I work with many of my clients during their interview process to help them navigate through tough interview questions and prepare them to ask questions, in turn, so that they have clear understanding of what theyre getting into when all of this effort translates into an everyday job that they signed up for.
Unfortunately, many clients come to me after they already have gone through the selection process, started their job, and learn that what they expected from the interview process and what they ended up signing up for are poles apart. This can happen when different interviewers give their perspectives of what the job is and how they see the candidate doing that job. In this process, the candidate formulates their own view of what the job is going to offer them and despite lack of accurate information about how it is going to play out, many accept the job offer, especially when it is tempting enough to tip the scales, hoping that it would all work out as planned, in the end.
Recently, I had a senior marketing client with whom I had worked during his many interviews at two companies. Both companies were Silicon-Valley late-stage start-ups and both were on a path to IPO/exit in the next few years as they were leading the pack in their space. Both were enjoying great market momentum and both were seen as poised to become billion-dollar unicorns in a few years. After getting offers from both my client was torn between which offer to select. So, before deciding on which company would offer him the best career path to succeed we decided to go back to the hiring manager of each and then to their boss and ask this question in a final interview round that my client requested:
After doing many interviews in the past few days and exploring your needs I am clear about the value I bring to this role. Can you please tell me what value you think I bring, now that youve made me an offer?
In each case (four interviews) my client was intrigued by the responses he got. Once he got responses to this critical question he realized how easy it was to make the final choice. In the case of one company (company #1) the hiring manager said to him, I see you and I working hand-in-hand to develop marketing strategy for our next product. Since you are so good at also developing the collateral Id like to see us collaborating on getting the messaging right since I know the use cases of the product and how it came together. The hiring manager was not able to give any further insight into the job as my client was exploring where it would take him next. Translation of what this hiring manager told my client: I am just looking for a pair of hands.
When he went to see the boss of the hiring manager the response to this question was carefully guarded and cagey. The uber boss said, Are you trying to trap us by asking this question and leverage this into a better offer for yourself? After a nervous laugh, he went to provide sketchy details of what my client would be doing for them short-term and long. None of which sounded cogent in how it was presented.
When my client went to company #2, the same question elicited two very different (but consistent) responses: His hiring manager was very specific about what value they saw in my client as he played out that role from day-one. The hiring manager was very specific about how what my client brought to the role would benefit the company and the product they were about to launch. He was also quite excited about my clients long-term contributions to their marketing strategy and how his previous experience would help them get a jump-start on some of the marketing initiatives they had in mind.
Next, when my client went to see the hiring managers boss asking the same question, his response was open and excited. He mentioned how my client brought specific marketing expertise that was lacking in their company and even the hiring manager needed to learn that expertisewhich the hiring manager had already acknowledged to my client in prior encountersand how they would make a complementary team. He further went on to paint a longer-term picture of how my clients job would evolve and the strategic role he would play in making the company reach its next phase of growth.
Both these responses from company #2 were very different from what my client got out of company #1. Even though company #1 had offered a more generous package it was clear that its need was more transactional and they needed a pair of hands to tide them over their immediate need to market their product. It also became clear that they were going to wing it after his immediate task was complete. Beyond that they did not have a clear vision for how my client would advance in that start-up even though it was growing by leaps and bounds.
Needless to say the decision to pick company #2 was now easy and my client decided to decline the offer made by company # 1.
Lesson: In the excitement of going through an interview and getting a job offer not asking the right questions at the right time can create immediate and long-term problems in how you move to the next level of your career. Asking the Value question in the very endin the ultimate round before you make the decisioncan reveal many insights that may help you make your final decision on which company to join. This question is quite different from the typically asked, How will I be measured or What success criteria you would employ to measure my performance? This round is most effective if this is done on its own at the end before the company is ready to make you an offer or immediately afterwards before you start negotiating that offer.
Good luck!
| About Author | |
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Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader. |
Website: http://dilipsaraf.com/?p=2564
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