Present a Plan in Second-Round Job Interviews

Present a Plan in Second-Round Job InterviewsPresent a Plan in Second-Round Job InterviewsWhat will impress them enough to use your job interview as the new standard?As I coach candidates on job search and interview tactics globally, I admit that there is a bit of a science to nailing the second-round interview. If you have the proper formula, you may be the only candidate to make a lasting impression that the company will leid soon forgetChances are good that if youre being invited back for a second round of interviews, then youve made a good initial impression and have something that they want. That said, besides charisma and all of the right answers to their questions, what will you bring to the interview that will impress them enough to use your interview as the standard against which to grade all other candidates?Answer Your 60/90-Day Strategic Plan.During your first interview, you probably heard all about the pain points that are driving the hiring manager crazy. This includes project deadlines, technology initiatives, budgets, client visits (if youre in sales), revenue goals and so on. Additionally, you may have noticed that they never seem to have enough people on staffIf youve asked the right questions in your first round of interviews, and you are truly excited about this tauglichkeit opportunity, then you should have a pretty good idea as to what you will need to do to be successful in this role. You should be able to identify at least a 60/90-day strategic plan, based upon your knowledge of the role as it is today.If used carefully and properly, your strategic plan can be The Difference Maker for you in your second round of the interview process.There are three primary factors that will demonstrate your value proposition and could, ultimately, drive your success in a new, potential roleHave a vision/overview of the jobEstablish trust with clients and colleaguesBeing ready to identify and platzset goals and objectivesLets go into each of these in dep th.Vision/OverviewBased upon what you have heard in the interview, you should know the vision/overview of the department or company. What impact will you make within your first 60/90 days that can be tied back to the company reaching its goals?Consider the following when drafting your planKnow the Product Establish a working knowledge of products or services to create long-term value in your employment.Be Credible Become a leader among your peers by spearheading initiatives, collaborating with the leadership team or presenting new ideas to your department.Establishing Trust with Clients and ColleaguesEstablishing trust is essential for success in any role. What will you do to establish a high degree of trust within your piece of the company or amongst your peers?Consider the following when drafting your planMake Introductions- Meet with key stakeholders in the company or department. This is beneficial on all fronts. It offers an opportunity for you to demonstrate your skills, but also allows you to get their perspectives on the company and projects.Share Expectations Understand the leadership teams expectations. This is paramount to your success. Investigate revenue objectives, if possible, to set your partal goals. Think about setting best practices that may be beneficial to the company and your role. This will include understanding client needs and identifying what may have been learned from any mistakes along the way.Create Buy-In and Set Priorities Identify how you will partner with the leadership team to create attainable goals for success. Fully understand the company mission statement and be able to share it with others. This represents a degree of commitment and clarity on the corporate goals.Goals and ObjectivesSetting goals and objectives is simply good business practice. You need to fully understand your new role in order to be successful, and you must approach it as a business. In doing so, its critical that you identify your personal goals and objectives for success in this new capacity.Consider the following when drafting your planDetermine the Objectives Educate yourself daily on a new aspect of the company, the expectations or the job. Establish product expertise within the first 30 days of employment. Build cross-departmental relationships with departments that are responsible for supporting your success.Shape a Methodology Identify the steps that you will take to accomplish your objectives. For every objective that is listed, you should have a supporting methodology for the accomplishment.Reflect on Success Identify how you will evaluate or measure the success of your contributions.Setting yourself apart from the rest of the candidates is mission critical to having a lasting impact on the person or team that is interviewing you.No doubt, youve heard the phrase raise the bar. My perspective is that the candidate before and after you can raise the bar all they want. By entering into the second round interview prepa red with a 60/90-Day Strategic Plan, you are sure to launch yourself over any bar that is set before you

4 Ways to Manage Conflict in the Office

4 Ways to Manage Conflict in the Office4 Ways to Manage Conflict in the OfficeGuidelines on how to resolve conflict when youre the new guy in the office.Congratulations are in order You got yourself a wonderful new job Youve completed your on-boarding, have a good feel for whats needed and an even better feel for whats expected of you. Whats mora, you are already exerting a positive influence.But wait. Conflict and drama alert.Examples of conflict rearing its head early in a job includeSomeone just said something, and you find yourself rolling your eyes in aggravation and impatience.You just said something, and someone got surprisingly argumentative and demeaning.Someone else spoke, and several others shut down and started drifting away.Having witnessed this all before, you too, are starting to think about giving up and going home.Itd be okay if this were a one-time occurrence. But its not - its happening increasingly. And you see how its affecting you Your brains gone numb. Your mo od has soured. Youve stopped reaching out to brainstorm and collaborate. Youre guarded and on edge, less engaged, more inflexible. None of this is good.You must figure out how to deal with all of this. Its time - as Craig E. Runde and Tim A. Flanagan, authors of Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader, say - for you to become more personally competent in dealing with all of this conflict.Conflict like this can make or break a career. Thats why I decided to get certified and provide advice on how to react in these situations. (Note The information here is used with permission from The Center for Conflict Dynamics.)How to be conflict competentTo become more conflict competent, you need a real grasp of the following three factors1. Constructive responsesBehaviors that keep conflict to a minimum2. Destructive responsesBehaviors that escalate, or prolong conflict3. Hot buttonsThose irritations and annoyances that provoke you into conflict and trigger you into reacting in conflict incompet ent waysThe Conflict Dynamics Profile, an assessment that specifically deals with conflict behaviors in the workplace, illustratesConstructive responses are task focused, while destructive ones focus on personalities. And all conflict begins with a precipitating event, frequently in which a participants hot buttons are pushed.It happens in an instant. Someone says or does something - intentionally or otherwise - that, as Runde and Flanagan say, causes us to believe that their interests, goals, principles or feelings are incompatible with, and threatening to, our own.More viscerally, were flooded with emotions anger, fear and frustration. ur fight/flight instinct kicks in with an immediacy and intensity that quickly overwhelms. Were out of our game, wanting to lash out, or go run and hide or both. In other words, weve been triggered.Its important to realize that becoming more conflict competent is an iterative process. Youll do well for a while, and then you wont youll start impro ving again, and then youll slip. The following haikus really say it allI got a new job / The people are really great / Except when theyre not.I cannot change them/ I can only change myself / so I must now change.Adrenaline rush / Undeniable tension / I have been triggered.Hot buttons cooling / Triggers all under control / Except when theyre not.So, to decrease the impact of your missteps, take the following advice to heart1. Make a U-turn.If you get triggered into taking a conversation somewhere you didnt intend to go, stop, turn around and go in a different direction. Sometimes even a GPS knows that the best move is to make a U-turn when possible.2. Apologize as soon as you say it.If you get triggered into saying something you regret, apologize right then and there. A well-timed, well-intentioned apology is not a sign of weakness - its a sign of respect, regard, clarity and executive civility.3. Pause.As soon as you realize youve been triggered, pause and before saying another wor d, let your adrenaline surge and silently dissipate. Soothe with a benign smile.4. Anticipate and reward.If you know youre going to be in a stressful, trigger-happy environment, do something decidedly pleasing for yourself beforehand, as were naturally more composed and trigger-resistant when were fully rested and recharged.With practice and persistence, it will become easier to stay poised in the moment and not let your hot buttons control you.From there, you can start focusing on how best to maximize your constructive responses to conflict while further minimizing the destructive ones.

Want More Job Interviews Think Like a Hiring Manager

Want More Job Interviews Think Like a Hiring ManagerWant More Job Interviews Think Like a Hiring Manager8Want more job interviews? Think like a hiring manager.Here are three issues that your job application should answer in order to get in good with the hiring manager- and get hired.Why You Want a Job at THIS CompanyYouve been trying to change careers for so long that youll take any position that gets offered to you. You definitely dont want your desperation to come across in your job application, though. Nor do you want to say that you want the job solely for its workplace flexibility. What you do want to stress is why you want this one particular job. Maybe its because you admire the companys humanitarian efforts. Or you love what the company stands for and have been a longtime admirer. A recruiter wants to know that you have a connection to the company that goes beyond a potential paycheck, medical benefits, and two weeks vacation. Establishing what the company means to you in you r cover letter shows a potential boss that you are serious about working for them and would probably want to be a long-term hire.Whats in It for Them Sure, you have the determination to make this job work for you. But so do many other candidates (an average of 180+ per job opening). Recruiters want to know, fremdartig from hiring you to fill a position, what else youll potentially bring to the table. Thats why its important for you to explain how all of your collective experiences, regardless of your previous career fields, can help solve a problem that the company is facing. Maybe your superior social media skills can help transform the company from a brick-and-mortar business to an online sensation So take a little time to research the company to assess where its strengths and weaknesses lie, and be bold about asserting how you can help solve some of its problems.How Youll Fit InIn addition to your accomplishments and accolades, a prospective boss is going to want to make sure tha t youll fit in with the companys style or culture. Since every business has one, you should read up to see what the companys culture is before hitting send on your job application. You might even be able to get a sense of the culture from just the job posting- if they use words like self-starter, youll need to be a person who can come up with ideas and manage yourself with minimal input. Or if the term high-energy is used, youll need to make sure that your job application exudes a positive attitude. You can also visit the companys website to get a stronger feel for what the recruiter might be looking for in terms of your personality type.When crafting your next job application, make sure that your cover letter covers these three topics that recruiters are looking for by trying to think like a hiring manager. That way, you can speed up your job search and find a position that will be a perfect matchLooking to change careers? Start your job search here