What Color Is Your Parachute? (22 page)

Every organization has two main preoccupations for its day-by-day work: the
problems or challenges
they are facing, and what
solutions
to those problems
their employees and management are coming up with. Therefore, the main thing the employer is trying to figure out during the hiring-interview with you, is: will you be part of the
solution
there, or just another part of the
problem
.

In trying to answer their concern, you should figure out prior to the interview how a
bad
employee would “screw up,” in the position you are asking for—such things as
come in late, take too much time off, follow his or her own agenda instead of the employer’s, etc.
Then plan to emphasize to the employer during the interview how much you are the very opposite: your sole goal is to increase the organization’s effectiveness, service, and bottom line.

Be aware of the skills all employers are looking for, these days, regardless of the position you are seeking. They are looking for employees:
who are punctual, arriving at work on time or early; who stay until quitting time, or even leave late; who are dependable; who have a good attitude; who have drive, energy, and enthusiasm; who want more than a paycheck; who are self-disciplined, well-organized, highly motivated, and good at managing their time; who can handle people well; who can use language effectively; who can work on a computer; who are committed to teamwork; who are flexible, and can respond to novel situations, or adapt when circumstances at work change; who are trainable, and love to learn; who are project-oriented, and goal-oriented; who have creativity and are good at problem solving; who have integrity; who are loyal to the organization; who are able to identify opportunities, markets, and coming trends.
Above all, they want to hire people who can bring in more money than they are paid.
So, plan on claiming all of these that you
legitimately
can, during the hiring-interview, with evidence (short stories).

Illustrate by the way you conduct your job-hunt whatever it is you want to claim will be true of you, once hired. For example, if you plan on claiming during the interview that you are very
thorough
in all your work, be sure to be thorough in the way you have researched the company or organization ahead of time. The manner in which you do your
job-hunt and the manner in which you would do the job you are seeking, are not assumed by most employers to be two unrelated subjects, but one and the same. They can tell when you are doing a slipshod, half-hearted job-hunt (
“Uh, what do you guys do here?”
), and this is taken as a clear warning that you will do a slipshod, half-hearted job, were they foolish enough to hire you. Most people job-hunt the same way they live their lives, and the way they do their work.

Try to think of some way to bring evidence of your skills, to the hiring-interview. For example, if you are an artist, a craftsperson, or anyone who produces a product, try to bring a sample of what you have made or produced—in scrapbook or portfolio form, with photos, or even videos. (Just in case.)

Employers often feel as though they are a fraternity or sorority. During the interview you want to come across as one who displays courtesy toward
all
members of that fraternity or sorority. Bad-mouthing a previous employer only makes this employer worry about what you would say about
them,
after they hire you.

I learned this in my own experience. I once spoke graciously about a previous employer during a job-interview. Unbeknownst to me, the interviewer already
knew
that my previous employer had badly mistreated me. He therefore thought very highly of me because I didn’t drag it up. In fact, he never forgot this incident; talked about it for years afterward.

Plan on saying something nice about any previous employer, or if you are afraid that the previous employer is going to give you a very bad recommendation, nullify this ahead of time, by saying something simple like, “I usually get along with everybody; but for some reason, my past employer and I just didn’t get along. Don’t know why. It’s never happened to me before. Hope it never happens again.”

Of course, the employer is going to ask you some questions, as a way of helping them figure out whether or not they want to hire you. Books on
interviewing
, of which there are many, often publish long lists of these questions, with clever answers suggested. They include such questions as:

• What do you know about this company?
  

• Tell me about yourself.
  

• Why are you applying for this job?
  

• How would you describe yourself?
  

• What are your major strengths?
  

• What is your greatest weakness?
  

• What type of work do you like to do best?
  

• What are your interests outside of work?
  

• What accomplishment gave you the greatest satisfaction?
  

• Why did you leave your last job?
  

• Why were you fired (if you were)?
  

• Where do you see yourself five years from now?
  

• What are your goals in life?
  

• How much did you make at your last job?
  

The list goes on and on. In some books, eighty-nine questions, or more.

You are then told that you should prepare for the hiring-interview by writing out, practicing, and memorizing some devilishly clever answers to
all
these questions—answers that those books furnish you with.

All of this is well intentioned, and has been
the state of the art
for decades. But, we are in the twenty-first century now, and things have gotten simplified. We now know there are only
five basic questions
that you really need to pay attention to.

Five. Just five. The people-who-have-the-power-to-hire-you want to know the answers to these five, which they may ask directly or try to find out obliquely:

1. “Why are you here?”
   They mean by this, “Why are you knocking on my door, rather than someone else’s door?”
   

2. “What can you do for us?”
   They mean by this, “If I were to hire you, would you be part of the problems I already have, or would you be a part of the solution to those problems? What are your skills, and how much do you know about the subject or field that we are in?”
   

3. “What kind of person are you?”
   They mean by this, “Will you fit in? Do you have the kind of personality that makes it easy for people to work with you, and do you share the values that we have at this place?”
   

4. “What distinguishes you from nineteen or nine hundred other people who are applying for this job?”
   They mean by this, “Do you have better work habits than the others, do you show up earlier, stay later, work more thoroughly, work faster, maintain higher standards, go the extra mile, or…what?”
   

5. “Can I afford you?”
   They mean by this, “If we decide we want you here, how much will it take to get you, and are we willing and able to pay that amount
   —
   governed, as we are, by our budget, and by our inability to pay you as much as the person who would be next above you, on the organizational chart?”
   

These are the five principal questions that employers are dying to know the answers to.
This is the case, even if the interview begins and ends with these five questions never once being mentioned overtly by the employer.
The questions are still
floating
beneath the surface of the conversation, beneath all the things being discussed. Anything you can do, during
the interview, to help the employer answer these five questions, will make the interview very satisfying to the employer. Nothing for you to go memorize.

If you just do the Flower Exercise (
chapter 11
) in this book, you will know the five answers. Period. End of story.

During the hiring-interview you owe it to yourself to find answers to the same basic questions
as the employer’s
, only in a slightly different form. Your questions will come out looking like this: