3D Juggling 532: What They Don’t Tell You

Claire writes: 'It must be the season for job applications because we have been doing plenty of interview coaching lately. You may have seen the article in last week’s Church Times about just one of the courses we ran this month.

By the time you get to interview, all the candidates will meet the person profile, more or less.  The job of the application form/ CV is to give enough evidence of how you meet the job spec, why you want to work for them and why they want to appoint you – so that you get on the short list.  I am looking over a form this morning which gives great data about ‘why I would like to do a job like that in any organisation’ but fails to address the question – why I want THIS job with YOU.

What the interviewers want to know on the day is whether their hunch that you fit the profile is correct and then what else you bring? What will you bring to the role that the other candidates don’t?  You need to know your added value and to be able to clearly communicate it – even if – or especially when – you are an internal candidate.  What’s your added value? Think about it...'

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Top Interview Tips

1 Give evidence
2 Give evidence
3 Give evidence

Eg This is how I do that. Here is an example and this was the outcome...

Evidence means there is no spin.  And it can be easier to talk about something that has happened than simply to talk about yourself.  Being interviewed well has no spin.  But it means that the interviewers will know why you are the right person to appoint.  Or why not!

You only get one chance at an interview.  Talk to us about interview coaching if you would value some good preparation.   

3D Juggling 483: The Hand of Clod

Jane writes: 'Whether you love football, hate it or just don't care about it, you must have heard about England's performance at the World Cup last week. Robert Green became the most talked about footballer in England - for all the wrong reasons. He made what has been described as a ‘calamitous’ error in the 40th minute of the World Cup match that left England to settle for a 1-1 draw with the USA.
 
Have you noticed how easy it is to focus on the negative?  I see this happening all the time in organisations, and it often happens in families as well. How often do you hear people saying things like ‘he made a real mess of that’, or ‘they tried this before and it didn't work’?  How differently might people feel if they heard statements like ‘that didn't go well but he had a really good idea there, and with a bit of help would be able to develop a powerful message’, or ‘we tried doing this before and it didn't work, how can we make it work this time?’

The most helpful quote I read in response to Robert's calamity was from Sandra Wheatley, a psychologist. She said ‘There is a big difference between those of us who succeed in life and those of us who don't. Those who thrive are good at coming to terms with failure and changing their behaviour.’
When we acknowledge mistakes and failures we acknowledge that we are human, and not perfect. When we focus on the future, and how we can change our behaviour so that we get different results, we feel better about ourselves and the world we live in.

This is worth remembering when you attend a job interview. Wouldn't it be useful to your prospective employer to know that you can cope with mistakes because they hear you describe how you recovered, what you learned and how you are applying this learning to new situations? This tells the story about someone who is honest, understands the impact of their behaviour, and is continually improving their performance.

Robert shouldn't feel too despondent.  Brand experts have said that his future could be bright if he follows in the path of Gareth Southgate, Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce by capitalising on his misfortune. They all missed crucial penalty goals in international tournament clashes and appeared together in a Pizza Hut advert where Southgate takes a bite of his pizza while hiding under a paper bag with holes cut out for the eyes. Anyone who has experienced a Career Makeover with will recognise this as an excellent example of recognising core skills and developing new options around them!

Who can you help to come to terms with failure and change their behaviour? How can we help you to help them?'

Love this? If you need some help in your organisation to help people bring about behavioural change, come out for a cup of coffee with us to talk about how we can help you.  We'll pay!

Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/


© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely.  Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

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3D Juggling 481: My secret celebrity obsession

Su writes: I am secretly celebrity obsessed. I love it: the scandal, the outrage, the excitement. I google and find out the dirt. I am a mine of useless information about Cheryl/ Brangelina/ past and present members of Take That. Love it, love it, love it!!!

There. I’ve said it now.

You’ve made a decision about me on the basis of that statement:
1. You secretly understand and share this . You feel slightly better disposed toward me.
2. You can’t understand: this celebrity-obsessed culture is harmful and wrong. What a waste of time and energy. I must be a waste of time and energy.
3. You don’t really care either way.

When you write a CV, think about what the recipient needs to know. Do they need to know everything about you, including your celebrity-obsession, your fox-hunting hobby or the football team you support? There is a chance that this will make the recipient less well-disposed to you. However objective the short-lister or interviewer tries to be, there are some things that will rankle with them. As a result, they subconsciously start looking for more evidence to support why you aren’t right for the job.

Do they really need to know that you are interested in cooking, socialising and team sports? Is this really going to get you the job? You might assume this says good things about you – but does it tell the shortlister or interviewer anything that aids their decision on why you are right for this job? If their last Data Controller/ IT Specialist was a fly-half that had to take three months off work with a back injury they may well be less willing to give you a go. In your head, socialising means dinner parties with friends: in the future employer’s head it’s binge drinking every weekend.

Traditionally, CVs had a heading called “Hobbies and Interests”. Look at your CV. Consider removing it and instead including more evidence about your effectiveness at work. Help the future employer by giving them useful evidence on why they should offer you a job rather than appealing to their personal bias."

Love this? If you need some help in your organisation for people looking for new roles, come out for a cup of coffee with us to talk about how we can help you. We'll pay!

Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/


© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

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3D Juggling 478 Finding the right story

Jane writes: "Imagine that you’ve done all the hard work needed to present a winning job application, and you’re getting ready for that all important interview. What are you thinking about? Maybe what to wear, how to get there on time, what they might ask, and what your answers could be.

Maybe you could think about the stories you will tell. Not lies, or exaggerated truths, but stories about real things you have done. When we talk about things that have meaning for us and that we own we are authentic, and this is visible to others. And as it will be the real you that goes to work for them, it makes sense to offer this to them from the start. When you offer them something else, maybe what you think they are looking for, you may end up in a job that you can’t do or a place where you don’t fit very comfortably, and either of these things can make you unhappy, or even ill.

So, how do you find your stories?

Start by looking at the information you have about the job – the job description, person specification, competency framework. Look at what you have found out about the organisation – its values, activities, contribution. What do these tell you that they are looking for? Make a list of the five or six most critical things you find. If you’re not sure what these are ask someone else to help you to identify them, or put all the information to one side and listen to yourself – you probably know.

Then ask yourself ‘What is my best evidence for each of these?’ The answers will be your stories, the things you have done that demonstrate that you have the skills and experience that they are looking for.

One of my clients identified that her interviewers would be looking for evidence that she could deal with conflict. At first she didn’t think she had a story, so we explored what conflict might look like and times when she had witnessed or experienced something that looked like this and done something about it. Start your story with a brief description of the situation. What was happening?

Then we explored what she could have done in that situation – her options. The next step was to describe what she actually did – the action she took. We followed this up by clarifying what happened next, and what the final outcome was. And that provides the structure for your stories: situation, options, action, response and result. And use lots of ‘I’, not ‘we’. This will happen comfortably when you are telling your own story.

Through this approach my client found a powerful story that she hadn’t realised she had. You may need to find several stories before you’re happy that you have one that is relevant, safe and powerful for each critical thing the interviewer may be looking for. Choose your best one for each, then practice telling them until you can tell each one with confidence in a few minutes. You don’t want to tell stories so long that the interviewer falls asleep.

And don’t forget that a job interview works both ways – you are assessing them as well. What are you going to ask them?

We’d be happy to help you find your stories, and your questions."


Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who has an interview coming up.

Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/


© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

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