A personal note from Annemarie...

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 Friday, 29th February 2008

Hi,

Welcome to anther issue of Career Communiqué x-Press, and especially a warm ‘hello’ to all of our new subscribers. We consider it a real privilege to have you join us!

I’m currently putting together a presentation for small business owners aimed at getting them thinking about how they can maximise their performance levels by identifying and leveraging their unique strengths and abilities. Often, people start up their own businesses with (if I can pinch the term) their ‘eyes wide shut’, and before long find themselves with far larger workloads than they ever thought possible, which if left unchecked can cause high levels of stress, anxiety, and eventual burnout. Something we all want to avoid.

I wonder – what is your current work schedule like? Are you managing your workload– or is your workload managing you? If the later, then my coaching request for you this fortnight is to write down a list of all of the things that you do during the normal course of your day and/or week, and then mark off the things that can be delegated and that does not offer the best return for the investment (time and expertise) that you put in.

Remember the 80/20 principle, where 80% of the highest return in terms of your time and energy, comes from the 20% of things that you do. I’m off to create my list now!!

Remember, we always welcome contact and feedback from our subscribers and visitors, so pop across to our Ask Annemarie site and submit your topic of interest, question or comment. Or pop across to our Career Communiqué blog. We'd love to hear from you!

Former ‘Bully’ Bosses: Do I mention them during an interview?

Unsure how to handle questions about previous a previous ‘bully’ boss and their approach to staff management? In this fortnight’s article we cover this delicate situation and provide you with some useful advice on why it’s not such a good idea to disclose the down-and-dirty on your previous ‘boss from hell’.

In this issue...

Coach's Corner: Former ‘Bully’ Bosses: Do I mention them during an interview?

Ace that Interview: Avoid being labelled ‘overqualified’.

Your questions answered: How do I respond to a question where I feel I may not have a lot of experience in but know that when exposed to it I will be able to work it out, it might just take me some time? Simply I would like to come across with more conviction

Resources & Tools to Catapult Your Career:  Powerful Resumes EXPOSED e-Course

 

 Coach's Corner

Former ‘Bully’ Bosses: Do I mention them during an interview?

You’ve had a great track record with your employer, however due to the incessant actions of a bully boss (who relentlessly picks on a minority group in the workforce) you take a stand and make a formal complaint to senior management, and now, unfortunately find yourself out of a job, as does the boss. How do you handle this situation in an interview? Do you disclose that the reason you lost your job was due to a bullying boss and the company making a decision that it was best that you both part ways?

Telling the interviewer about a previous tyrant of a boss (or colleague) even when completely justified is not a good idea for a number of reasons:

1. Focuses on the negative and could dampen the entire interview

Bringing up this information has the interviewer concentrating on the ‘negative’ and during your conversations you want to make sure that the topic of conversation remains positive. Any negative tone can put a dampener on the entire interview, and is the last thing you want the interviewer to remember you for.

2. Interviewer may perceive you to be difficult to manage

Could raise doubts in the interviewer’s mind about hiring you and it could give the impression that you are a difficult person with whom to work. The interviewer has not had the misfortune of being managed by this tyrant boss, so cannot appreciate what you and the other staff have had to deal with, and you certainly don’t want to have to begin disclosing any of these details. To avoid opening up a hornet’s nest, you may want to leave well enough alone and not mention anything

3. Cause the interviewer to imagine you speaking negatively about him/her

Hearing you speak negatively about your previous boss’ wrongdoings could cause the interviewer to think that you may speak negatively about him/her in the future should you be offered the role and the relationship hit rocky ground and you decide to leave. No-one likes the thought of being spoken about negatively, particularly a potential boss looking to hire you.

Your best approach

Your overall objective in an interview is to demonstrate your strengths, experience and value you offer the company and why they should hire you. Avoid raising doubts in the interviewer’s mind (and casting a shadow over your candidacy) by concentrating on your successful track record.

With regards to references and referees’ contact details, you probably don’t want to provide the bully boss’ details. Rather consider whether another supervisor or colleague would be able to speak about your previous experience and professionalism within the workplace.

If you have had a specific issue with a previous boss and are uncertain how to address this in an interview and believe some coaching around this situation to identify some strategic responses would be beneficial to you, you may want to consider our Interviewing Success Program. Each situation has its own unique circumstances and probably warrants a different approach, however what is common and important in all situations is not to speak negatively about your former boss (or colleagues) even if what you are saying is entirely warranted.

Want to learn more about our Interview coaching programs? Contact me at: annemarie@annemariecross.com.

To your success!

Annemarie

 Ace that Interview!

Avoid being labelled ‘overqualified’

If you are a mature age job seeker and want to minimize the interviewer's perception that you are 'overqualified', when attending the interview it is best that you address this issue directly rather than letting the interviewer bring it up.
 

Ensure you give good reasons why you are changing industry or seeking a less senior role. Re-state your eagerness and dedication to their organisation and the fact that they will not be required to put a lot of time and cost into training you due to your impressive credentials and experience.

Want to learn more ways about how you can avoid being labelled ‘overqualified” ? Grab your copy of 10 key steps to Ace that Interview! Today!  Send me Ace that Interview today! 

Need to get your hands on 10 key steps to Ace that Interview! immediately for an unexpected interview? Get a copy of our new e-Book version delivered to your inbox today! Send me Ace that Interview today! 

Note: Want to learn more about how our laser-focused interview telecoaching sessions can drastically improve your interview performance? Click here to find out how.

Each fortnight we will answer one of our subscribers career-related question and/or issue. Do you have something that has you confused? Send us your question to: annemarie@annemariecross.com and we will endeavour to answer it in one of our upcoming issues of Career Communiqué x-Press or in our Career Communiqué blog.

This fortnight's question comes from Audrey, when she asks:

Dear Annemarie,

"How do I respond to a question where I feel I may not have a lot of experience in but know that when exposed to it I will be able to work it out, it might just take me some time? Simply I would like to come across with more conviction."

Dear Audrey,

Great question! People generally don’t realise that a job is seldom given to the person with the most experience or qualifications – but rather, is offered to the person who connects well with the interviewer and is able to demonstrate a fit with the organisation and their requirements by ‘selling’ their expertise and value on offer.

If you find that you lack extensive experience in one certain area, there are a few things you can do.

1. Show the interviewer that you are familiar with the competencies expected to perform that function; demonstrate those competencies in other areas of your experience; and finish by confirming these skills are certainly transferable to the job functions.

2. You may like to confirm your ability to learn and apply things with ease, providing the interviewer with an example where you have done this (including the outcome for your employer) and confirm that you have no hesitation that you could learn to perform this new function with ease to a level as expected by the company. [Stop speaking and remember to smile.]

Remember, 93% of the impact of communication is coming from your body language/mannerisms and your voice, so it is important that when you speak to the interviewer that you do so in a professional manner so that you come across as credible.

Good luck Audrey! If you think that some interview coaching around this topic would accelerate your level of success in your interviewing outcomes, you may want to consider our Interviewing Success Program.

All the very best!

Annemarie
 

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