Wednesday, November 27, 2019

How to Interview for Leadership and Management Skills

How to Interview for Leadership and Management SkillsHow to Interview for Leadership and Management SkillsHow to Interview for Leadership and Management Skills DeZubeTheres been a lot of talk lately about a lack of management skills brought on by the exodus of the Baby Boomers from the workplace, coupled with many Millennials lack of experience andsoft skills.To help close the leadership gap, we asked professionals to share how they discern a job candidates willingness and potential to develop management and leadership skills in the interview process.Here are seven tips from the experts to identify a job seekers leadership potential1. Before you start your search, know what leadership and management look like in the organization.To spot potential leaders and managers, first define what skills and capabilities good leaders have. Without those standards, each individual making hiring decisions will apply their own beliefs, says Cheryl Pinter-Veal, head of Deloittes NextGen Leadership D evelopment Program.Deloitte has a framework to evaluate internal and external talent for effective leadership. We agreed about what were indicators of potential, what were leadership capabilities that were critical, she says. We have one agreed-upon option that is diverse, simple and straightforward.To get a step ahead of other recruiters, Deloittes NextGen program targets students as early as freshman year and looks for early signs of leadership potential. We scout in particular areas that are demonstrable their values, characteristics, the ability to lead kollektivs, and the knack to influence peers, Pinter-Veal says.2. Ask people straight up Do you want to be a manager?Not everyone enjoys being in charge. Geoff Scott, a career adviser and resume expert at ResumeCompanion, recalls a college classmate who worked in the same department of a big box retail store for nearly a decade. He welches asked mora than once to be a supervisor but shot it down each time. He simply didnt want t o be in charge of others and was happy handling his own responsibilities.During the interview process, hiring managers should directly ask job seekers if theyre interested in managing others. Being straightforward, rather than navigating the intricate results of a comprehensive personality test, can yield positive results, Scott says.3. What to do when a job seeker lacks management experience.Managing a project requires task-related and people-related skills. Leigh Steere, co-founder of Managing People Better, LLC, suggests using a persons preferences for those responsibilities to evaluate leadership potential.Steere makes a list of task-related items (creating a work breakdown structure, managing a project budget) and people-related items (meeting with team members to get input, reviewing and giving feedback on project team members deliverables). During interviews, she asks job candidates to rate how much they like doing each task on a 1-to-10 scale.If the candidates responses sugg est a strong preference for tasks over people, he or she is unlikely to find job satisfaction as a people manager, Steele says. You can adjust the question to fit experienced managers by asking, What are your favorite aspects of project management? Observe if they mention people-related or task-related items.4. Listen for We did this vs I did this.Recruiter John Malloy, president of Sanford Rose Associates, Santee, South Carolina, found out just how effective this trait can be in a recent candidate search.A global medical device supply company needed to replace a 25-year veteran material manager whose team included a dozen people who each had at least 15 years of experience. The more experienced candidates lacked the newest ideas and tools. The less experienced candidates lacked the ability to gain the respect of the experienced and competent workforce.Oneresume caught Malloys attention acandidate with a masters degree from MIT.He was asked a key interview question Tell me about th e project you are proudest of in your career. The candidate explained how his team installed a new software system at his first company and smaller projects where his team helped make things happen. He described situations that could have easily been attributed to a single person, but he came across explaining how he let his team take credit for the accomplishments, Malloy says.The lesson leaders talk about team building, rather than focusing on individual accomplishments.5. Ask interview questions that reveal character.Ben Mulling, chair emeritus of the Institute of Management Accountants and chief financial officer of TENTE Casters, Inc., a Hebron, Kentucky multinational manufacturer, recalls how ethics helped him choose an intern from a group of professionally inexperienced applicants with similar college transcripts.During the interview, he asked applicants to talk about a time they faced difficult circumstances. The student who landed the internship spoke about becoming his fra ternitys treasurer, then realizing the chapter was losing money. He ended up having to kick out brothers who didnt pay their dues, including some friends.Thats a high character person, Mulling says. He wasnt the loudest or most outspoken. In spite of pressure, he was willing to do the right thing. Its hard to mentor character, morals and values. Its something thats innate in that person. Were looking for those type of people.6. Seek out those who try hard and embrace management tasks.Mulling once hired an entry-level accounting graduate because the student sat for the Certified Management Accountantexam during his senior year, a time when some kids are coasting to the finish line.Plenty of high school grads are ambitious. Look for folks that have completed a management-in-training program or earned a technical certification, Mulling says. He checks for those who have a vision for the future that includes management or leadership.I like to ask them What do you want to do in three to five years? How do you see yourself accomplishing that? What can we do to help you get there?7. Entrepreneurs often have leadership and management skills.Central City Integrated Health, a Detroit nonprofit providing access to health care, housing and employment services, looks highly on resumes that contain entrepreneurial experience. It shows schritte and leadership potential, says Director of Development Shelly Watts.Several members of our executive leadership team have owned their own business. People who have started businesses have a wealth of connections and are quite resourceful. I joined the executive leadership team last year and was hired based on my experience starting a nonprofit fundraising consulting firm.Even failed entrepreneurs can make solid leaders. In hiring, its not whether the business did well or not, but what the applicants learned from their successes and failures, Watts says. Everyone succeeds and fails in some manner. We want to know if the applicants unde rstand how to replicate their success and avoid similar failures.Uncovering skills and character traits beyond surface attributes is the key takeaway when scouting for strong leadership. Use the interview process to evaluate the candidates character, ambitions and personal successes before choosing your next front runner. The results might surprise you.Read moreInterview Questions that Reveal a Capacity for Leadership

Saturday, November 23, 2019

How to Answer Interview Questions About Bosses

How to Answer Interview Questions About BossesHow to Answer Interview Questions About BossesMostjob interviewswill include a few inquiries about your baboes both past and future. Commoninterview questionsabout supervisors include asking you to describe the best and the worst boss youve worked for, what you expect from a supervisor, how you handle a boss whos wrong, and other questions related to relationships with your superiors. Answering Questions About Previous Bosses Above all else, no matter how much you disliked a previous boss, dont say so In fact, dont say anything negative about your bosses no matter what your experiences were. Negativity, insults, or defamatory comments about a bad boss serve as a red flag for a hiring manager who may wonder what you will say in the future if youre hired. You neednt lie about your previous supervisors. Be truthful but remain positive. Frame your answer so that you shine a light on your professionalism and the insight you developed abou t the circumstances. The same holds true for the company - if you hated working at a company, keep that information to yourself. Be Very Careful How You Respond Why is it important to be mindful of what you say? There are so many reasons to watch your tongue. For example, an old boss might actually be a friend or acquaintance of the interviewer, especially if theyre in the same industry. Or he or she may be a client or customer of your prospective company. If you burn that bridge, youll probably destroy your chance at getting the job. If youre asked about a situation with a boss you didnt like, take a breath, pause a moment, and prepare your answer in a positive, or at least neutral, manner. At this point, how you deal emotionally with these types of questions may be important. This is notlage the time to fly off the handle and get upset or go into too many details about how bad your boss was. Shoulder the Blame and Show Growth If you think about it, there are always at lea st two sides to every story. Have you had a conflict with a supervisor? Disagreements about your work? First, realize that nearly all employees have had some kind of difference of opinion with their manager, which is a normal part of a relationship, on the job or off. Thus, its totally reasonable to talk about the situation. Convey what you learned and how the problem was resolved. In fact, dissenting opinions can be positive in that they lead to brainstorming and new ideas and solutions that advance the company. Perhaps you could explain how a difference in opinion led to some sort of improvement. Heres One Approach to Taking Personal Responsibility Take a look at these examples on how to answer the question while taking on at least some of the responsibility. I didnt see eye to eye with my brde boss and that led to a breakdown in communication. However, now I realize this was also due to my lack of experience in the industry and I worried that asking questions would be per ceived as weak and indicate that I was unable to do the job. Now Ive learned to ask questions immediately if I need further explanation and that it demonstrates my initiative and dedication to getting the job done right. An answer like that frames a bad situation in a better way and shows you improved yourself as a result. While its clear you had a disagreement with your boss, you didnt cast him or her in a negative light. Interview Questions and Answers About Bosses Want mora examples? Here are sample interview questions about managers and some of the best answers. Review these questions and answers and choose those that pertain to your previous situations, tailor them to your needs and practice answering those questions. Describe your best bossDescribe your ideal bossHave you ever had difficulty working with a manager?How would your supervisor describe you?How do you handle it if the boss is wrong?If you know your supervisor is 100 percent wrong about something, how would you handle it?What was it like working with your supervisor?What do you expect from a supervisor?What is the biggest criticism you received from your boss?Who was your best boss and who was the worst?More questions about supervisors While were on the subject of bosses, its important to find the one thats right for you when youre considering a new job, especially if youve had some terrible bosses in the past. Hereshow to find and work for the best boss.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Homeless mans resume gets him job offers from Google, Netflix and LinkedIn

Homeless mans resume gets him job offers from Google, Netflix and LinkedInHomeless mans resume gets him job offers from Google, Netflix and LinkedIn On Friday, 26 year old David Casarez woke up on a park bench in Mountain View, California. He put on a nice shirt and tie, and walked to a nearby highway median.He had a hand-written cardboard sign. It read HOMELESS. HUNGRY 4 SUCCESS. TAKE A RESUME.David didnt ask people for money, he was asking for people to take his resume. A hopeless job hunting strategy? Far from it.A passerby took a photo of him holding the sign. By mid-afternoon next day, photos of David and his resume had been retweeted over 50,000 times and liked nearly 70,000 times.Whats mora, David had also received over 200 job offers.Google reached out to him. Also Pandora, Netflix and LinkedIn. Bitcoin.com asked him if he could work remotely or if he wants to relocate to Tokyo. And there were many others, big companies and small startups alike.Photo Jasmine ScofieldNot every body succeeds in Silicon ValleyDavid isnt someone youd expect to find sleeping on a park bench at night.For instance, hes got a bachelors in Management Information Systems from a good university. He also worked as a web developer at General Motors. For a brief moment, he owned a tech startup.But the startup never took off and he ran out of cash in June. At that point, hed already been living in his van for more than a year.Unfortunately, a month ago his van was repossessed. Hes been sleeping in the park since.Photo Jasmine ScofieldThe internet comes to rescueAfter taking his photo on Friday, Jasmine Scofield asked for his permission to to post his picture on Twitter. She also posted a picture of his resume.Later, she also called him by phone. We spoke for about an hour. He came to the Silicon Valley with a dream to be successful in tech and has a lot to offer the community. Hes sleeping in parks and mucksmuschenstill trying to get freelance work, interviews and applications in.Today I saw this young homeless man asking for people to take a resume rather than asking for money. If anyone in the Silicon Valley could help him out, that would be amazing. Please RT so we can help David out pic.twitter.com/ewoE3PKFx7 FullMakeup Alchemist (jaysc0) July 27, 2018Jasmine was surprised that the story received so much attention. But as it often happens on Twitter, some people accused her of having selfish reasons for posting about David.I didnt expect this overwhelming response, she later tweeted. But what I really didnt expect was people guilting me for trying to help someone in need, telling me Im ignorant, full of myself, and only in this for self promotion. I wish people could see the good in others sometimes.On the other hand, the community was quick to show more support in helping David get hired. They even started his very own hashtag - GetDavidAJob.Sometimes, the internet is completely wonderful.This story was first brought by the KRON4 news channel.Share Your Fee dback or Ideas in the Comments