I have now extended my 20 days to find a job by another 14 Days. Over the past few weeks, I have had the unique problem of having a high number of interviews with a peak of 11 interviews. If you are a job seeker, you dream of these types of weeks because it feels like you have finally landed on Boardwalk when you already own Park Place. It is a sweet success after a tremendous effort of moving through the game of job hunting.
Somehow too many interviews have become my “problem” due to the time required to prepare for each interview plus the increase in follow up activities which result in less time to apply for new roles and market yourself online via LinkedIn.
The next challenge I have encountered is the staggering number of interviews it takes to secure a role and the interview pace.
Most of the roles that I am currently under consideration for have had a minimum of 6 interviews and I am still not through the process with an offer or rejection.
By the time, I finish it may take up to 8-10 interviews which have now become the new standard based on a corporation’s belief that multiple feedback from many different functional areas and levels in the business will guarantee them a successful hire. I joked with one of the lead recruiters and asked if I could interview to be the CEO because I bet that is a shorter interview cycle.
Interview pace presents another challenge in the process. No matter how business sexy I think I am or how magnetic my personality may be, big corporations have many competing priorities. So, I have found that I have been that “it girl” for a couple weeks then I have been discarded for something more important. The hard part is knowing when I have truly been dumped for good or I am just not a priority.
What I have learned and ideas on how to tackle…
High Quantity of Interviews
- At every interview ask “what is the next step in the process” … this will keep you grounded with the expectations and demonstrate your ability to close.
- Ask the purpose and focus of the next meeting … leadership skills, organizational skills, behavioral or situation, etc. …this will help you prepare your stories for this meeting
- Brainstorm on how you could eliminate any of these interviews…if your old boss/co-worker is part of this organization then they may not need to interview you. If you can interview with a Panel (multiple individuals) this may eliminate some of the interviews.
- If you have a recruiter, leverage him/her to help decrease the number of interviews. Remember they are seen as a business advisor to the company and have an influence on hiring.
Uneven Interview pace
- How about the hurry up and wait approach for interviewing … The best way to manage the pace is to keep driving it by always asking what is the next step(s), make sure you know why this position is open, did someone leave? (Urgency) or is it an expansion (Sloth speed). Do your best to create urgency around both scenarios…ask questions to understand if the responsibilities of their role are still expected even though there is no headcount. Or if they are expanding, is the expectation coming from leadership.
- Do your research and use this as a reason to communicate with the recruiter/hiring business team. i.e. Top CEO ranking from Glassdoor, Press releases like the Acquisitions of new businesses.
- Communicate with key contacts using different communications…text, mobile, phone, email, LinkedIn message. Varied types of contact connections do not feel pushy like (5) emails in a day.
The good news is if you can endure the challenge of the interview process it will eventually end. I feel I am around the corner to job offers and I am hoping that my new problem will be to figure out which one to accept. Oh, and your guess is as good as mine as to which offers and the role I will accept. It still feels like a roll on the dice…
20 Days to Get a Job 