The purpose of this lesson is to provide you with practical interviewing tips and related information that will assist you in transitioning from the military to Corporate America or from one great company to another. Whether you are making a transition from the military or in the business world already we encourage you to review this from cover to cover.

Phase I: Getting Organized

• What’s important to me? ( Establishing values and parameters )
• Know yourself. ( Identifying personal characteristics )
• What am I good at? ( Identifying skill sets and strengths )

Phase II: Interviewing Effectively

• General interviewing principles ( Quantification, benchmarking, packaging, listening, first names, body language/image/attitude, gratitude/appreciation )
• How to answer questions effectively ( Thought process behind good answers ) The initial interview ( The basics, 60/40 rule )
• A primer on Behavioral-Based interviewing
• Asking good questions ( Demonstrating interest, curiosity, and smarts )
• Closing the interview: Tips to Seal the deal
• The Management interview: Cliff’s notes ( Management specific talking points )
• The Sales interview: Cliff’s notes ( Sales specific talking points )
• Blocking and tackling interview questions ( Some of the most commonly asked questions )

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What's Important to Me:
Prioritizing Your Values and Setting Parameters

When you transition from the military to Corporate America or from one position in industry to another you first have to decide what’s important to you. Prioritizing your values and goals is a crucial step in the self-assessment process that will help us work together to identify careers that would be appealing to you. Establishing parameters for your career search will take into consideration those things that you want to focus on and on finding the things that are negotiable in the process of securing a career that will meet the goals you set for yourself. You can begin the process of prioritizing your values and setting parameters by answering the following questions:

• What is most important to me in a job? (Money? Location? Type of Work? Growth? )
• Is company culture and flexibility more important than the type of work or the money that I make?
• Am I willing to sacrifice career progression and compensation to get to the right location?

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Know Yourself

Personal Characteristics
Knowing yourself is the first part of interviewing well and in making a successful career transition. When people ask you to describe yourself you want to use words and communicate ideas that are as tangible as possible and as such, can be supported by specific examples. You also should select characteristics that relate to the job you are interviewing for or in some way communicate a capacity to do the work involved in that position.

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What Am I Good At?

Skill Sets / Strengths

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General Interviewing Principals

Quantification and Benchmarking: As a candidate you need to be able to address your achievements in relationship to your peers and various standards that organizations you have been a part of set as a standard of excellence. It is also critical that you use examples that people with or without military experience can understand. Here are some examples of things to consider when answering questions and putting together your resume:

• Operational Readiness Rates (Improved maintenance from 80 – 97%, 7% above the established standard)
• Being rated among the best by your leadership (Best lieutenant out of 20, or Top Production Supervisor in your Plant out of six)
• Efficiency related process changes that save money or man-hours. (Created a tracking system for ordering of parts that resulted in decreased ordering deficiencies by 15% and saved $27,000)

Packaging: It’s very important to relate the information you are giving in your answers to the specific position you are interviewing for (e.g., if the position is in logistics you should address logistics-related accomplishments.)

EXAMPLE:
Question - What are some of your strengths?
Answer - Three things I do well are Planning, Team Building, and Problem Solving. I think they will help me as a Project Manager in your organization because I will need to create operational plans that avoid competing requirements for my team and my planning skills will help here. I will have to sell a variety of functional experts on the need for team work to solve the inventory issues you mentioned and team building experience is going to be a huge advantage in this particular situation. I will need to use my base analytical skill set to put in place some of Six Sigma related initiatives that AVC is trying to implement at the operational level and I have a substantial amount of confidence in my ability to do that.

Listening: Don’t repeat questions when you answer them but make sure you address exactly what the interviewer is looking for. Pay attention to the question to make sure you are answering the question and addressing the issue at hand. If you are unsure of what the question was, simply reiterate the part you understood and ask the person you are speaking with to clarify the parts you don’t. You can’t fake being a good listener. It’s something you need to work at and make an effort to demonstrate.

First Names: In order to build rapport in an interview you should use the interviewer’s first name unless they specifically introduce themselves as Mr. or Ms. Hardnose.

Body Language and Image: Proper posture, a good handshake, and smiling are very important when you interview. Excessive hand gestures, profanity, improper attire, or slouching are indicative of bad manners and a lack or confidence, poise, and maturity. Allowing yourself to put into question by acting in a manner than is not considered proper or conservative interview behavior puts you into category of those folks who allow the interviewer to make subjective decisions about them are not necessarily positive or even fair.

Gratitude and Appreciation: Demonstrate through your words and actions that you appreciate the opportunity to be considered for the position you are interviewing for. The interviewer may well have worked 10 years to get the position you are potentially going to be entering the company at.

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How To Answer Questions Effectively

The way you answer questions is going to determine the success you have in the interview process to a great extent. People who are interviewing you are not just asking the questions because they are curious about you but rather because they want you to tell them why you are qualified for the position they are considering you for.

Here are some key principles to keep in mind when you are preparing for the interview process in terms of answering questions:

• Use action verbs with tangible, quantifiable results.
• Talk in the first person at all times.
• Maintain eye contact with the other person at all times. Don’t stare a hole through them but don’t look in a different direction when you are answering questions.
• Use sentences that start with ”I” and end with “we.” EXAMPLE: “I considered the situation we were facing, taking into account our budget constraints and the recommendations of my team. We then formulated and executed a plan with collective accountability by breaking it down into a number of action items that I delegated to individual members of my team based on their skills and areas of expertise.”
• Think before you speak. There is nothing wrong with a deliberate pause before answering. This is a good time to smile!
• Remember to state why what you did or accomplished is important by addressing its relevance to the bottom line. EXAMPLE: Combat Readiness in the military or Profitability in Corporate America.
• When you are explaining jobs that you have held, it is critical to address the scope of responsibility involved in the job. State the position, the number of people you managed, the dollar value of the associated equipment or the budget involved with that particular process, and any relevant skills you developed in the course of doing the job.
• Package your answers effectively. Address the relevance of your experience to the position you are interviewing for.
• When answering problem-solving questions you must address the thought process involved in dealing with the issue as well as the solution you would put into place to avoid future issues of a similar nature. Identify the problem, consider constraints and limitations, seek out constructive guidance/criticism, and build consensus/create ownership and support on your team through implementing others ideas/plans.
• When you talk about giving directives, coaching people, and putting plans into motion it is important to qualify and quantify what you mean. Many people in Corporate America perceive military leaders to be more authoritative then we really are. It’s important to sound tough but also fair and reasonable--but above all else--flexible. Good leaders are ultimately able to adapt their leadership style to the situation they are in and the skills and abilities of their team. In your examples, talk about how you gave specific guidance, set expectations and realistic timetables, played to people’s strengths, coached them on their weaknesses, put contingency plans in place and benchmarks to follow-up with you, and built in natural flexibility.
• Show that each solution or process that you create corrects root causes of problems and is not a Band-Aid approach. This has real value when you can talk about systems or processes you put into place that were adopted by larger parent organizations as “best practices.”
• Never be negative about a boss, a co-worker, another candidate, or the military. People who talk negatively in the interview process are typically perceived to be disgruntled and hard to please. Always put any negative answers or comments you consider making in the context of how you would consider somebody saying the same thing to you if you were interviewing.
• Know your audience and tailor your answers to the person and the position you are looking for.

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The Initial Interview

It is an undeniable truth. Time and time again, we have seen sharp, squared-away military personnel beat out highly-qualified internal or other civilian candidates with industry experience. Why does this happen?

Consider this: as you begin your career search, you will probably try to narrow down the types of industries and positions that interest you. You will go into your initial interviews with these criteria in mind. At the completion of your initial interviews, you will be surprised when you rank order the companies. Even though you may have interviewed with several companies in industries that interest you, it is very likely that you will have several other opportunities that were outside your original parameters ranked above them. There are two primary explanations for this phenomenon: (1) you learned something in the interview process that caused you to change your criteria; or (2) you made a personal connection with the interviewer.

The same thing happens to interviewers and hiring managers. They enter the process thinking they need someone with certain qualifications and experience, but wind up pursuing and hiring someone that may have some, but certainly not all of the items in their preconceived “ideal skill set.” The same reasons I mentioned above apply here: (1) the interviewer learned something about your skills and experience in the interview process that caused he/she to think that you, in fact, are qualified for the position; or, more likely, (2) the interviewer was so impressed with you on a personal level that he/she is willing to overlook your lack of industry experience in lieu of the intangibles you bring to the table.

Given the above facts, the question is obvious: “How do I get the interviewer to like me?”

The Basics The initial impression you make sets the tone for the entire interview. A firm handshake, smile and a confident, direct look in the eye will start you on the right track. Once you are seated for the interview, the rapport building begins. The interviewer will usually start out by asking you to talk about yourself. The common mistake some people make is to ramble on about their experiences without attempting to relate them to the opportunity and company with whom they are interviewing. Avoid this pitfall by being concise and relatively brief. If you have prepared for the interview by reviewing the company brief and literature, you should be able to deliver an effective, focused presentation by touching on the areas of your experience and expertise that are most relevant to the company and opportunity. Be vigilant with respect to the interviewer’s body language as you answer their questions. Give more details in areas they are interested in the most.

The “60/40” Rule The “60/40” rule is a practical interpretation of the old saying: “…it is impossible to put your foot into a closed mouth.” If things are going well in the interview, you will normally do 40% of the talking. After you finish your answer to the interviewer’s question, try to ask them a question. This will accomplish several things: (1) you will get critical information from the interviewer about them, the company and the opportunity that you can use in formulating your answers to future questions; (2) the interviewer cannot help but get the impression that you are interested in them, the company and the opportunity; and (3) you decrease your chances of talking yourself out of contention for the position.

Dale Carnegie, author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” once said: “We are interested in people that are interested in us.” Think about that for a minute. Think about people you really enjoy hanging out with or people you admire. Chances are, you like being around these people because you feel that they are interested in you and in what you have to say. The same holds true in the interview process. It is easy for the interviewer to visualize you performing well on the manufacturing floor, in the field in front of customers or on one of their project teams if they feel you possess the interpersonal skills to get along well with others. Listening skills are critical in Corporate America. The interview is your first opportunity to showcase yours.

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Blocking and Tackling Interview Questions and Guidance

1. Tell me about yourself... (Demonstrate a track record of success)
Approach this answer chronologically addressing accomplishments, lessons learned, and skills developed at every level of your work experience.

2. What are your strengths? (How do they relate to the job you are interviewing for? Job specific)
Talk about tangible action based things you do–have prepared examples ready.

3. What are your 2-3 most significant accomplishments? (Actions/Results/Relevance to the company)
Focus on times you were recognized as the best, fixed things that were broken, and made a lasting impact on people, organizations, and teams that you led or were a part of.

4. What is your leadership style?
Have 3-5 basic ideas and bullet comments down cold in order articulate basic steps that you always take as a leader. Do you encourage proactivity, empower people by delegating effectively, and as a matter of course try to establish procedures that identify best practices in your organization and put them in place as a standard procedure.

5. How would your subordinates describe you?
Do you listen well, are you approachable, are you tough but fair? Use words and ideas that communicate the type of manager you are doing to be in the organization that you are interviewing for a position in. Consider the type of position and relate the points you make if possible.

6. What would your boss say?
Are you loyal, a straight shooter, and hard-working? Consider key qualities that would be relevant to the position you are interviewing for.

7. What would your peers say?
Are you a team player? Can/will people seek you out for help? It’s important to know that somebody is essentially asking you what type of co-worker you are.

8. How do you solve problems?
What are some of the general steps you always take when solving problems? Considering constraints and limitations, competing requirements, the strengths and weakness of your team, and timeline/deadline-related issues.

9. What is your most significant weakness?
It’s very important to address this honestly and directly. Be specific with steps you have taken to address it and prevent it from becoming a bigger issue.

10. Tell me about a mistake you made and what you learned from it?
What did you learn from it? How are you better as a manager as a result of this experience? Be careful not to overstate the size and scope of the mistake while avoiding more recent issues if possible.

11. What are your three most important short-term goals? What are your most important long-term goals?
Find ways to tie your goals into what they can do for the company. Always address things that are uncontroversial and don’t conflict with the basic requirements of the position you are interviewing for. Be careful with advanced education, owning own business, and specific job title issues.

12. Talk about a time you fixed something that was broken. (team or an individual)
Talk about the process/steps you took and the tangible results.

13. Tell me about a system or process you put in place that was efficiency-oriented.
Be prepared to discuss specific results (increases in efficiency, productivity, or money/time saved.) Employers want to hire people who can identify issues, solve them with minimal guidance and ultimately take the initiative necessary to make organizations better without being told to do so.

14. What three words describe you?
Use words that define your personality and in some way relate to the position if possible. These words always have more impact when they are backed up by accomplishments.

15. Give me an example of a time you used facts to change the opinion of a boss?
This is about addressing your communication and selling skills. Address how you go about getting people to see things your way. Demonstrate your ability to be persuasive/negotiate without being pushy and even when you are not in a position of authority.

16. Why are you leaving the military or your current employer?
Never be negative. Address meeting the goals you set, quality of life, performance based promotion, or deployment or OPTEMPO if you are transitioning. Any answer you give should focus on the positive side of your experience, how you are a better person/employee as a result of your recent experience, and that you are ready and excited to take the next step.

17. Tell me about a goal you set and struggled to achieve.
Address overcoming adversity and the planning involved in achieving success. Your answer should demonstrate tenacity and toughness as well as organizational skills. Goal setters are winners and everybody wants to hire a winner.

18. Why should a company / I hire you?
This is a passion question and your answer must come from the heart. Whenever possible, try to use examples or reasons that directly relate to the position you are interview for. Talk about things you can control and effect (work ethic, desire, willingness to listen and learn, pay your dues.)

19. Tell me about a time when you had to implement unpopular policy--how did you handle it?
It is critical to address how you communicated effectively with your team and set tough but reasonable policies in place, listened to their grievances, and ultimately found common ground that allowed for an unemotional resolution to the issue. Everybody wants to hire leaders that can be tough when need but also lead through persuasion and charisma when needed.

20. Describe a particular problem employee you had and how you handled them.
Address the steps you took to avoid an emotional event but still confronted the problem through demonstrating good listening skills and empathy. What type of plan did you put in place to rehabilitate this person?

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Closing the Interview: Tips to Seal the Deal

You have done all the hard work and it’s time to seal the deal. Closing an interview effectively can make an average interview become a standout performance. Unfortunately, the converse is also true. By not closing the interview effectively, you can make the best of interviews seem average. The final few minutes are crucial and you don't want to blow it by saying the wrong thing on your way out the door. To leave a good impression with the interviewer, your final words and gestures should be enthusiastic and confident.

It's All in the Delivery
Are you unsure how to close a job interview? Take your cue from the interviewer. During the interview, pay attention not only to what the interviewer says but also to how they say it. Notice their body language, tone of voice and level of formality and tailor your closing remarks accordingly. There is one exception to this rule—regardless of the interviewer’s demeanor, always be confident. Look them directly in the eye when speaking. Thank them by name and firmly shake their hand when saying goodbye.

Accentuate the Positive
Use the final few minutes of your job interview to emphasize the skills that make you right for the job. This will ensure that your strengths will be one of the last things that the interviewer hears -- helping them to remember you in a positive light. Rehearse your closing so that you are not fumbling over your words. You'll want to sound smooth and natural, not boastful. Start by saying how impressed you are with the company and the people you've met. Then transition into why you'd be a good fit for the position.

End Notes
You should end your job interview on an enthusiastic, but not aggressive, note. Reiterate your interest in the opportunity, but try not to sound anxious or desperate. Instead, express how exciting and challenging you think the role would be, and how much of a positive contribution you could make in the role. Finally, ask the interviewer if there's anything else you can do to show your strengths as a candidate. For example, you can offer to send samples of your work if appropriate.

The Next Step
Don't leave a job interview without knowing the next step in the hiring process. For example, will the company be calling candidates back for another round of interviews? Are they planning to check references? When do they anticipate that a hiring decision will be made? You may also want to ask the recruiter how they would prefer you to follow up with them. Can you call them on the phone, or would they rather that you email them?

A Good Close

A Bad Close

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