The interview mistake humble executives make

Every week I get a message from someone I’ve known for years asking for job search advice.

Usually it’s a past placement, a former client, their friends, or someone I sent on interviews years ago but never personally placed. You really get to know people through the interview process. Folks are weighing one of the most important decisions of their lives, and our conversations go deep. Years later, they want a trusted voice to give them a real, straightforward answer to a current situation.

The questions vary:

• “I have two offers. Which should I take?”

• “I’m about to go work for so-and-so. Have you heard anything about their reputation?”

• “I have an interview with the head of HR. What should I be prepared for?”

• “I was laid off. It was a surprise and I don’t know where to start. Any advice?"

The list goes on.

Recently, I spoke with an executive I’ve known for a while. He asked the last question on the list above. I decided to be honest with him.

He’s the nicest, most humble guy, but he reminded me of candidates I’ve sent on interviews recently, the ones who didn’t pass the first round with the hiring manager. They were excellent in their craft, but they came across as too junior. These are senior executives from well-known firms. If I had to boil it down, their answers lacked detail in "why" they do things, and they didn't take enough credit for how they personally got it done.

Don’t get me wrong, humility is a must. Recruiters will screen out candidates who come across with big egos, or are abrasive or condescending. But when hiring executives, the way people answer questions is how they progress through the process.

One question I ask every candidate is:

“What stakeholders do you interface with and influence?”

Then I follow it up with:

“How?”

It's even better when the example is rooted in the transformation we were already discussing, with real-world stories. The differences in people’s answers are striking. When I ask this question, here are the kinds of responses I hear:

• “We built the solution, but the business never adopted it, so we had to rebuild it with their input...”

• “I created a council that meets monthly to gain buy-in across the executive team...”

• “I have a strategic way of influencing C-level leaders. First I get to know them on a personal level…”

• “I always have one-on-ones before big meetings to make sure there’s sponsorship...”

• “My boss and I are in the room together and they drive the conversation...”

• “I’m data-driven and…”

• “I start with a small proof of concept that builds momentum...”

That’s just off the top of my head.

Which person would you hire? It depends on your culture and the seniority of the role, but you can see how one simple question can be answered in very different ways. Interviewers often use these answers to determine seniority, along with how the person communicates in terms of structure and brevity.

My advice to my friend was simple:

Take some credit.

It's safe giving him this advice, because he’s the kind of person who will give all the credit away and hope the work speaks for itself. I told him to think about who he influenced, the buy-in he created, and how he made it happen.

Before all of this, I advised him to take some time and go through all the emotions of being laid off. The most important thing is to show up to these conversations in the right mindset.

Try this before your next interview

If you're preparing for executive interviews, ask yourself two questions:

Who did I influence?

How did I influence them?

Be specific. Think about the most senior people you interfaced with. Think about the roadblocks you faced and how you, personally, overcame them. Even if it took a village (as it should!), you had a role. Describe that.

Side note

Over the last couple years I’ve gotten feedback from people curious if I pivoted from recruiting to being a career coach, because my book and LinkedIn posts were geared toward job seekers.

The answer is simple: No, I’m a recruiter. Companies partner with my firm to fill jobs.

But a byproduct of recruiting is that I hear unfiltered interview feedback from both clients and candidates every day. I have so many opinions about these things and feel it's valuable to share them with my network.

You may have noticed that my LinkedIn content has been geared more toward the hiring side lately; that's deliberate. But I also took the gas off writing to job seekers for fear of a confusing market message. I have a solution! I decided that the newsletter and LinkedIn don't need to mirror each other.

This newsletter is where I share the questions job seekers ask me and the behind-the-scenes conversations I have every day. I’ve also discovered Substack and love it, so I’ll be posting there as well. Somer Hackley | Substack

If you have a job search question you’re wrestling with, there’s a good chance someone else is wondering the same thing. Let me know about it.

-Somer

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Curious about demystifying executive search? My book Search in Plain Sight has 145 reviews (4.8 stars on Amazon / 5.0 on Audible) - thank you! https://lnkd.in/gqgu4vuq

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