Interviewing | Perfect Hire Blueprint

Changing Jobs? Don’t Day Trade – Invest

Changing jobs should be more like investing than day trading.

Job hopping = day trading

Career move = investing

It’s frustrating for an employer to invest time and money to get a great new employee who leaves after a year or two, before the company has a chance to get a real return on that investment.

Job hoppers think that they can learn a lot quickly, put a lot of experience on a resume and demand higher salaries by moving to the next job than by staying in one job for a while.

I recently spoke to a person in his mid-twenties who spent 14 months in his first job, 9 months in his current job and just accepted an offer at a new company. He said that neither of the first two companies was a good fit for him for different reasons. He said that the new offer had a signing bonus, but that he’d have to stay for 3 years or he’d have to pay it back. He was leaning toward not taking the bonus because he wasn’t sure he’d be there that long. This struck me as strange.

My advice to him was

take the signing bonus, and
change your mindset.

First, take the bonus – why leave money on the table? Even if you have to put it in a CD, you’ll be better off than not taking it. The more important second part of that decision is the message to the employer. By not taking the signing bonus, the message received is, “I don’t plan on being here for 3 years.”

This leads me to #2. My advice was to look at the decision not for the short term benefit, but as the long term relationship. If a relationship is going to last, it takes work on both sides. Hopefully the employer will invest in the relationship, and the employee needs to as well.

(By the way, he took the job, and he said he will take the bonus and try hard to stay 3 years+.)

Whether you see job hopping as dating, renting or day trading, it all means that the employee is taking a short term view regarding the company. There has to be a change in mindset, and the employer can affect that.

As an employer, you need to help the candidate make a strategic decision, not a tactical decision. The tactical decision is to take the position with the highest pay and best title. The strategic decision is to choose the job that advances you to your end goal best.

The new employer needs to understand where the candidate wants to go, and why she wants to get there. Once that is known, then explain how your industry, company and this position are the perfect way to achieve that result. Without doing this, even great offers will not be enough to capture the candidate if another great offer comes along that aligns with her perceived career direction.

So even if the candidate is perfect and you think she would accept your offer, don’t give an offer until you have explained how the position is perfect for reaching her ultimate career goals.

How to Interview Now with New Salary Equality Law

percent “Equal pay for equal work” is the typical catchphrase of the Salary Equality issue, which was prominent at both major political party conventions last month. Hillary Clinton has been talking about the gender salary gap all along, and Ivanka Trump spent some time on it in her speech before introducing Donald Trump (who did not mention it).

It has often been quoted that the typical woman earns 79% of a typical man’s salary. (In Massachusetts the number is 82%.) These numbers have been sliced and diced, but that’s a topic for another time.

On Monday, August 1, 2016, Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2016 was signed into law. Though it does not take effect until August 1, 2018, the new law states that employers can no longer make job offers based on past salary data. The more accurate catchphrase for the law should be “Equal pay for comparable work.” The law defines “Comparable work” as work that is substantially similar in that it requires substantially similar skill, effort and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions. So how does this affect MA businesses?

This is not just a woman’s issue. I believe it applies to all races and genders – white males as well. I believe I was impacted by this issue in my second job out of college. I would word the popular catchphrase slightly differently: I believe that “comparable pay for comparable results” is good for every gender and every nationality.

Employers who hire recent college graduates typically use a formula to determine starting salaries. These formulas calculate a job offer by weighing the quality of the school and the candidate’s GPA. If a potential employee attended a lower ranked college and did not achieve a high GPA, he or she could start at a lower salary than his or her peers.

I went to a state school and had a “well-rounded experience.” While my GPA could have been higher, my first employer valued my real-world work experience and my practical approach to problem solving. I remember finding out that I was paid less than my peers, and I still hadn’t caught up by the time I went to my second employer after almost 5 years. My job offer there had been based on my previous salary. What compounded the issue was that my stock options were based on a multiple of my new salary. It turns out that the impact of fewer options at a successful startup had a major financial impact.

I have always believed in pay-for-performance, and I advise my clients to think this way. People who perform similarly should be paid similarly. For many companies, it is the results that matter.

When hiring, how do you determine what to offer if you don’t know what the person is currently earning? The simple answer is this: How much is the person worth to the company compared to others doing a similar job? The more complicated issue is determining if the person will perform as expected. This is where the Perfect Hire Blueprint (PHB) process becomes even more valuable. The system removes unintended bias and uses data – more than the interviewers gut feeling.

An employer cannot screen applicants based on their salary history. What I recommend is that you ask for the candidate’s salary requirements. Walter Foster, an employment and litigation attorney at Eckert Seamans in Boston says such an approach avoids some of the laws’ pitfalls. “The law prohibits an employer from requiring a candidate to disclose her salary history as a condition for an interview or consideration of an offer of employment,” says Foster.

As I mentioned in the PHB eBook, you should know if the candidate will accept the offer before you offer it. The best way to know that is to ask what is needed for the person to accept an offer from your company. If the compensation is higher than expected, the law could allow words similar to, “We’d like to make you an offer, but we need to reach agreement on compensation. You are asking for X, but peers in the position are getting Y.” The reason that works is that salary was not a factor in deciding to make an offer.

The new law doesn’t change the process. The process will continue to work for you and will ensure your compliance with the new law – two years before it goes into effect.

Effective Interview Questions

What was the most interesting interview question you’ve ever been asked?

Why did you find it interesting? Was it effective at identifying you as a good candidate? What do you think was the purpose of the question?

Here are Glassdoor’s Top 10 Oddball Interview Questions for 2015, and the companies that asked them:

“What would you do if you were the one survivor in a plane crash?” – Airbnb
“What’s your favorite 90s jam?” – Squarespace
“If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them, how would you choose which ones to answer?” – Dropbox
Who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman?” – Stanford University
“If you had a machine that produced $100 for life, what would you be willing to pay for it today?” – Aksia
“What did you have for breakfast?” – Banana Republic
“Describe the color yellow to somebody who’s blind.” – Spirit Airlines
“If you were asked to unload a 747 full of jelly beans, what would you do?” – Bose
“How many people flew out of Chicago last year?” – Redbox
“What’s your favorite Disney Princess?” – Cold Stone Creamery

What is accomplished by asking questions such as these? Does it give insight into the prospective employee? Does it put a company in the right light in the candidate’s eyes?

Many companies don’t understand the full importance of the on-site interview. If CEOs actually considered what is at stake, I believe many would have a better plan for the candidate’s visit.

An interview should:

Sell the value of the company
Qualify the candidate
Communicate the culture of the company
Show the caliber of people the candidate will work with
Convey a typical day of working at the company
Identify if the candidate is a good fit for the company and the position.

One the oddest interview questions I’ve heard is, “What’s the first thing you know?” It was used multiple times in the early 90s by a Regional Manager in Dallas. This question stumped many people. It can be the start of a “stress interview” or it can be an ice breaker, depending on how long the interviewer allows the candidate to struggle.

Does your company have a plan for who asks which interview questions? Is it a well-choreographed endeavor? If it isn’t, your company may not only be missing a great opportunity, but it may also be missing out on hiring the best candidates for the company.

To hire the best workers, the in-person or on-site interview should be 70% interview and 30% selling.

Great candidates, A Players, will not be there to just get the job. A Players want to work with other A Players at a great company. You will not attract A Players with B Players, so put your best and brightest on the interview team. Selling the company is not a sales pitch, but should be done by your A Players talking about why they work there – what keeps your top talent motivated? Your A Players should either be asking behavioral interviewing questions, answering questions, or injecting why they work there. Otherwise, the candidate should be talking.

A great interview question might be, “What did you do to prepare for this interview today?” This uncovers how the candidate prepares for something important (or if she thinks the opportunity is important). This should be asked by only one interviewer. ALL questions should be asked by only one interviewer. This is not only more efficient, but also more effective. Savvy candidates will learn from the first time a question is asked. The second time, she may answer it the way she thinks the company wants it answered, and this will make her look like a better candidate.

Choreographing the on-site visit is very important, and the post-interview team debrief is also vital. The team needs to hear about the responses to key questions from the people who asked the questions.

While the in-person interview is critical to hiring the best people, it is only one piece of the puzzle. A research-based assessment will give much more insight into the candidate. A good assessment, like the one I use (TriMetrix HD), will allow the company to more fully understand if the candidate will be a good fit for the company and the job.

By the way, there is only one correct answer for “What’s the first thing you know?”, and I can almost guarantee that no millennial would get it. Baby boomers are more likely to get it, and even then, it’s likely a small number. The answer is…”Ol’ Jed’s a millionaire.” If you still don’t get it, play the Beverly Hillbillies theme song in your head. When the answer was given, the candidate relaxed a bit.

Have a Pre-Interview Meeting

Some hiring managers think that the interview is supposed to be stressful, so that you can better gauge how the candidate may perform under stress at work. I have to two answers to that:

There shouldn’t be that much stress at work, and
You will not get a true read on the candidate’s natural behavior at work.

The goal of the interviewing process is to create a composite of how the candidate will perform in the job as described. But, the interview is not a natural setting. The interviewee is trying to be who she thinks you want her to be, and the interviewer is “judging.” This “interrogation” is not a comfortable situation for any interaction, whether it is a teenager coming home late, or a candidate interviewing for a job.

To have a better chance of seeing how someone will really behave if hired, I recommend a face-to-face meeting before the formal interview. This is especially important for a job that tends to draw introverts, or people with lower social skills. (I highly recommend a Job Benchmark to identify these traits.)

There are many good reasons to have a pre-interview meeting:

More casual – less stilted
Less stressful for the candidate
Prescreen for any anomalies – strange behavior or appearance
More realistic view of behavior – not under the spotlight
Isolate strange behavior early – don’t bring it into the office
Better in-office interview – fewer unknowns means more comfort
Saves time and resources – don’t schedule if not a fit
The candidate will be more comfortable at the interview

The ideal environment is a coffee shop for several reasons:

Short amount of time – much less than with a meal
Neutral ground – no one has home field advantage
In public – likely won’t make a scene, safer for strangers to meet
Comfort of knowing what to expect – likely been to one before
Low cost – any budget can afford it
Daily routine – may already be going there in the AM
Fits the candidate’s schedule – won’t have to take time off from current job

Remember, this is not a formal interview. It is a casual conversation to get to know the candidate. Don’t bring a prepared list of questions or give a test. Keep it light and topical.

How can I keep the conversation casual?

Start with: How are you? Can I get you a coffee? (Another drink if not coffee?) Need a small bite to eat? I am getting ______. Did you run into any traffic on your way here? The construction/road conditions are… When do you need to leave? What do you think of this weather?

Continue with: Just let the conversation go – don’t steer it. See where the candidate takes it.

End with:Just wanted to get to know you a little bit. We have a process to make sure we hire only very good people. You’ll hear from _____ about the next step. We have some very good candidates, so it may not be immediate. (If good candidate: Are there any times or days we should avoid? Please be patient if you can. I believe you will find the result to be worth the effort. We will go as fast as we can. Please call me if you have any concerns.)

Disclaimer: While it may be casual, don’t cross the line by talking about personal, non-job related topics that may make the candidate less desirable in your mind (for example: relationships, children, extra-curriculars, military activity, criminal record, age, religion, etc.). This can be easy to fall into since it is a casual conversation. If the candidate brings up one of the “out of bounds” topics, make a mental note of it and move on. Don’t keep digging.

Positions where I don’t recommend this meeting:

I don’t think it is as good of an idea to have a pre-interview meeting for a position such as an outside sales person or senior execute who needs to make a great first impression and adapt to any in-person situation. It will be common for those people to be in unknown situations, and it is more than fair to see how they would react to the unknowns.