, and I’ve loved every one of them.

  OPERATIONS MANAGER

  Q. Our firm is three times the size of any organization you have worked for; how do we know you can do our job?

  While it is true that I have worked in smaller firms than yours, the basic principles are the same. In checking my references, you will find that I am very careful in budget projections, supply-chain management, people management, and efficiency.

  In every place that I have ever worked, I’ve seen that things have run smoothly and economically. The size of the organization and projects are relative, but the principles of success are the same.

  PARALEGAL

  Q. Why did you choose to pursue a career in the legal field?

  I want to work in a fast-paced environment that offers me a wide range of experience and knowledge. As a paralegal, I enjoy supporting different attorneys and acting as a liaison to the clients who are usually under extreme duress.

  PHYSICAL THERAPIST

  Q. What are the biggest drawbacks to being a physical therapist or challenges that you have experienced?

  I’m naturally a caregiver and really want to help people. It gets frustrating when I teach people what to do and they don’t practice it. Being patient when that happens is probably my biggest challenge. I strive to build great rapport with people, and most of my clients really appreciate what I do for them. Sometimes I wish I could help more.

  PLANT AND PRODUCTION OPERATIONS

  Q. What’s been the most difficult challenge for you to handle?

  We had some big changes in our manufacturing process over the last two years. Rather than implement them quickly and cause widespread confusion, I instituted a program to make the changes gradually and slowly. By doing it this way, we didn’t interrupt our process of getting the products out on time, but we also kept people from being overwhelmed and therefore frustrated with change.

  PUBLIC RELATIONS

  Q. Give me an example where you turned a bad PR event into something worthwhile.

  A few years ago, one of our plants had a terrible chemical leak. The press gave a lot of attention to it . . . even the EPA got involved. Fortunately, I had established a good working relationship with all of the media. We turned it into a positive. We immediately admitted our mistake, cleaned it up, and started a foundation for the environment in our part of the state.

  QUALITY ASSURANCE

  Q. What’s been the biggest challenge of your career in quality assurance and how did you deal with it?

  When I took over the department in my last company, we were known as the “no” department because the department had stood in everyone’s way. I established standards of quality, reliability, safety, and effectiveness and communicated them to not just our department, but to all of the departments, even marketing. Now, our department is seen as an integral part of the team. We are even asked to participate in policy making in other departments.

  QUALITY CONTROL

  Q. You don’t have as much experience as we would like. Why should we hire you?

  The excellence I’ve shown throughout my career so far is what’s most important. I changed quality programs at two organizations. The quality procedures I developed became a national standard for the firm.

  RETAIL MANAGEMENT

  Q. What do you think the biggest challenge for retailers is?

  With the challenge of the Internet, retailers have to develop value-added relationships with customers. Customers have to have a great experience coming to our stores.

  SALES

  Q. What makes you a good salesperson?

  I am intrinsically motivated. I know how to work the numbers. In the last four years, I have never been less than 110 percent of quota and as much as 150 percent
of quota.

  SALES MANAGEMENT

  Q. What is the hardest part of being a sales manager?

  The first thing is to be able to choose really good, motivated people. Then teach them the process of successful sales, monitor the process, and hold them accountable.

  SOFTWARE ENGINEER

  Q. What are your strengths as a software engineer?

  I’m a fast, head-down coder who writes unbreakable, bulletproof code. I require minimal supervision, get along really well with everybody, and will meld beautifully with your team.

  SOLUTION ARCHITECT

  Q. What have been your biggest professional challenges?

  The obstacles I face include the fact that we have many departments using systems that aren’t connected, leading to data duplication and sometimes multiple versions of the “truth.” It’s not enough to keep machines and applications running; I have to make sure that critical information can move through these systems and reach the right people at the right time.

  CHAPTER 9

  Powerful Phrases for Clarifying the Job Offer and Discussing Money

  One of the biggest challenges you have in your job search is to manage unemotionally, objectively, and mindfully the process of finding a job from one step to the next step. Most people get to the “finals” and quit working the process. They think that when they reach third base, it’s just a matter of time before they reach home. This is a big mistake! You cannot afford to count on anything until you actually have an offer and a start date.

  Almost everything about a job opportunity can change between the initial search for a candidate and the final offer and acceptance. If there’s anything I’ve learned since 1973, it’s that what companies normally start out looking for in an employee from the top to the bottom of the organization—the titles they will give, the duties and responsibilities that are associated with a particular job, and, probably most important, the money they’re willing to pay for it—can change anywhere from a small amount to a drastic amount from the beginning of the job search to the filling of the position.

  I’ve experienced candidates getting starting salaries as much as $60,000 a year more than what a company originally wanted to pay. They accomplished this simply because they did not qualify themselves out of the opportunity in the initial part of the interviewing process, and they proved value to warrant a larger starting salary. Too often, candidates start qualifying opportunities before they establish their value to a prospective employer.

  Continue to sell yourself and communicate what you can do for a company right up to the point that you are the one the organization wants to hire. Then you can talk about what the company can do for you.

  QUESTIONS TO ASK AT THE TIME OF AN OFFER

  Before accepting any job offer, you must ask yourself: “Do I clearly understand everything I need know about this job?”

  Up until now, your interviewing process has pretty much been a one-way street. If you’ve sold yourself like you should have, the hiring authority wants to answer all of the questions you may have. He or she wants a win-win deal, too. Once you are told that you’re the person a company would like to hire and they want to make you an offer, it is your turn to start asking questions. Explain that you would like to have a meeting with the hiring authority and get as much clarification about all the questions you might have about the job offer. Unless the hiring authority is out of state, always have this kind of discussion face-to-face. Never do this over the phone, unless you absolutely have to.

  When you meet with the hiring authority, he or she may think that you’re ready to accept the job, or at least start talking about specifics such as title, money, and so on. You should start out using the following phrase:

  Mr. or Ms. ________________, I’m really excited about this opportunity. However, I have a number of questions about things that I would like to discuss with you. So, before we get down to the nitty-gritty, I’d like to find out . . .

  Prepare a list of questions about the opportunity that you are either unclear about or haven’t had a chance to ask before. The hiring authority will have covered or explained many of the issues that you might ask about in the interviewing process. However, now is the time to get clarification. Do not hesitate to get into as much detail as you need in your analysis of the offer. And do not hesitate to ask for an audience with anyone whom you feel can answer your questions. As much as you can, make sure you have a clear understanding of everything before you consider accepting the job.

  There should be no loose ends or unanswered questions. Sit down and write out everything you think you know about the job that you gathered in the interviewing process. Write down all the questions that are not clear to you. Then ask your questions using the phrases that follow in this chapter and take notes on the answers.

  Q. What are your professional and personal expectations of me?

  If you don’t already know, you certainly want and need to know the answer at this point. Don’t be surprised if you hear some aspects of the job that you don’t recall hearing before. Often, in the interviewing process, assumptions by both parties are made. You’ve been focused on selling yourself, but you now want to be sure you totally understand the expectations.

  Q. Can you describe the working environment here?

  The interviewing process probably gave you a really good feel for this, but you want to hear it. Pay special attention to the metaphors and analogies you will hear.

  Q. What is your management style?

  On average, you’ve probably only spent one or two hours with this person in a rather contrived atmosphere. You want to listen to make sure what you hear is consistent with what you saw or experienced. Again, listen to the metaphors.

  Q. What is the management style of your boss and the company?

  If you hear, “Well, my boss is totally different than me. He’s a real piece of work,” or, “This company is pretty tyrannical, but we operate differently in this group,” you’ll get one impression. If you hear, “It’s pretty consistent with my style,” you’ll get another impression. You just need to know.

  Q. What are your personal plans with the company?

  By throwing in some personal questions now and then, you create a conversational environment, rather than an interview environment. “We are all in this together” becomes more real when you ask about the hiring authority’s personal future.

  Q. How would you describe the philosophy of the company as well as your personal philosophy?

  You may have already gotten a picture of both of these in the interviewing process, but it doesn’t hurt to ask again to see if you get consistency. You don’t have to agree with everyone’s philosophy, but you do have to feel compatible with it

  Q. How would you describe the culture and values of the company?

  Culture can be a tricky issue. If you hear, “Well, we work hard, but we also party hard,” and you are not that kind of person, you may not fit in. If you hear, “We are here for the money, and that is all we care about,” and you’re passionate about personal growth and not concerned about money, you might want to dig deeper to see if you can live with this approach. If you are young and single and expect a social life with your coworkers and you hear, “We are very family oriented here. Most of us are grandparents. We work hard, but don’t socialize with each other outside of work,” this job may not be a source of social relationships.

  Q. How would you describe my potential peers?

  It is good to get an idea of what the boss thinks of all of the people you will be working with. Listen to the metaphors and analogies. If your potential bosses describe your potential peers as “slugs,” “lazy,” “less than competent,” or “brilliant,” “wonderful,” “great,” they will probably say the same thing about you someday soon if you take the job.

  Q. If I were to accept this offer, what can I do when I start to be most effective and contribute to alleviating your biggest problem?

  Potential employers love to hear
this kind of question. It shows that you really are concerned about what you can do for them. Therefore, when you are considering an offer, that is, what they might be able to do for you, you’re showing concern about what you can do for them. In other words, keep selling!

  Q. What is the percentage of turnover in the company?

  Don’t be surprised if your hiring authority doesn’t really know the answer to this question. The only time your hiring authority is going to know this is if turnover in the company is very high. If you find out that turnover is high by asking this question, the hiring authority will automatically explain to you why. The reason may make a big difference as to whether or not you take the job.

  Q. What is the turnover in this department?

  Again, you certainly want to find this out. If there is a great deal of turnover in the department, the hiring authority will automatically give you the reasons why. The answer to this question may or may not make a difference in your taking the job. However, you at least need to know what you’re getting into.