The Interview Process, part 4 of 4.

 

So re-starts the blogging after actually going through getting hired and through week one…I’ve got lots to fill any readers in on. If you’re still around. Blogging had to take a backseat for a while with my and my wife’s job changes. More on that later.

Time to address the fourth and final interview and hiring process.

This final interview was more of a “meet and greet” from what I was told. Essentially it was with the other clinical managers who do what I would be doing everyday. I’m guessing this was to make sure I didn’t polarize any of them and they were comfortable with me.

The first thing I noticed?

Wow, I’m the only male. And 20 years everyone’s junior probably. This does not bode well for me.

The interview had a matrix as the others had but this one was different, I was allowed and encouraged to ask as many questions as I wanted to in order to get a feel for whether or not I really wanted to position.

The difficulty with this is if you really don’t know the organization that well, or don’t know the job that well you really don’t know what to ask. I had a few questions like “What does your normal day look like?” etc that were helpful more so just because I would be able to tell what kind of hours/expectations there were. I didn’t get the feeling that these other managers were crazy covered up under huge workloads because they were ALL able to take the time to talk with me without ever giving the sense of being rushed.

An important skill for any interviewer: Don’t let the interviewed know that you are rushed for time, even if you are.

After the interview I knew that the offer would be coming shortly after and I was quite nervous. I REALLY wanted this position and this opportunity to work for this great company. I had met members of the Queen, other drones and even a few bees….I wanted a place in this hive.

As you have guessed/know, I got it. They made me an offer that was within the ballpark I wanted and I gave proper notice.

At the time of my writing this I have been employed officially for two weeks and two days and so far I’m loving it.

Now comes the fun part, I get to discuss situations that come up, frustrations and accomplishments with all who read this!

I promise to update this more often now that I am more settled. Enjoy the ride with me won’t you?

The Interview Process, part 3 of 4

As someone who has opened far too many fortune cookies WITHOUT fortunes in them, that one made me laugh…

As of the last post I (a normal worker bee) was heading into an interview with two members of the Queen (executives).

One thing I failed to mention before is that through some communication I had with the company a certain member of the Queen had taken a special interest in me (The VP from last interview). This was supremely encouraging. Although I didn’t want to be (and was advised by a trusted friend not to be) a pet project, it was good to see that someone saw potential in me. That’s an awesome feeling.

So…day of the interview. I put on my (one) suit that I had and walked in to meet the Queen. I had never had an interview solely with members of the Queen before and was actually quite intimidated. Not like, nervous/twitchy intimidated…just respectfully intimidated. These were people at least 20 years my senior and knew the ropes far better than I did when it came to successful management.

The interview was probably the most difficult of any that I have had. There were two main primary reasons for this:

1. I wasn’t sure of it but I felt as if both of these two had gone over the online assessments I had taken and had essentially already come to a conclusion. Especially the male Queen . I hate not being involved personally in deciding my fate.

2. Lack of management experience. This was a glaring absence from my resume and they did not ignore it. Many of the questions I was asked were of the type, “How will you handle this as your first…”, “What will you need…”, etc.

I felt as if I handled myself well and answered the questions intelligently, concisely (remember, don’t bore the interviewers with too many details) and “correctly”. That lack of experience though…that was a tough one.

One of the interesting moments, the female Queen asked, “What will you need as you start and learn this position.” My answer? Support from above and exposure to those I’m supervising. I explained that without support from my direct supervisor, my youth and freshness to the position could be looked at as weakness by those I’m supervising. I needed a resource whom I could go to with questions and problems.  I then asked who my direct supervisor would be…She pointed across the table…I had been interviewing with my direct supervisor and listing requirements from them without even knowing they were there. Luckily he liked my answer and a laugh was had but trust me…I puckered there for a second.

Also…compensation had not yet been discussed (anyone think I should have brought it up at this point? Please comment if so…)

I left the interview somewhat confident, but unsure. Why is it that interviews can make one have such a duel view? I hate feeling like I did my best…and it may not be good enough. That’s hard to swallow for anyone in any situation…for me it only seems to show up after an interview though. Anyone else get this?

So…I get notification that there is an offer to me pending for the job. I’m blown away. I’m exasperated. I’m…heck, I’m excited.

Then I find out about interview number 4!! 4!! I’ve never interviewed more than twice and this was a four-parter. I wanted this position though so I inquired whom this one would be with and they said it was with the other Drones (mid-level management) who do the same job I will be doing.

I took this as, “We want to hire you…but we gotta make sure you get along with everyone.”….ok, I can do one more I guess.

Stay tuned…

(EDIT: My lovely wife has let me know that I incorrectly used the word “exasperated” Meh, I say it stays. Aren’t managers always talking like they know what they are doing…even if they don’t? Fitting. )

The Interview Process, part 2 of 4.

Completely unrelated but funny cartoon:

Last blog I introduced you to the first of four interviews I took part in for my first management job…yes, four.

Also, we established some code that will further be used in this blog…Senior/Upper/Executive management will be known collectively as “The Queen”…the middle management (like me ) will be known as “The Drones” and the professionals that we supervise on a daily basis will be known as “The Bees”…hopefully this analogy will hold some water as the blog goes on. If not…we’ll change it. No sense in fighting complexity with rigidity. (From: Leading with a Limp, here)

Anyway, on to the second interview:

This time I had the opportunity to speak with the same director I had interviewed with the first time, as well as the director of Human Resources and the VP of administration (Queen?/VP Drone?…hmm).

The first thing that struck me was the accommodating attitude of everyone at the table. First off, they put me at the head of the table (notice I said PUT ME, after this I naturally took the head…you may notice why later) and started firing questions my way from an established matrix of interview questions. Anyone who’s had a professional interview know the type..

“Give us an instance when you’ve had to take a leadership role and the outcome of it”

“Tell us about a time when you had to make a decision with little to no input from upper management”

“Tell us about a mistake you made and how it affected your position and time at the company”

These types of questions, if you don’t have a good repertoire of experience, can be defeating. I also find it key that you be able to think on your feet without…

(I’ll say it again…) WITHOUT

lying. You MUST be honest during an interview. Even if you are great at selling yourself, good Drones and Queens can see right through a Bee’s lies.

This interview went well as I have a wide range of experience (and mistakes) to pull from. Oh, one more thing…be sure that you answer the Drone’s questions in your answer…useless rambling bores Drones. They need to be stimulated, if they didn’t need additional stimulation they would have NEVER ENDED UP DRONES but I digress…

When I was in the interview I knew who the head-ranking official was. It was apparent. At the risk of sounding sexist…he was the only male Queen in the room. He knew his position, he didn’t need me to remind him of it SO I made a conscious effort to NOT apply all my attention to him. In my opinion, a manager needs to be able to look at a group of people (large or small) and find a way to appeal to each individual on their level…make it seem like you’re talking to everyone but still have the impact on the ONE.

Gosh, analyzing all of this like this makes it seem like a game…it’s not. It’s just knowing how to make yourself appealing…also, for me…this is being genuine. Your style may be different.

Towards the end of the interview the thought crossed my mind to bring up salary. (it WAS the second interview after all..and all my Google searches said it was appropriate) I chose not to however…I didn’t want to play my hand too early. Plus, I was curious about how the interview went outside of the money aspect. To me, it is the employers responsibility to bring up compensation once they desire you…if they don’t, there is no sense in doing so.

The interview ended positively with a “We’ll be in touch soon” from the HR Drone. Also, there was instruction regarding an online assessment I was to complete. (For a later blog, but it was essentially like taking a DISC test with the ACT all over again thrown in for good measure) I completed that, waited 4 days and sent a friendly inquiry email to the HR Drone that elicited a surprising response…

They were “thinking of going a different direction” with me. Uh oh…I didn’t get the management position… Prepare for the low-ball Bee position offer.

Wrong again…

The HR Drone stated that they wanted me to come back for a third interview with two Queen VPs…for a higher up and higher paying position. I was floored. No, I take that back, I was giddy. (That’s right, “giddy”…on a professional blog. Deal with it) I had never truly been considered for a management position before and here this company was offering me an even BETTER one!

Of course I accepted the third invite…I just had to make sure I prepared myself well. I had never interviewed with a room full of Queen before….

What do you do to prepare for a tough interview?

Would you have brought up salary?

Please comment!

The Interview process, part 1 of 4

Ah the interview…

Nothing terrifies some people more than having to sell themselves and explain their past to someone during a job interview. Not only are you throwing yourself out there, you are ASKING someone to judge you based on knowing you for one hour. (Later you’ll see that often times it takes up to 4 hours…but I digress) Many different people have tried to make this process easier by giving you guidelines, templates and advice.

For me, the interview has never really been a problem. Over the years I’ve only had one interview not pan out into a job offer and I was grossly under-qualified for that position as I later learned. (I found out because I took the job of the person who took THAT job. Sometimes things just work out…)

THIS series of interviews however was completely different. I had never interviewed for a position in management before…

Up to this point everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) that had been advising me in school, worked alongside me in the hospital (I’m an RN),  and had just “been there, done that” had told me that I would never make management unless I got my 4 year degree. This is very disconcerting to someone who had to work very hard just to get his Associates Degree because of problems (not academic) at the larger Universities.

My thought process was always, well…we’ll see. Although I did enroll in a Bachelors in Business Management program in the meantime…

Back on topic,

The first interview I had was great…even if the director who was interviewing me was doing so for the wrong position. I think a lot of people may have just continued interviewing for the standard (worker bee) position without saying anything. Here’s where I think I made an impression. I stopped the interview and stated that I was more interested in the supervisory position they had instead of the other. (We’ll call this type of position a drone from now on…)

At this point both the attitude of the interviewer and nature of the interview changed. The questions were more appropriate to the skill set I wanted to possess, the job fit my interests better and the director seemed more open to discussion…amazing.

I felt as though the interview went just about as well as it could, and even though I had no management experience and a “lowly” 2 year degree I had experience and a skill set that I thought would translate well to the position…

Apparently the director did too. I received a call the next day requesting a second interview for the drone bee position. This time with some higher ranking drones (a couple of VP drones no less)…I was THRILLED. There was a chance that someone was going to give this worker bee a chance to move up the honeycomb ladder.

I’ll address that interview in the next blog,

If you read, please comment about interview problems, mistakes or things that have happened to you during interviews. Does interviewing bother you?

First Post and Pots

This picture is worth a thousand words...

Welcome to the very first post in “Daily Management”.

This is a newly created blog in attempt to chronicle the life of a young man (29 years old as of 4/7/10) who is getting his first job in the professional world in a role of management. (Actually got the offer today ON MY BIRTHDAY, how great is that?)

Why would anyone read this? One of two reasons…

1. People in management will hopefully see in my life something that they recognize and can relate to. Perhaps an experience that they have had in the past that I will be going through…perhaps a struggle I am having that they can help me with. It is my hope that as people read this blog they give their input if they are currently in management. I’m sure I’ll be asking for help.

2. The second group that will find this blog interesting is the group of people who are trying to get INTO management. My next post will chronicle the path I have taken to get to this point and hopefully shed some light on a LOT of inaccuracies that are currently spread about how to get into management.

If you don’t fit either one of those molds I suggest you stick around anyway…I welcome any and all input from people who are having trouble with managers or love their managers. I hope to learn from each reader, I only hope I can teach some things along the way too.

Oh, oh and one more thing. I full intend to not only show the super-serious side to management, but hopefully the fun times through photos, interactions and maybe even some wit…if you’re lucky.

To close, I’d like to draw attention to the picture I posted (I hope to post a picture with most blogs)…two coffee pots (of a 3 pot machine) are sitting there nearly empty. The interesting part of this is that they are JUST full enough that they don’t have to be re-filled. Also just full enough to not scorch the pots…in other words the very next person who gets coffee will have to make a new pot. I think this gives amazing insight into the current status of the mindset of most working Americans. Thoughts?