Okay: You Know The Interviewee's Point of View; What Is The CEO's Hiring Point Of View?

Your profile, resume, letters, and recommendations, etc., should be well written, without typos or sloppy writing. They are your emissary; they represent you as your ambassador. They reflect who you may well be: If a person cannot take care of these simple tasks, how would they do on complex tasks? If they are left alone, how good will their work be? First impressions are important: they become last impressions if they are not solid and authentic -- projecting your very own real value in the very best, true light! Everything counts!

 At school, work, sports, and other interests, what are your proven abilities?  Where have you shone in the past? How do you feel your abilities and past success translate to being a strong hire? If you were summa cum laude, tell them. If you worked your way through college, that is something I want to know. I will hire the solid person who took 6 years to get through college by working over a self-inflated hot-shot inhaling his own fumes from some big-name university. Steak over sizzle. Character over ego. Service-oriented over self-impressed. I want who works well with other people in real life conditions, not just on retention tests in the ivory tower!

3. Tell me through your materials specifically  how you would bring real value? I learned a really good tip about making and hearing presentations: ask to yourself "so what?" Assume all other applicants are listing their features, but what are the benefits? For example: "Proven leadership getting difficult projects done." "Negotiating skills for smooth conflict management." "Selected to Regional Leadership Conference as school's most effective elected officer." "Given Creative Writing Grant awarded to undergraduate's most promising creative writer." "Elected Captain of 6 athletic teams over 8 years." "Came in Top 3 Lincoln-Douglas Debate performers 4 times in state tournaments."  These are so much better than "Effective leader, negotiator, writer, presentor, communicator." Dimensional-ize yourself! Make them think,"Okay -- well said!"

"References Provided Upon Request" doesn't work for me. You have posted nothing special, distinguished yourself not one bit. How about seeking and attaining 1 to 3 great quotable recommendations of you in 25-40 words -- short, sweet, and highly credible. They would come from that expert that guided you in an arena, and who articulates the essence of you at your best. It may not be usual, such as: "As captain of our NAIA Tournament collegiate baseball team, Billy was critical in motivating an overall average group of players to a 60-15 record over his final 2 years. He was a great leader in defeat and victory." As CEO, that resonates with me. I want that kind of person in my company!

Recognize that you can differentiate yourself by counter-branding yourself as non-transient, flaky, or fickle, but rather, in the right-fitting company -- the prize employee: loyal in relationship, long-term in orientation, solid under pressure. Executives have way over-generalized the generations coming up after them as flighty, selfish, and prickly -- independent operators. But applicants need to know that certain characteristics remain important to leaders, and if a candidate shows no interest in being a great culture/team player, danger signals flash. Do you change companies every 6-24 months? Good companies want like commitment. Are you all about life on your terms in your way on your time? Okay, but that greatly limits your options, though they are out there. If you need to eat and pay the bills, you may have to genuinely emit a willingness to commit. At least in the short-term that pays your bills and meets their needs until you find that sweet-spot path. The hiring process is expensive. So is employee turnover. Companies want commitment. The good ones attract and reward it. Express your interest in making difference-making contributions, being in and building high-performance teams, doing something better, more creative, more valuable. Not just "dedicated, team-player, creative" but "making measurable improvements on important projects" and "being a key contributor to and in high-performing teams." I read that, and I say to myself, "This person is thinking about how they can work in the context of company needs. Different!"

I will take a pretty smart person of extraordinary character and values over a very smart person who values brain over virtue. My experience is that brilliant people who are dysfunctional make 3 strides forward and anywhere from 2 to 5 strides back. They are high drain and suspect net-gain. Leaders are looking for people who are easy to do business with, work well in teams, are flexible, can morph their responsibilities and roles over time to the changing needs of the company, are trustworthy, dependable, and exercise sound judgment, and are, all things said, just a refreshing and positive factor wherever they are, whatever they do, and whoever they are with in or outside the organization. These people generally shine through on resumes, in recommendations, in interviews. But the fakers or those who are clueless or all about themselves are much easier to spot. Good leaders smell a problem, raise a question, and move on. You may be thinking, Get Real! Most leaders are idiots! Well, there is some truth to that. I am referring to the good leaders; I have worked with thousands, and have seen some have built special companies with special cultures built by special people. I speak of market leaders. I agree with you about the turkeys. Project the right stuff, and those with the right stuff will see you sooner or later. The rest? Learn and grow, with the ultimate goal of finding a company worthy of your involvement.

There has never been more readily available material about all things hiring than right here, right now. LinkedIn has had some strong articles and discussions on hiring. Spend the time to learn from those who have learned the best and the worst practices. Indeed, there is a diversity of opinion, but the major, important, accurate principles will emerge. They will make sense and resonate. Pay close heed to them. Learn from them. Realize that the entire process from applicant to final hirer is under enormous pressure and strain. Every party feels he/she is in the rat race of the unending. So what can you do to differentiate? Not much, and a lot. Not much, in that you are a small part of a gigantic, whirling albatross. You are a statistic until you pop to them. "A lot", in that there is only one you, you have your own unique fingerprint, you are by definition not generic, you are an organism, not a cookie cut by a cookie cutter. You will be bringing your non-generic, non-statistical self to the interview, and will have prepped yourself, your appearance, and your knowledge of the company. 

This step is simple. Express in a little note or e-mail that you are thankful and appreciate their time in having the interview. Express simply what you took away from that time that you believe could be mutually valuable to you both. Second, a week or so later, follow up in whatever way you feel wil connect, based upon their process -- a call, a written note, an e-mail -- whatever. Your follow-up's put you in a much smaller pool. Sometimes it is "No" to the job you applied for, but they call you in for another opportunity. Why? Because they liked YOU enough for THEM to keep you in mind. I've seen that happen on numerous occasions. The Connection is reinforced by the thoughtful follow-up's. That reinforces why they thought you were pretty special.

There are those few people in life in all stages and ages, from peer to

the very successful executive family friend. Ask these successful people for their tips on how they succeeded in the job-seeking process, or what they look for in hiring the right people. This is an art, not a science. I continue to be humbled by hiring mistakes and emergent super-stars. Every experience is teaching something. Edison "failed" over 1150 times in discovering the carbon-impregnated carbon filament lightbulb. Insanity is doing the same thing wrong repeatedly. Wisdom is learning from each experience and getting better. IT WILL HAPPEN. One of 5 things will happen: 1) you will find the perfect company/job eventually; 2) you will find an acceptable next job eventually; 3) you could unexpectedly find the perfect job/company soon; 4) you could find that logical "pay the bill and be patient" job soon, or 5) over the unemployment period you could decide to go back to school, do community service, or something else legal, productive, and rewarding (ed. comment: I hope!). Job hunting is about constantly honing your approach while being relentless. 

It does work out. It is not fun, but it means a gateway into the next chapter of your life. We all muddle through somehow! I'm writing this because it is a journey better taken accompanied! I just hope this gives a bit of help and encouragement, and I welcome your comments!