The Best Way To Ace An Interview With Your Current Employer: See Beyond Yourself

The Best Way To Ace An Interview With Your Current Employer: See Beyond Yourself

You see things; and you say “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?”.” - George Bernard Shaw

The corporate world certainly has its challenges. Sadly, on a weekly basis, I am receiving communication from past workshop participants and clients to share the news that they have been told that their position is being eliminated, and that they are responsible for finding a new job within their current company.

Like being told that you have 48 hours to live, and asked to make the most of it, being in such a situation is unsettling to say the least. You have not yet been cast away into the unknown job market, but the clock as they say is ticking.

Today, in order to survive and thrive, you must have a contingency plan in the event that your role might be eliminated or head count reduced. You can no longer afford to be comfortable. As the title of Harvey MacKay ‘s book, “Dig Your Well Before You Are Thirsty” implies, now is the time to position yourself for success. This email is designed to help you to proactively manage the direction of your career rather than letting the current take you into undesirable waters.

The question is "How do you both find and land a job with your present employer?"

See Beyond Yourself

See Beyond Yourself?" What do you mean "see beyond yourself"?

You have undoubtedly heard the term “pigeonholed”. Like an actor who has been typecast has difficulty landing another part because people associate them with the role that made them famous, the same can happen to someone in the business world.

However, what I find most interesting is that in the business world, being "typecast" is often times a self-imposed perception that limits your ability to go beyond your position or title.

Similar to the inertia-inducing statement "because I have always done it this way" excuse for resisting change, you can fall into the trap of familiarity and comfort in your present job. As a result, you no longer look to actively engage people or situations beyond a narrowly defined scope of longstanding duties and personal responsibility.

In the end, you begin to lose touch with those outside of your inner circle, as well as your organization's objective, quietly drifting into a state of positional anonymity and growing irrelevance.

This is why it is critical to always look beyond yourself, be it your position, relationships and yes-even responsibilities, to ensure that you are seen and regarded widely as a person of responsive action and transferable competencies.

In other words, your future position within your present company is determined long before you interview for the job.

Learning From The M&A Identity Crisis

Back in February 2013 I wrote a post in my Remarkable Leader's blog titled The Employees Guide for Surviving a Merger & Acquisition.

While the focus was on navigating the uncertain waters of a major corporate shake-up brought about by an M&A, many of the same principles from that article are worth noting and actively applying regardless of the situation.

1. The outcome of your interview is decided before it has been scheduled

To paraphrase Sun Tzu, most battles are won or lost before the fight even starts. The same goes for landing a new job within your present company.

As is the case with most M&As, far too many employees do not think about how their “brand” is perceived by co-workers as well as management until after the fact. Have you taken the time to ask yourself the tough questions such as "How are my contributions perceived by others?" "Am I seen as being proactive and capable of managing new and unexpected situations when they arise?" and "Have I built loyal sponsors to toot my horn elsewhere in the company?"

2. Identify the opportunities outside of your office walls

Are you continuously looking for new opportunities to deliver value outside of your current position? Your ability to showcase your value in other areas of the company will set the stage when you need to seek out or compete for another role.

As the protagonist referenced in my M&A article, “you have to reach out and pursue opportunities,” even if they are not within the framework of your present job description.

Join committees that are focused on high profile projects, sit in on sales meetings - even if you aren't in sales. In other words, and while still doing your present job, take an active interest in your company as a whole to demonstrate that you are a person of all seasons . . . and situations.

3. Reach out and touch someone . . . okay everyone

Remember the old AT&T commercial encouraging you to reach out and touch someone?

The original phrasing was: To communicate is the beginning of understanding. Reach out and touch someone.

While perhaps too long for a commercial, the reference to communication is critical for people within your organization to both recognize and understand your value.

Far too often we limit our engagement to those with whom we have a direct and immediate rapport. What this means is that only a few truly know what we are about and for what we stand in terms of our abilities. Even in these favorable instances, what they know is only within the context of our present job.

Even though general characteristics such as being a hard worker and doing the job well is important, these traits merely get you in the game in terms of being up for a new position. They alone will not help you to win the job.

This means that you have to get out there and network with people outside of your department, especially if their department is considered to be critical to the company's success. Ask them questions about what they do and their department's goals and objectives. Get a feel for what their job entails and open yourself up to the possibility that this is something that you might be called upon to do, so be ready.

In the end, if you are asked to find a new job within the company, you will already have a few options to present and pursue. This demonstrates initiative and an undeniable commitment to serve the company in whatever capacity that may be required.

4. It ain't over 'til it's over

Confidence, whether it be reflected in an attitude of arrogant certainty, or in the pensive reservations of uncertainty, is truly a two-edged sword that can undermine your future.

On one hand, you should never make the assumption that because you are already employed by the company that you are a shoe in for any position.

Conversely, it can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling devalued or slighted when you are told that you have to seek other ways to prove your value to a company to which you have dedicated your career.

Therefore it is critical to avoid either of these extremes and instead focus on both the reality and task at hand, which is landing that new position. This means that you have to be mindful to showcase the right competencies and how they best align with the new position you are pursuing.

In this regard, here are a number of key pre-interview points:

  • Talk with your existing boss and solicit their honest feedback on both your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your current position, as well as the desired new position.
  • Ask them for their advice on how to best pitch yourself as the ideal fit for the new role.
  • Seek feedback regarding the individual or individuals with whom you will be interviewing. For example, does your present boss know them? What do they look for in a new employee? How does their management style differ from what you are used to?
  • Finally, ask your boss if they will "personally" put in a good word for you. After all, the opinion of a peer of the individual who will decide your future will likely carry a great deal of weight in their decision-making process.

5. Making a pre-emptive move

Following a seminar I gave a few years ago on the importance of seeking new opportunities to serve your organization, a member of the audience approached me with an interesting story.

According to the individual, his favorite manager announced to his group that he was leaving the service department to take a senior management position in sales.

Because this manager was well liked by his team, and had never been in sales, everyone was both saddened and more than a little confused by his decision. So the individual approached him and asked him why he would leave a job for which he had received accolades and was obviously well suited, to pursue an entirely different career path?

The manager responded by saying that he had already proven his capability in the service arena, and wanted to expand both his opportunity horizons and perceived value to the company beyond a familiar position. In short, he wanted the company's executive team to see him as a future leader by demonstrating his ability to learn and adapt to new situations.

My point here is that you do not have to, nor should you, necessarily wait to be told that it is time to make a change. Recognize the fact that change is inevitable and that the majority of those in today's work force switch company's on average every 2 to 3 years. While I am not suggesting that within your present organization this is a hard and fast rule, what I am saying is that it is always better to get ahead of a situation than have circumstances beyond your control dictate your future.

6. Game, set and match?

Regardless of how you find yourself heading into an interview for a different position within your existing company, preparing for the interview is the key to your success.

Here are a few tips that will help you be your best when it counts the most:

  • Above all, remember that an interview is at its heart a conversation - a dialogue between two people who are equally interested in learning about one another. This means that you can and should ask questions about your prospective new boss' goals and what they would expect from you in terms of helping them to achieve them.
  • Demonstrate your enthusiasm for the new position and the boundless possibilities associated with tackling new challenges. In short, you are not there because your old job is being or has already been eliminated. You are there because you want to be.
  • Don't simply highlight your accomplishments from your previous position as they may not apply to the new job. Instead, use past accomplishments to highlight the fact that you know how to get the job done, regardless of what may be involved. After all, everyone is new to a job at the beginning. The advantage you have is that unlike someone coming in from the outside, your successes have demonstrated that you already have an established track record within the present corporate culture.
  • Set-up your radar screen. If during the interview there is a reaction you do not understand or a concern that is being raised either verbally or by body language, speak up. Indicate that you get the feeling that there might be a concern, and that you would certainly welcome any feedback.
  • Finally, there is no value or benefit in leaving the interview hoping that you get the job. Ask how they felt the interview went, and if there are any potential reasons why you would not be the best fit for the new position. While you may not be hired on the spot, at least you will be able to gauge the likelihood for success.
  • Be sure to send a follow-up note thanking the interviewer for their time and consideration. Reinforce the fact that you are excited about this new job opportunity and feel confident that you are a great fit for this position. Also indicate that if there is any additional information they require to let you know.

In the end, if there is one word that I can use to best sum up the above advice, it would be the word “proactive”.

Don't wait for your career to happen to you. Take the lead by monitoring the current corporate culture - including changes in company direction and what it might mean to you. If there is going to be a major shift on the horizon, be it through layoffs, a change in management or a merger & acquisition, see it coming before anyone else and be prepared.

Roz

Do you know the difference between the fear of success and the fear of failure?

My guide How To Make 2015 Your Breakout Year will not only help you to recognize the common obstacles that befall all of us, it will also enable you to take action within the framework of your own unique gifts and abilities to make this year your most successful ever.

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Gunjan Yogendra

Sales Operations | Financial Services | Professional Services

9y

How to get past an idiot gatekeeper consultannt who doesn't know to separate men from the boys?

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Michelle (Johnson) Radney

Sr. Director, Global Leader, Board member, Talent Champion

9y

Roz, great and timely article. Change is constant regardless of industry. Thanks!

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