Advanced Interviewing

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Advanced Interviewing

• Standing Out From the Competition

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Topics

• Follow-up Interviews
• Behavioral Questions
• Case Scenarios
• Negotiating Offers

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Purpose of Follow-upInterviews..Companys Goals

• To verify impression made during first interview

• To identify specific qualities
• To determine fit with organization

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Purpose of Follow-up Interviews .Your Goal

• Find out if its a company you want to work for
  location, facility, employees, job functions

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Evaluating Opportunities

• The Position
• The Company
• Potential for Career Advancement
• Compensation and Benefits
• Lifestyle Issues

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Questions to Ask

• What will you be expected to accomplish in the
  first six months?
•  Do they offer professional development
  opportunities?
•  What kind of performance appraisal system is
  used?

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Questions to Ask

• What is the philosophy and/or management style of
  organization?
• What is the rate of employee turnover and/or how
  have economic conditions affected the
  organization?

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Types of Second Interviews

• Structured - Each interviewer has specific
  criteria they use to assess candidates.
• Unstructured - Interviewers make broad
  evaluations - candidates asked similar questions
  by several by several people.

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Behavioral Questions

• Past behavior is a predictor of future
  performance

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STAR Outline

• Situation / Task
• Action
• Result

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Situation / Task

• Your role member of team, leading team, dealing
  with customer
• Type of task - customer relations, marketing,
  operational, finance, technical, HR/training

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Action

• Steps/phases
• Resources used
• Staff involved besides you
• Methods of enlisting support
• If team project - your role
• Obstacles - how addressed
• New aspects of task revealed

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Results

• Quantitative
• Qualitative
• What you learned

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Case Interviews

• Often used with positions involving consulting
  work

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The Case is Used to Evaluate

• If candidate can
• Stay cool under pressure
• Influence w/o being condescending
• Analyze at high level
• See details and concepts simultaneously
• Maintain balance between personal and
  professional aspects

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Case Interviews

• Used to assess your ability to apply business
  concepts and to determine how clearly you think
  through problems
• Questions are typically tailored to functional
  knowledge of expertise

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Strategies

• Clearly grasp the issues at hand in a given
  scenario ask questions!
• Concisely outline business rationale you are
  using to frame your answer.
• Explain strategy that flows from the rationale
  and provide examples of tactics you would use to
  achieve that strategy.

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Strategies

• Be ready to defend your response.
• Be prepared to explain how you would measure
  effectiveness of rationale and tactics you have
  proposed.

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Examples

• Im the new product manager and you are my
  finance person and are out to protect me. Walk me
  through the PL and explain what I should pay
  attention to?
• How would you price a new product?

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Examples

• Our company has excess inventory that cost 5 to
  build. A company has offered to buy it at 6/unit
  but wants it repackaged for 2/unit. Should you
  sell and why?
• Tell me about a hobby. Build a business plan
  around it.

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Vault Guide to the Case Interview

• Business Career Center Web site
• Research Employers
• Vault Online Library
• Password Bschool

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Online Case Study Exercise McKinseyCompany

• http//www.mckinsey.com/
• careers/

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Tips for Case Interviews Boston Consulting Group

• www.bcg.com
• Click on Careers, then Interview Prep

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Negotiating Offers

• Do not drop your search activities when an offer
  seems almost certain. If it doesnt materialize,
  the lost momentum is difficult to recover.

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Negotiating Offers

• Be informed
• research market rate, your market worth,
  standards in company
• Be Savvy
• dont discuss compensation until you get
  offer negotiate your contribution

• Be selective
• focus on 1/2 critical issues to negotiate
• Be professional
• never sacrifice good relations
• Be readydont negotiate until you know you want
  the position

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Reasons for RequestingHigher Salary

• The current market rate for this particular
  position is higher than offered
• Your unique skills and experience and the ways in
  which they will enhance your contribution to the
  organization warrants higher compensation

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Remember

• Salary can change faster than other benefits!

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Making Your Final Decision

• Ask for more time only if employer cannot offer
  you what you need
• Never expect more than a couple of days
• Accept offers both verbally and in writing
• Let other relevant parties know of your decision
  AFTER you have accepted

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In playing baseball, or in life, a person
occasionally gets the opportunity to do something
great. When that time comes, only two things
matter being prepared to seize the moment and
having the courage to take your best swing.Hank
Aaron, former baseball playerCommencement
address to Emory University School of Law, 1995