How to Conduct the Perfect Job Interview | Inc.com

How to Conduct the Perfect Job Interview | Inc.com

How to Conduct the Perfect Job Interview

By Jeff Haden


Your goal is to hire the best people you possibly can.

That means your interview should be the best it possibly can. The stakes are simply too high to do otherwise.

Here are 13 steps to ensure you conduct the perfect job interview (oh, and forget the "13″ thing; when you do it right bad luck doesn't exist):

1. Truly understand your needs.

Experience, qualifications, and credentials are all important. But great employees don't just do a job; they solve at least one critical business need. Identify that critical need, determine how you measure success in the position, assess the common attributes of your top performers, determine what qualities mesh with your culture... and tailor everything to finding the perfect person to solve that critical business need.

If you don't, you're just going through the motions.

2. Decide how you will get to the heart of what you need.

Say you need an outstanding programmer. Great: Determine how you will identify "outstanding." That may include certifications, specific accomplishments, the right references, or even an on-the-spot test.

Then consider your culture. Skills are important, but attitude is often more important. Determine how you will identify the person with the right personality, interpersonal skills, and interests. That may include a few lunches with key team members, or a day on the golf course, or an evening at a ball game.

Remember, you aren't looking for the best candidate from a specific pool. You're looking for the perfect candidate for the job.

That's why ranking candidates in the post-interview phase can be misleading. You don't want the best of what you saw. You want the best person for the job. If no one in this pool is the right fit you'll need to keep looking--but you won't until you shift from thinking "best of" and start focusing on "best."

3. Describe the process.

The candidate should know exactly what to expect: when to interview, where to interview, who will be involved in the interview--everything. No surprises, no tricks, no uncertainties, no loose ends.

Remember, the first day on the job for the person you hire is the first day you contact them. Be considerate, be thoughtful... be awesome.

4. Spend double the amount of time on homework as you do on conducting the interview.

Lots of people glance at a resume a couple minutes before the interview.

There's a recipe for success. You can't ask intelligent questions and create compelling conversations unless you know the candidate ahead of time.

Start with the resume. Pretend you're the candidate. Your first job was at ACME Industries. Hmm. What did I accomplish? What did I work on? Why did I get promoted? What does that say about my interests and my work ethic.

Then look at the next job. Why did I leave my first job? What does that say about my career path? What does that say about my interests? What did I accomplish there that I didn't accomplish at my first job?Pretend you're the candidate and look beyond facts and figures; read between the lines to get a sense of the person's interests, goals, successes, failures, etc.

Then do a quick survey of social media. (Don't feel bad; guaranteed the candidate is checking you and your company out the same way. Plus anything you learn is something the candidate has voluntarily shared with, well, everyone.)

What are the candidate's interests? What does she like to do in her spare time? Who does she network with?

If you find someone in the candidate's network that you also know well, make a note. They could be a great reference either before or after the interview.

The goal is to know as much about the candidate as you can, not in some quasi-stalker way but so you can...

5. Do your best to make the interview a conversation, not an interrogation.

The best interviews are conversations--but you can't have a conversation with someone you hardly know. The more you know about the candidate ahead of time, the more you can ask questions that give the candidate room for self-analysis or introspection.

The key is to listen slowly. Pause. Give the conversation room to breathe. Often candidates will fill a silent hole with additional examples, more details, or a completely different perspective on the question you've asked.

That will allow you to ask thoughtful questions too--and when you do, candidates will open up and speak more freely because they'll realize you're not just asking questions.

You're listening.

6. Always ask follow up questions.

The most revealing answers are usually to follow-up questions. Listen to the initial answer and then ask why. Or when. Or how a situation turned out. Or who actually did what. Or what made a success difficult to achieve, or what was learned from a failure.

Follow-up questions take you past the canned responses and into the details, both positive and negative. That's a great place to go, because like the devil, the real superstars show up in the details.

7. Spend as much time answering questions as you do asking.

Great candidates are evaluating you, your company, and whether they really want to work for you. They'll ask questions--often like these.

Give them time to ask. Answer thoughtfully. Be open and candid.

But never sell. Trust that great candidates will recognize a great fit and a great opportunity.

8. Describe the next steps.

Explain the rest of the process. Explain what you will do and when you plan to do it.

Few things are worse than being a candidate who has no idea what, when, or if something happens next. Don't make the candidate ask what happens next. Tell them.

9. Follow up and provide closure to every candidate.

Failing to do so is incredibly rude, especially to a person who pays your business the highest compliment of all by saying they would like to work with you (and therefore spend more time with you than with their family.)

Sure, they won't complain to you, but they will complain about you.

(This principle should apply to anyone who applies for a job. Before you post an opening, always decide how you will close the loop with everyone who responds. Yes, everyone.)

10. Check in with others, even if they weren't formally involved.

Interviewees give you their best: They're up, engaged, and switched on. But how do they act when they aren't trying to impress you?

What candidates do while they're waiting in your lobby can tell you a lot. Find out how they treated the receptionist. Find out what they did while they waited. Ask if there were any chance encounters with other employees.

Occasionally you'll pick up a disconnect between the show a candidate put on for you and the way they acted around with people they weren't trying to impress.

A nice guy in the lobby may not be a nice guy on the job, but a jerk in the lobby will always be a jerk on the job.

11. Contact references.

But don't just contact the references the candidate provides; after all, that's a handpicked list. Check out the people in the candidate's network; chances are you know someone who knows someone who knows the candidate and can speak to her experience, skills, attitude, etc.

You have a network--use it. A terrible candidate may wish you hadn't stuck to her list of references, but a great candidate never will.

12. Conduct one more interview.

VIEW SLIDESHOW

7 Creative Office Designs to Get You Inspired for 2016

MORE:

Why Sarcastic People Are More Successful

Marissa Mayer's Top 10 Leadership Mistakes

The Number One Reason Why That Awesome, Fantastic, Amazing Idea Almost Always Fails

5 Steps to Creating Content-Rich E-Newsletters

Even if you think you're sure, give yourself one more chance to be absolutely positive that you're making the right decision. Hold another interview. Or take the candidate out for dinner. Or go to a ballgame or play a round of golf.

If you have any doubt at all, however small--or even if you don't--take that one extra step to be sure.

And don't be afraid to let your intuition and gut feel inform your hiring decision. Your experience is hard earned; don't be afraid to use it.

Don't worry: Great candidates won't mind an opportunity to spend more time together because they want to be sure they are making the right decision, too.

13. Make an enthusiastic offer.

Show your enthusiasm. Express your excitement. Don't be coy; don't play the "I better not seem too excited or she might expect a higher salary" game.

In a great employer-employee relationship there is no upper hand. The right candidate will be just as excited to come on board as you are to welcome them.

That's the perfect way to start.

3 Interview Questions You Must Ask | Inc.com

3 Interview Questions You Must Ask | Inc.com

Interviewing job candidates is tough, especially because some candidates are a lot better at interviewing than they are at working.

To get the core info you need about the candidates you interview, here's a simple but incredibly effective interview technique I learned from John Younger, the CEO of Accolo, a cloud recruiting solutions provider. (If you think you've conducted a lot of interviews, think again: Younger has interviewed thousands of people.)

Here's how it works. Just start from the beginning of the candidate's work history and work your way through each subsequent job. Move quickly, and don't ask for detail. And don't ask follow-up questions, at least not yet.

Go through each job and ask the same three questions:

1. How did you find out about the job?

2. What did you like about the job before you started?

3. Why did you leave?

"What's amazing," Younger says, "is that after a few minutes, you will always have learned something about the candidate--whether positive or negative--that you would never have learned otherwise."

Here's why:

How did you find out about the job?

Job boards, general postings, online listings, job fairs--most people find their first few jobs that way, so that's certainly not a red flag.

But a candidate who continues to find each successive job from general postings probably hasn't figured out what he or she wants to do--and where he or she would like to do it.

He or she is just looking for a job; often, any job.

And that probably means he or she isn't particularly eager to work for you. He or she just wants a job. Yours will do--until something else comes along.

"Plus, by the time you get to Job Three, Four, or Five in your career, and you haven't been pulled into a job by someone you previously worked for, that's a red flag," Younger says. "That shows you didn't build relationships, develop trust, and show a level of competence that made someone go out of their way to bring you into their organization."

On the flip side, being pulled in is like a great reference--without the letter.

What did you like about the job before you started?

In time, interviewees should describe the reason they took a particular job for more specific reasons than "great opportunity," "chance to learn about the industry," or "next step in my career."

Great employees don't work hard because of lofty titles or huge salaries. They work hard because they appreciate their work environment and enjoy what they do. (Titles and salary are just icing on the fulfillment cake.)

That means they know the kind of environment they will thrive in, and they know the type of work that motivates and challenges them--and not only can they describe it, they actively seek it.

Why did you leave?

Sometimes people leave for a better opportunity. Sometimes they leave for more money.

Often, though, they leave because an employer is too demanding. Or the employee doesn't get along with his or her boss. Or the employee doesn't get along with co-workers.

When that is the case, don't be judgmental. Resist the temptation to ask for detail. Hang on to follow-ups. Stick to the rhythm of the three questions. That makes it natural for candidates to be more open and candid.

In the process, many candidates will describe issues with management or disagreements with other employees or with taking responsibility--issues they otherwise would not have shared.

Then follow up on patterns that concern you.

"It's a quick way to get to get to the heart of a candidate's sense of teamwork and responsibility," Younger says. "Some people never take ownership and always see problems as someone else's problem. And some candidates have consistently had problems with their bosses--which means they'll also have issues with you."

And a bonus question:

How many people have you hired, and where did you find them?

Say you're interviewing candidates for a leadership position. Want to know how their direct reports feel about them?

Don't look only for candidates who were brought into an organization by someone else; look for candidates who brought employees into theirorganization.

"Great employees go out of their way to work with great leaders," Younger says. "If you're tough but fair, and you treat people well, they will go out of their way to work with you. The fact that employees changed jobs just so they could work for you speaks volumes to your leadership and people skills."

The Top 5 Trends for Startups in 2016 | Inc.com

The Top 5 Trends for Startups in 2016 | Inc.com

The Top 5 Trends for Startups in 2016

Over 600,000 new businesses were started in the UK last year, and Indian startups raised at least $5.6 billion in funding. Every year it becomes more apparent that Silicon Valley is no longer the only startup hub around.

By AJ Agrawal

2015 brought ups and downs to the world of startups. On the positive side, startups continued to grow on a worldwide scale. The startup scene in Chicago had their best year ever. Over 600,000 new businesses were started in the UK last year, and Indian startups raised at least $5.6 billion in funding. Every year it becomes more apparent that Silicon Valley is no longer the only startup hub around.

Not everything was gold in 2015 however. While startups experienced huge raises in valuation, there was also a big drop in exits in US startups, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but points to a greater sense of inactivity. Most troubling is a research paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research that revealed the decline of high growth startups post 2000, something that the US economy relied on in recent history to provide jobs.

Yet despite the decline of individual high growth startups, the startup scene itself continues to grow. $11.3 billion in venture capital was invested in US startups in the fourth quarter of 2015 alone. In order to keep growing, startups have to evolve, and here are 5 ways you can expect startups to change in 2016.

1. Hiring freelancers.

On-demand is a term that is quickly expanding beyond its television origins. Its current target: the workforce. More than ever, people want to work when and where they want to. According to a recent Time article, more than 90 million people have participated in this on-demand or gig economy in the US. In late 2015, a study conducted by the Freelancer's Union revealed that 54 million people, roughly 34% of the US workforce, have done freelance work in the US in the past year.

Many startups are hamstrung because local talent is often snatched up by larger companies that can afford to pay higher salaries and give better benefits. If a startup can't compete with those budgets, how can it hire the talent it needs to succeed? Enter freelancers. With the rise of freelance talent networks like Toptal that focus exclusively on quality and trust and more and more startups turning to freelancers early and often, hiring freelancers, and in particular with hiring freelancers remotely, is rapidly moving to the mainstream.

2. The power of the crowd.

The days of intuition are over. It's no surprise that the power of the crowd is important to startups. The transition from visionary entrepreneurs who take risks to calculated CEOs who make decisions based on A/B testing and optimization has been a long time coming. Crowdfunding too has been popular, and several successful sites have risen in that marketplace, Kickstarter and Indiegogo among them. Many startups began in the world of crowdfunding, including Pebble which introduced some much needed realism to wearable technology in terms of price range a few years ago.

But in 2016, crowdfunding is changing in a significant way. On October 30th, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted in new rules for equity crowdfunding that went into effect January 29th, 2016. Prior to these new rules, only investors with a certain threshold of wealth and assets could invest in a company and receive equity; now anyone with the cash is able to do so. This opens up the ways in which startups can get funding, and expect to see many startups blossom using funds raised through equity crowdfunding in 2016.

3. The continued struggle for personalization.

Every year, new studies are released stating the importance of personalization and placing the customer first, but companies are still regularly found lacking in that role. In a recent survey conducted by Pegasystems, data showed that key customer service industries, specifically retail banking and telecommunications, are severely behind the curve on personalization. 60% of those surveyed admitted that they were "getting the basics right" when it came to personalization despite a growing market that wants a lot more personalized than just the basics.

Many established companies tend to evolve more slowly because they are reluctant to discard old systems. In 2016, startups will capitalize on that slowness and come out of the gate with a focus on personalization to gain entrance to the market. Not only will more startups provide customers the experience they were looking for, but their marketing and branding will be personalized and tailored to target a specific audience. VentureBeat recently published a survey that revealed 87% of businesses that used web personalization experienced a boost of at least 5% in their most important metrics (this percentage excludes companies that said it was too soon to say). In order to succeed, startups will be personalizing faster this year than they ever have before.

4. Mobile first.

Look, it's no surprise that startups are building their business or product with mobile devices in mind, but 2016 is the year where mobile comes to the forefront. After all, 2015 was the year where mobile-only internet users finally surpassed desktop-only internet users. Mobile messaging is on the rise too. Whatsapp alone has nearly 1 billion users, and Facebook Messenger is close behind with 800 million monthly users. That being said, despite so many users and so much time spent on mobile devices, the mobile platform still has lower conversion rates for ecommerce platforms compared to desktops.

For startups, this mobile shift means catering to these devices to an even greater degree. Marketing teams will increasingly target mobile devices, creating ads that are responsive to the size of different devices, with a focus on video and short digestible content. This year marketers are predicted to spend 51% of their digital ad spending on mobile devices in 2016, an increase from 40.2% last year and the first year mobile ads make up the majority of spending. Finally, for startups entering e-commerce, as they develop their sales funnel, expect to see an increasing push to optimize the funnel to increase conversions on mobile devices.

5. Online video becomes more customized and accessible.

Online video became extremely popular last year, and now video production companies will begin to hone in on a target audience by producing specific genres and types of content in the same that cable television channels evolved and produced singular genres of content. To look at a success model, consider Mitu Network's effective targeting of the Latino audience. In 2016, startups in online video production will start to build a core audience and clientele. In turn, startups in other industries will have an easier time finding the video content they need by working with the business producing content best suited to their needs.

Keep on eye on these trends in the new year, and if you think I missed any, please leave your predictions in the comments below!

-

http://www.inc.com/aj-agrawal/the-top-5-trends-for-startups-in-2016.html

AJ Agrawal is an entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. He is the CEO and co-founder of Alumnify

10 Essential Negotiations Skills for Salespeople

10 Essential Negotiation Skills For Salespeople

Written by Emma Snider

You've quoted a price and sent over the contract. All that's left for the prospect to do is sign, and the deal is done. You're riding a high during your prospecting calls and follow ups.

But then ... you get the dreaded email:

"I'd like to talk about some of the details of this contract before I sign."

Even if a salesperson has properly qualified a prospect and correctly managed their expectations through the sales process, the deal can still end in a negotiation. The rep then needs to shift gears from consultant to negotiator in order to engineer an agreement that's a win-win for both their own and their prospect's companies.

While negotiations can go in a seemingly infinite number of directions, salespeople with the following 10 negotiation skills in their back pocket will be well-equipped to roll with the punches.

10 Critical Negotiation Skills to Develop
Not every negotiation technique is useful in or applicable to every situation, so professionals should master a wide range of tactics. The most important negotiation skills to practice are:

Clearly defining concessions
Speaking second
Steering clear of ranges
Refusing to "split the difference"
Writing terms at the right time
Speaking with the decision maker
Getting for a give
Talking more than money
Being human
Knowing when to walk away
Read on for a detailed explanation of each skill.

1) Define the concessions you're willing to accept in advance.
In the heat of the moment, a 30% discount or additional six months of support might seem perfectly acceptable. It's only when you get back to your desk and start drafting up the contract that you realize you agreed to terms you can't or shouldn't accept. Clearly defining the limits on price discounts, freebies, or other add-ons before you meet with your prospect will ensure you come to a mutually beneficial agreement.

2) Let the prospect go first.
You've presented the terms of the deal, and the prospect would like to negotiate them, so let them start the conversation. In the spirit of being accommodating, salespeople are often tempted to offer a discount or an adjustment before the prospect even opens their mouth. But you don't know what they're going to say! Just as in other areas of sales, it pays to listen first, and then speak. 

3) Don't give a range.
If the customer would like money knocked off your product's price tag, don't say, "Well, I could probably reduce the cost by 15 or 20%." Who would accept 15% when 20% has been offered? Always quote one specific number or figure and then go higher or lower as necessary. The word "between" should be avoided at all costs.

4) Avoid splitting the difference.
According to sales expert Art Sobczak, offering to split the difference can do more harm than good. For example, if the product or service costs $100 and the prospect wants a 50% discount, the salesperson shouldn't counter with $75 although it seems logical to do so. If the salesperson offers a slight discount but still keeps the number in the neighborhood of the original price, the prospect will likely accept, and the margin takes less of a hit.

5) Don't put anything in writing until the conversation is over.
Negotiations can swing back and forth and around again. Many ideas will be proposed, and while some will be accepted, others will be shot down. A salesperson would be wise not to revise the contract until the meeting has ended, and all parties have verbally agreed to the terms.

6) Negotiate with the decision maker.
This tip might seem obvious, but according to John Holland, many salespeople make the mistake of negotiating with the wrong person. And this means that when talks begin with the true decision maker, they'll likely start at the already discounted price quoted in the first meeting. A great outcome for the prospect, but a poor outcome for the seller.

7) Get something in return for concessions.
Healthy salesperson-customer relationships are borne out of mutual respect and trust. With this in mind, salespeople shouldn't accept every single one of a prospect's demands without making some requests of their own. By keeping the negotiation a win-win for both sides, salesperson and client remain on equal footing, which lays the groundwork for a mutually beneficial relationship.

8) Expand the conversation beyond money.
The most commonly negotiated aspect of a sales deal is price, so salespeople should be prepared to talk discounts. However, since price is tied to value, and value tied to a customer's perception of and satisfaction with a product, salespeople might consider offering other add-ons or freebies in lieu of a smaller price tag. But bear in mind that this is not a hard and fast rule -- the specific concessions a salesperson can offer depends on the situation.

9) Keep the conversation light.
Although prospect and salesperson sit on opposite sides of the table during a negotiation, they will be partners if the deal is signed. Keep the talk light and jovial to avoid creating bad blood.

10) Walk away if necessary.
Salespeople shouldn't be willing to accept any curveball a prospect throws at them. If demands become unreasonable or unprofitable for the company, don't be afraid to walk away from the deal. A customer who only agreed to sign if the contract was radically amended or the price was drastically dropped is bound to cause problems down the road. And since they clearly don't see much value in the offering, it's only a matter of time before they become dissatisfied. Get out for your and your prospect's sake.

http://blog.hubspot.com/sales/essential-negotiation-skills-for-salespeople?utm_content=buffer9a3e8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Ivanka Trump’s 9 Negotiation Rules for Business Success - Motto

Ivanka Trump’s 9 Negotiation Rules for Business Success - Motto





Ivanka Trump’s 9 Rules for How to Negotiate—and Win



By Ivanka Trump





Ivanka Trump is the executive vice president of development and acquisitions of the Trump Organization and founder and CEO of the Ivanka Trump Collection and the #WomenWhoWork initiative.



 

Whether you’re fresh out of college and considering job offers, well ensconced in your career and working on high-profile deals, or you’ve opted to stay at home to raise your children and run your household, negotiations are a part of everyday life.



In my role as executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization and founder and CEO of my own lifestyle brand, I’ve had a lot of practice negotiating. I’ve successfully convinced others to let me redevelop the historic Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. I also led the acquisition of the iconic 800-acre Doral Resort & Spa from my hospital bed after giving birth to my daughter, Arabella. (Speaking of children, I get to hone my negotiation skills each day at home; no one negotiates more aggressively than a toddler—and I have two!)



Meticulous preparation, an even temperament and a genuine love of the game are all factors I attribute to my success in this arena. If you’re working on your own skills, there are several tips I consider crucial when it comes to sealing the deal and (graciously) getting what you want:



1. Set your goals in advance

Know what you want to achieve prior to starting to negotiate. It’s the golden rule but the one most people fail to heed. Without a plan, you allow the opposing party to define your goals instead of the other way around.



2. Think long-term

When forming your goals, consider that negotiations are the beginning—or the continuation—of a long-term relationship, and there’s nothing worse than being in a relationship with someone who feels like they’ve been screwed. Oftentimes, the best negotiations result in a deal that benefits both parties. There are times when you simply want to go for the jugular, but often, you want the other person to feel pleased with the outcome, even if you are the clear victor. Which brings me to my next point…



3. Try to understand the other person’s objectives

The most valuable thing you can do is correctly identify the other person’s top priorities. Often, they’re not at odds with yours; you can give them what they want so they feel like they’ve won, all at little cost to yourself. Yes, negotiating is about money and the bottom line, but a lot of times, it’s much more emotional and complex than that. Realizing that the economic outcome may not be the other party’s top priority gives you more chips to play with and will enable you to achieve better results than you may have anticipated.



4. Over-prepare

The more you know, the stronger your position. Are you asking for a raise? Do your research and know your market value. Having an informed sense of your worth, as dictated by the broader marketplace, will give you greater confidence in requesting increased compensation. It’s tough to dispute someone who can back up her assertions with facts and a smart, articulate argument.



5. Don’t negotiate via email

It’s a cop-out that benefits the weaker party by allowing them to avoid a direct confrontation and take more time to craft a strong response. It’s also easy to misjudge tone, which can be dangerous. I always prefer to speak face-to-face, typically in my own office, where I’m most comfortable.



6. Listen more than you speak

When people are uncomfortable, and many people are when they have to negotiate, they start rambling as a way to fill the vacuum of silence. Some of the strongest negotiators I know just sit back and listen. The less they engage, the more likely the other person is to slip up and offer information they otherwise would have kept guarded.



7. Pay attention to the messages you’re sending with your body language

It has been said that only 7% of communication is verbal. The rest of the message is conveyed through nonverbal cues, including facial expressions, gestures, posture and audible elements, like sighs. Consider this as you think about how you present yourself. Don’t fidget. Don’t pick your nails or tap your foot. Do you look overeager because you’re literally on the edge of your seat? Are you hunched over and drumming your nails—communicating aggression or frustration—or do you appear meek and intimidated, with your arms crossed protectively? The way in which you carry yourself, even when seated at a desk, matters. Regardless of how fast your heart may be beating, sit upright, make eye contact and focus on breathing evenly.



8. Be mentally prepared to walk away

Be it a job offer or a rent renewal, you may at some point need to let it be known that you’re willing to walk if you can’t get on the same page regarding terms. If things get too heated, you can always take a break. Say, “We’re obviously not on the same page. Let’s take a day or two to think about things and then reconnect.” Negotiations can get back on track pretty quickly when you allow people the time to cool off.



If you do decide to walk away, it doesn’t have to mean that the deal is dead. If you decide later that you want it badly enough, you can still go back and accept the deal on the other person’s terms—even if you have to swallow your pride a bit in order to do so.



9. Practice when the stakes are low

Practice negotiating, and hone your style and skills with low-consequence transactions. Call the phone company, and threaten to switch providers if they won’t give you a better deal on your service going forward. Go to a boutique, and ask for a discount. Sales associates usually have the latitude to discount an item up to 10% without a manager’s approval. When the stakes are low, it’s a great time to work on your skills. Plus, it can be fun.



When I bid out our construction projects, I call contractors personally to close the deal and get the best price or enhance the scope of their deliverable. You don’t get what you don’t ask for.



Ivanka Trump is the executive vice president of development and acquisitions of the Trump Organization and founder and CEO of the Ivanka Trump Collection and the #WomenWhoWork initiative.