Looking for a job is stressful. The interview process can be too.
The lesson I learned this month is to go with your gut instinct. It’s your primal compass, so pay attention to red flags. I tell my clients to write down their career vision and non-negotiables before leaping.
Work Stress & Anxiety
In two Jobvite 2020 online surveys of US adults working or seeking employment, they uncovered increased stress:
- 69% report that the job-seeking process is now more stressful than it was three months ago including 41% reporting that the process is a lot more stressful
- One-third (33%) say a somewhat increased stress level at work while nearly one-quarter (22%) state a drastically increased stress level
- 62% of workers with children at home report that their stress levels have somewhat increased over the last 60 days
Job Seeking Process
Let me tell you about my tale.
Two months into the pandemic during mid-May, the HR Director of a Seattle-based career transition and outplacement company contacted me through a LinkedIn Inmail about an exploratory conversation to become a contract coach.
Why? They had a significant increase in their clients laying off employees due to Covid with anticipation of escalations.
How long do you think it took for this entire process to transpire? I was indeed surprised.
Interview Process Breakdown
Not much transpired for weeks at a time, I felt ghosted. On the other hand, for me, what great fodder for my participation as a speaker at 5 career webinars, 6 mentor coaching sessions, and 30 client meetings. And, hopefully, an entertaining tale to commiserate with you during your career transition.
The Tell, Right Before Your Eyes
Today, I reread the original request and realized the only thing within the email about me, was how the HR Director addressed me by name. Upon reflection, a form letter looking for a seat to fill. I’m clueless why at the time, I felt they were interested in something special about me. Oh, it’s the ego thing. Mine.
Nothing about my background, accomplishments, recommendations, or even why I was selected was noted about my potential fit. Red flag #1. It’s human nature to be intrigued by someone reaching out for a job, especially if it matches your current gig. Yes, we’ve all had the illegitimate request to become something oddly outside our scope. As a retired tech sales executive, I became eye candy to insurance companies as a potential agent. Nope.
I decided to play this out for this blog post. I became my client.
But First, Apologies
I offered the HR Director a time slot for the initial interview the next day to discuss. Two days later, there was the first of many apologies for a delay. I was instructed to check out her calendar.com for a 30-minute video conference. Her offer of the following 2 days were already booked out. Red flag #2.
Drinking My Own Champagne
I tell my clients to reach out to current or former employees of a company of interest. I contacted a current contract coach consultant at the company via LinkedIn, requesting 15 minutes via phone. She was kind and gracious. Before the call, I sent her six questions regarding culture and employment satisfaction. She appreciated the context since it prepared her for our discussion. Eyeing the clock, we wrapped it up in the allotted time, and I gained insight. One question I had about “feeling like part of the family,” came back with a cautionary response. Red flag #3.
Interviewing 101
Although the Zoom interview started on time, there were issues on the HR Director’s side. Not the picture, but no volume. We ended up having a wireless call looking at each other on a computer screen via Zoom. Worked out fine, but tech difficulties cut into 5 minutes of a time-constrained 30-minute call. Challenges lead me to reinforce your need to be prepared for an interview because things will run awry.
- Stories: Interviewing is storytelling, which some of us are naturals. For me, that’s not the case unless I have a glass of rosé at the end of the day. What to do? Practice. Have a relaxed response to “so tell me about yourself.” She asked me! Google potential interview questions that are related to your next position. Then practice while you work out, role play with a friend, or hire an interview coach. I was asked to provide my background even though the HR Director had discovered me through my LinkedIn profile and had the resumé I sent before the interview.
- Questions: I admonish any client to leave a meeting without asking questions. Aren’t you curious about something? It not only reinforces your interest in the role but shows your desire to learn. Most interviews always end with a “so, do you have any questions?” I prepared 10 potential questions for my Zoom interview. I ended up asking 5. If you’re curious about what they were, they’ll be revealed at my upcoming Dress for Success sponsored “Interviewing 101” webinar on August 5th.
Overall, we had a great conversation. A base contract hourly rate was communicated, which I was sure I could negotiate with my sales acumen dealing with Fortune 2000. More about this later.
Crickets
Five days post-interview, the HR director noted her computer had crashed, and she had additional questions and was interested in another meetup. I responded the next day and waited another eight days before nine questions were sent to respond via email. I answered the next day. Hearing crickets for 2 weeks, I sent a follow-up. The response was they were so busy, apologies again. Red flag #4.
Cover Letter
I was asked to send a cover letter to the person I would be working for, but, oddly, not to her but the HR Director to pass along. See, cover letters are essential! I have a template for my clients, so I filled out mine focusing on the hiring company’s job posting, my fit for the job, what resonated about their company, and their leadership in their market.
Crickets again, so I sent a LinkedIn Inmail to the hiring manager at the end of June. She did view my LinkedIn profile but didn’t respond with a hiring status. You can check out who has viewed your LinkedIn profile by selecting the notification tab. Red flag #5.
Hiring Manager Interview
The interview was delayed with 30-minutes notice since a crisis with a client arose. Understandable yet par for the course. Why couldn’t this other conversation be delayed for 30-minutes? Oh, I’m just a contractor. Red flag #6.
On July 2nd, I was allotted another 30-minute interview with the hiring manager. Delightful conversation. She asked me to attend an onboarding session the following week and sent me a contract. I thoroughly enjoyed the two-hour onboarding with five other contracted coaches. Slightly strange to go to an onboard meeting without having committed, but I learned a great deal. My takeaway was the HR Director and hiring manager wore many hats. It translated into chaos. Red flag #7.
I reached out to one coach attendee afterward, who had a sales background and asked if she had negotiated her rate. No, she felt she could do so later once she proved her value. Sounds sensible.
The hourly contract rate had two levels, depending on their client. I sent an email to both the HR Director and the hiring manager about rate increases.
Negotiation
On July 7th, I received a response about my value positioning related to their business growth. It was an adamant “rates are not negotiable; unlike traditional sales and business development roles, the coach role is specifically part of our service delivery model and in fact, WE’RE doing business development for the coaches.”
All CAPS was the final red flag #8.
I declined the offer, 50 days had transpired. Never heard a peep since.
Go with your gut. Land your dream job, you deserve it.
