Cranky Recruiter: An Informational Interview Gone Wrong

When Cranky Recruiter is not recruiting, she's networking of course.  I have no qualms dropping my card off at a grocery store tasting if I like how the sales rep is handling himself.  Did you happen to catch my eye at a swim meet wearing a shirt from a local winery?  You better believe I'll soon be asking you what you know about that winery, and possibly slipping my business card in your hand.  For me, networking is a sixth sense.  And it pays off in the long run.

Now, as a recruiter with a career advice blog, often I have job seekers asking me for an informational interview to help them with their job search.  I'm happy to do that.  After one recent encounter I wrote a post about common interview questions.  I also put up some posts that were helpful, and included my interview blooper reel.  But one past blooper was not on there.  One informational interview went terribly wrong.

A couple of years ago, a young wine business analyst asked to grab coffee with me.  She wanted to find out how she could improve her interviewing abilities and get a better job.  I was happy to give her an hour of my time when I was in wine country.  And after how horribly the meeting went, I'm happy to share what not to do in an informational interview.

Dressing for an informational interview, or bedtime?  When she arrived, she looked a bit unkempt.  Her hair was hastily tied up in a bun and she was wearing a wrinkly shirt and jeans.  I could look past this if she was looking for winemaking, vineyard management or other types of production work.  But she wanted a job in finance.  If there is any group that I would expect to be dressed professionally for an interview, it is the finance and accounting group.  I think I dress nicer when I'm gardening than this woman dressed for our meeting.

Be Prepared:  While I like to save paper and store all of my resume on my iPad, I often check to see if someone, especially in an informational interview situation, is prepared with a resume, references, or even a pen.  This woman had nothing.  I did have her resume on my device, but she should really be prepared to wow an interviewer.

Know What You Want:  After some niceties, we settled into the usual questions about how her search was going.  The first thing I wanted to know was what kind of job she wanted.  She said she wanted finance roles, but had no real work experience in finance or accounting.  When asked why she wanted finance, she didn't really know.  She had some friends and family who had worked in those types of roles and thought that would be good for her.  What?  Roles your associates enjoy does not mean you will.  Spend some time researching potential jobs and figure out what works well with your talents, experience and expectations.  For help with that, take a look here:  https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/quiz-what-job-best-fits-your-life/

Be Engaging:  After exploring her job interests and her experience a bit, I told her she needed to really step up her interpersonal skills.  She never really tried to connect with me about things, or ask me follow up questions during the meeting.  She never asked anything about me.  Ok, it is not all about me, but it does pay to at least engage a bit with the person across the table from you.  They are giving you their time, so make them feel appreciated.  I told her this could be a weakness of hers, which led me to the following,

Know Who You are Meeting:  With all of our time being spent on her, I finally told her she really needs to do her homework when she asks someone to meet with her.  I asked her what she knew about me.  After a long pause she said, "I know you work for the company WineTalent."  "And you are a woman."  True on both points.  But really, that was all she knew about me!   Me, Cranky Recruiter, who blogs about the wine industry, has a website all about WineTalent, and maintains plenty of social media sites about me and WineTalent.  I am all things WineTalent.  President, founder, chief blogger, sole proprietor and lowly gofer.  Yes, I work for the company WineTalent and hope one day the company recognizes me for all I've done for it.  And I'm glad she figured I was a woman.  Two great facts for her meeting with me.

Alright, Cranky Recruiter will get her second cup of coffee for the day.  But still...  I gave her my time and wanted to help her.  She should have done some research on who she was meeting to make our time together its most productive.

Second cup of coffee now snugly in my hand.  I stand behind my thoughts on this woman's engagement with me.  But you have to know I have had countless positive informational interviews.  And many have turned into great WineTalent placements.  Yes, I am woman, hear me roar, and I'm happy to grab coffee anytime to help you with your job search.  Just make it worth our while.

Prepping for the Interview: Common Interview Questions

Last month I was meeting with a wine industry contact who is just starting to look for a new job after many years in a highly demanding position.  She asked me if I had a list of interview questions that she might be asked.  Why yes I do, and here they are:

• Tell me a little about yourself.
• Why are you interested in this position?
• What do you know about this company?
• Why are you looking for a new position?
• What has been your biggest challenge in a past role, and how did you overcome it, if you did?
• What is your biggest strength, and biggest weakness?
• Where do you want to be in five years?
• What type of manager are you?  How would your staff answer that question?
• How did you get into the wine industry?
• Do you have any questions for me?

Doing your homework on a potential employer can really pay off.  If you know how to answer the basic questions with truthful and insightful answers, you could set yourself apart from any other interviewee.  On themuse.com there is a great compilation of 31 commonly asked questions and potential ways to answer them.  Take a look at it here.  Glassdoor also have a good list of common interview questions here.

Now, while you are doing your research and coming up with your answers to these questions, there may still be a question during your interview that will leave you dumbfounded.  This is okay, and can happen to anyone.  One way to deal with this is to say you want to rephrase the question to make sure you understand it.  Then restate the question as you understood it.  Saying it again bides you a little time, and also tends to allow you to formulate an answer that is appropriate to the question.

Some interviewers like to ask off-putting or seemingly unusual questions to rattle you a bit.  It gives them a chance to see how you handle yourself, how you deal with things that are out of the ordinary, and also how you can tie things together.  I think it is okay to ask for clarification or get their input on why they are asking that question--if you feel comfortable doing that.  Getting an interviewer to engage with you as an equal can help you show your strengths and cultural fit for the position.

Remember, if you are interviewing it means you've met their basic requirements for the position.  Now you want to get in there and create a connection with the interviewer and show off your strengths for the position.  Your interviewer most often wants the meeting to go well.  If she can find the right talent for the job, she has accomplished her goal of interviewing.  So go in there with that in mind, and help her be successful in her hiring mission.

And, a quick list of some blog posts that might be helpful in prepping for the interview:
http://winetalent.blogspot.com/2014/04/be-prepared-pre-interview-checklist.html
http://winetalent.blogspot.com/2011/12/cranky-recruiter-interviewing-advice.html

If things go poorly, lick your wounds and read my blooper reel for some mistakes other interviewers have made when meeting with me.  Not every mistake costs you the  job.  http://winetalent.blogspot.com/2015/05/cranky-recruiters-interview-bloopers.html

And after the interview, say thank you.  http://winetalent.blogspot.com/2017/03/mind-your-manners-dont-forget-to-say.html

Good luck, and remember to tell yourself you are a winner!  (Read one of my favorite tips on interviewing here:   http://danariely.com/2013/02/16/ask-ariely-on-interviews-luck-and-the-canoe-test/)

WineTalent's Skype Interview Survival Guide (For Interviewers and Interviewees)

Over the years I've conducted a lot of video interviews over Skype.  The technology is relatively easy to use, free unless you want a subscription or wish to use skype for calling, and has improved dramatically over the last few years.

Now, if you are a casual Skype user, you probably know how to use it, make video calls and send messages.  This user guide can come in handy for you and might allow you to catch yourself in some bad habits.  For first time users I hope I can address all the steps and also give you some pointers to make the video call more comfortable and useful.

So, to set up an account, go to www.skype.com and download the software if you don't have it on my computer or tablet already.  Once you download the software you will need to set up an account.  Your account name will be the name people use to find you on Skype.  Since there are not a lot of people with the name of WineTalent, I was able to secure that account name.  You will want to add your name, email and phone number for people in case they need to reach you when not on Skype.

Once you have your account name, you will go to your contacts section and find people you are going to Skype with.  If you are using Windows 8, it is a bit hard to find the contacts, so click on People, and then right click on the screen and you can search for Skype users to find them.  When you have found your video interview contact, send them a contacts request to establish a connection.  The default setting is to have yourself always online.  I don't use Skype consistently enough, so I take myself offline when I'm not planning to be using it.

When you set up your Skype account the software will walk you through setting up your audio and video equipment.  It is very user friendly, and quick to do.  This test set-up also let's you see the camera angle and the audio quality, so play around with it until the video setting looks good.

In the past it was best to have a hardwired internet connection--but the last few video calls I have done completely wireless and the quality was very good.  Do a test run to see how the call quality is--and if you have to plug into your wireless router to improve the transmission.

Now, I think you should try to have a good backdrop when you skype.  As I type this I am staring at my computer screen, looking at my desk.  I've got all my desk accessories, my files and all those things a real desk has.  But when someone will be seeing me through this computer, the view is completely different.  For this reason, when I plan to do a skype call I take the background into consideration.  And with that, I put my computer on my credenza so it is shooting the video into my desk for a backdrop.










Too often when people set up their Skype picture they are either shooting up at the ceiling (with ceiling fan turning, turning, turning during the call)
Or with a big blank wall and too close

Then there is the lighting.  Put on all the lights you can that will hit you from the front instead of behind you (can get quite ghostly--hopefully that's not the look you are going for)

Then, think about how you look. Do you really want to look like you are working from home, or that you happened to stop in to this video conference from your other highly important meetings.

So, now you are dolled up in your blazer, your hair's combed and you have all the lights on in your office. 

Make the call

First, I like to send a message to my interviewee about 10 minutes prior to saying that I will be calling him at our prearranged time.  That let's him know I am getting ready, and that he should be doing likewise. I also say that it will be a video call so he is prepared.  Then close the office door, silence any phones or other electronics and place the video call to him at the correct time.  

As soon as you are hooked up by video, you are "on stage" so remember that.  Don't be messing around with things behind your computer, moving a bunch of papers around or forgetting the camera is on.  I'm not a pro at where to look, so I just look at the person's picture as if I'm talking to him.  My point of focus might be off, but it's better than having your eyes dart all over the screen.  

WineTalent's Skype Pointers 

1.  Don't make jokes.  I have to remember this because I tend to make jokes at the beginning of interviews to break the ice.  On a video call, sometimes there is a bit of a time lag, and so when the other person is responding to the joke you may have moved on to a new topic, making the response really awkward.  Remember this, no jokes.

2.  What am I looking at:  If I'm going to be having his resume on the screen besides the video call, I tell him.  That way he understands why my attention might drift to a different part of the screen.  

3.  What I'm doing:  If I'm planning to take notes while conducting the call, I tell him that too.  I often have my tablet on my desk below the camera, so this could look odd if he didn't know I was taking notes.

4.  Don't forget that you are on stage:  Remember that you are on a video call and not just sitting in front of your computer.  This might seem like a strange idea, but too often when you are skyping you revert back to thinking you are just sitting in front of your computer.  Wiping your eyes, scratching your head, yawning...These are all things we do when we sit in front of our desk, but if we were really in an interview we would most likely not do.  Remember you are on camera, behave appropriately.

5.  Experiencing Technical Difficulties:  If there are any technical problems, you can send a skype message, call the person on his phone, or drop the call and retry.  If the quality of the skype call is bad I often abandon the video interview and switch to a phone interview.  You have the time blocked out, use it wisely.  

6.  Ending the Video Call:  When you are done with the call, thank the other person and let him know you are ending the call.  You'll have to hit the end call button, which always is a bit awkward, but it has to be done.  I often send a quick message afterwards thanking the other participant for the video call.