Why didn't I make it past the interview?

As business leaders climb up the corporate ladder, job switches typically reduce (though some still keep striving to be exceptions to this rule) and they are usually lulled by the fact that they don't need to seek out opportunities, but are usually head-hunted by companies or recruiters.

Some have this notion that they do not have to go through any formal interviews, instead there are only conversations with the key people in the hiring company.

While it is true that these hiring interactions with the company officials tend to be conversational, it is these 'conversations' that finally decide the fate of the person in terms of getting that juicy job or being politely told by the search consultant that the 'client was very impressed, but they felt that the profile didn't match the role'!

And in most cases the other person who landed the job might not have been far better suited for that role than you were, but her 'conversations' went far better than yours did. And I personally believe that it finally boils down to how better prepared you were for the interview in the form of a casual conversation or discussion.

And here are a few pointers for you to be better prepared for your next interview. (This holds equally true for the initial round of discussions with the search consultant the company has retained.)

1. First impressions matter (I know that sounds cliched)! Exude energy, confidence and let your clarity of thought come through in your interactions.

2. In many cases, you will be dealing with a search consultant initially before finally meeting the client. Many senior executives feel miffed at having to deal with a consultant. But you have to remember that the client has retained this person to identify & short-list the possible candidates for this role. It makes sense to treat this part of the process with the same level of seriousness as you would the interactions with the company officials.
Remember, if you are the right person for the role, the search consultant wants to get selected as much as they want to do the right thing for the client. Give the consultant the relevant information they are seeking to help them establish your fit for the role.

3. Some consultants will do a very superficial assessment, but some others will be very detailed. And going through a detailed process with the consultant will actually prepare you for the interaction with the company officials.
For each competency/ strength, be ready with specific examples and with as much quantifiable detail as possible including names, initial revenues, ending revenues, budget, savings, number of people on the project, length of time, etc.

4. Probe the consultant and the company officials for the success factors of the role they are trying to fill. Try get a clear rounded picture of the person they are looking for.
Control the flow of the conversation such that you are able to present the relevant information (your competencies and the evidence) based on this information which super-imposes you into the role in their minds.

5. In all your interactions during the process (and sometimes the process can be fairly elaborate with as many as 5-6 interviews spread over 3-6 months!) be genuine. Don't try to come across as someone you are not because you would end up in a job which you will not enjoy doing! Attitude is everything, but it has to be the right attitude and it has to be 'your' attitude!

6. Questions will be asked. There will be probing. And sometimes you might not even realise it. But when you are asked for information answer as succinctly as possible. You can always elaborate if you have the opportunity after that. Don't over-sell; be enthusiastic, yet measured. Never be overly casual or flippant, even if the people you are meeting come across as being very casual and friendly!

(I regularly come across people who, when asked a question, will be expansive and meander, and at the end of the narrative I am still none the wiser!)

7. And finally, remember the first point about 'first impressions'? That also includes personal grooming and appropriate dressing. And turning up on time!

(More on this in a later post.)

All the best for your next round of 'conversations'! :)

Social media for the beginner CXO

In the recent past, most magazines (online & offline), blogs, portals have been highlighting the importance of social media for companies as well as professionals, with some of them dedicated to CXOs.

But a quick survey of social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter (we'll keep FB out of the picture on the simple principle that most of us are not interested in social presence to be 'Liked' by scores of followers!) shows us that most of the CXOs of the top Indian corporates (with the few exceptions like @anandmahindra) do not have active Twitter handles or LinkedIn profiles. Interestingly, many of the companies themselves are present on these platforms. The companies whose heads have active social media profiles are largely online, web-based businesses.

So is an active profile on these social media sites over-rated and superfluous? Not at all! I personally believe that over the next 5 years most CXOs will be 'socially' active. Most of the 'one and two downs' today are already active online and these are the CXOs of tomorrow.

So if you are not there yet, how do you go about it? And how active should one be? And where?
Let me try address some of these questions here.

- As a first step, set up your LinkedIn profile. Keep it as updated and complete as possible. Link it with your official/ regularly used email id so that you can actively respond to connection requests. Connect with your peers and other relevant people in your industry and related industries.

- Set up your Twitter handle even if you don't have time to tweet regularly. This prevents someone else squatting on your Twitter handle. And here too, follow the relevant people and companies. (And a place like Twitter also allows you to keep abreast of your industry and market news.)

- You don't need to keep people updated about that dinner you had with your prospective client. But make it a point to respond to people who reach out to you. Try contribute to discussions around your areas of interest.

- Be clear about your objective on the social media platforms. Is it building your brand/ equity? Is it positioning yourself as a subject matter expert? Is it to stay abreast of key developments in your industry and areas of interest?

- Whatever be your objective, do not expect immediate results. You have to stay connected, contribute and build your credibility over time.

- Your credibility & brand on social media is also that can as easily be destroyed as it can be built up. You have to measure your words & opinions before putting them out there. You can be dead sure that anything controversial or scandalous will spread faster than wild fire!

- Never make the mistake of assuming that your personal tweets/ status updates/ comments will be strait-jacketed and will not be seen/heard by the people who you interact with online professionally. The lines are very blurred and if you do not want people to get details of your 'wild' side, then its best to steer clear from it altogether! (One way around this is to maintain completely separate online identities.)

- A word of caution here! Social media interactions can be fairly addictive and you can very easily over-indulge.

- Social media interactions cannot be outsourced. Asking your EA to update your status to 'Feeling centred while watching the sunrise at Ananda' isn't going to work! :)

- And the most important aspect to remember is that social media is not free! It takes up your most valuable resource - time. So you have to tread this landscape very judiciously!

So here's to oodles of social capital for you. See you online soon! :)

Resumes still matter!

Resumes still matter!

I've been in the search industry for only a year, but I would already have received and gone through a few hundred resumes till date. And given the industry I am in, I receive resumes of some very seasoned executives from a wide gamut of companies.

But there are only a handful of resumes which stand out and catch my attention! And I am quite certain that it would be the same for the hiring managers and executives who are reviewing these candidates for various roles.

I have listed out a few pointers which could help you make your resume 'stand out' and get noticed. (These are ideas based on my own observations as well as suggestions I have borrowed from other experienced fellow professionals.)

1. First impressions count. Format it well. Keep it clean, elegant & professional. Ask a friend to help if you are not good at formatting yourself. (Send your resume as a PDF document and not as a Word document. This ensures that the recipient sees your resume the way you intended.)

2. Spell-check. Nothing is a bigger turn-off than spelling mistakes in your resume. Sounds obvious doesn't it? But it still amazes me how people send me resumes with spelling mistakes in them! And I don't mean the 'rogue apostrophes' which slip through the spell-check. Get 2-3 people to go through your resume and help identify such problems.

3. Customise. If you have enough information about the role then make the resume read like a 'sales proposal' where you are addressing the specific requirements listed by the company.
- Prioritise your skill-sets based on the company and the role
- List your experience based on the relevance and not necessarily by chronology

4. Remember that most people looking at your resume don't have time to read everything you are saying. So what do you do?
- List accomplishments & not responsibilities
- Knock off the objective and hobbies and references, unless they are relevant to the role
- Don't use long sentences or paragraphs. Bullet points work best.
- Keep your resume to 2-3 pages max. Anything more than that, people will only be searching for information they want to see and you stand the risk of their missing out something important.

5. Avoid hyperbole and buzz-words! Instead provide facts & examples of what you have achieved. Its so much more credible to know you are a problem-solver when you give an example than stating that you are one!

6. Nobody is interested in you! The people who are hiring you are interested in themselves and what you can do for them and the company. Let your resume communicate how you are not only relevant, but someone they should definitely be talking to! And communicate this in the first half page of your resume.

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One of the biggest mistakes people make is to pick up the 'perfect' resumes from various online resources and then just fill in some data. It sticks out like a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'!

Before writing your resume, start with a blank sheet (or a new document on your laptop) and list out what are the 3 key marketable skills that you would like highlight to the company. And then have a list of examples, successes, awards, etc. which help establish these skills.

And then make sure these come through clearly in your resume.