Transcript:
Nancy: If hiring feels confusing.
Tiffany: and job searching feels overwhelming
Nancy: You’re not imagining it,
Tiffany: and you’re definitely not alone.
Nancy: Welcome to Talent Unfiltered. I’m Nancy, and I’m here to ask the questions candidates and companies are actually thinking.
Tiffany: And I’m Tiffany Wallace; I’m the CEO of Dagen Personnel. I’ve spent years inside the hiring process and I’m here to break down what really happens behind the scenes for you openly, honestly and without any corporate filter.
Nancy: Why great candidates say no, why companies move slow, why interviews go sideways, and why job descriptions miss the mark.
Tiffany: And how both sides can do better.
Nancy: If you hire people.
Tiffany: Or you want to be hired?
Nancy: This show is for you.
Tiffany: So, in today’s episode, Your Interview Questions, Our Answers.
Nancy: We’re diving into the interview questions candidates ask all the time, the ones that don’t just have one correct answer but definitely have better or worse ways to approach them. And with me as always is my co-host, the person who has seen every interview mistake, every success story, and every “did they really just say that” moment.
Tiffany: yeah, happy to be here today, and yes, I’ve heard and seen some things.
Nancy: Oh, we know!
Tiffany: Yes
Tiffany: Before we even get started today though, I do want to make sure that we give a really big shout out to all the hard work of our producer Christine Black of CB Creative. If you’d like to reach out to her you can find her at cbcreativetx.com. She’s a wizard.
Nancy: She is, she is a wizard, we love her so much. Christine, we love you!
Nancy: So, let’s jump in.
Tiffany: Great
Nancy: Alright, Let’s start at the beginning, before we even get into the interview itself, let’s talk about the part everyone overlooks, the prep because what you do before you walk in matters just as much as what you say once you’re there.
Tiffany: Well interview prep is like deodorant, you don’t always see it, but everyone notices it if you don’t wear it.
Nancy: I have mine on today
Tiffany: yeah good, Me too
Nancy: okay, alright What should candidates research before the interview and what do they usually forget to look up?
Tiffany: well I think in this day and age what um if they’re especially a new grad they haven’t grown up in the era of LinkedIn and all of the media that is now available to you that wasn’t years ago so obviously you’re gonna look up the company you’re gonna look up the people that are the leadership of the company and the core values then you’re gonna go to the LinkedIn page that the company has because most of them do and you’re gonna see what kind of information they’re putting out there and most of it is gonna be up to date so that you have something a little extra to discuss
Nancy: Okay guys and just a reminder looping back to episodes one and two you should already have LinkedIn so you shouldn’t have any problems logging in and looking up things.
Tiffany: oh, right mean let me just beat that dead horse get a LinkedIn profile
Nancy: All right and then how early did someone arrive and is there such a thing as being too early?
Tiffany: ah Yes, there is such a thing as being too early. you usually wanna be there 15 minutes ahead of time and let me just say what you really wanna do is make sure that you’re at the receptionist desk 5 till whenever your interview is so that the receptionist can call the manager or whoever you’re interviewing with and they are down in the lobby at 9:00 or at 10:00 to receive you
Nancy: right, I mean we’re not saying camp out.
Tiffany: don’t camp out. Don’t get there if your interviews at 10, don’t get there at 9:30
Nancy: Exactly
Tiffany: sit there, sit in your car, you know take your coffee sit in your car. Go in at 15 till and then you know let them know or at a minimum 5 till to give that pe15ough time to come get you.
Nancy: okay and then what should they bring? I think people overthink this so give us kind of like little inside scoop of what people should bring.
Tiffany: yeah I mean I tell people to always make sure they bring some kind of notebook that is polished and professional don’t bring your Manila envelope you know with your papers thrown out everywhere and don’t bring your Trapper Keeper for those of you that still have that just bring a nice solid little notebook with your resume inside of it and also it helps people to keep from fidgeting you know give them your handshake but then you have something to go back and hold
Nancy: Exactly, and the big one, what do I wear if the company doesn’t have a clear dress code.
Tiffany: Well, you know what I’m gonna say
Nancy: I know what you’re gonna say but let’s just hear it from you.
Tiffany: Suit up and show up suit up and show up. Alright, so two things to this if you’re going honestly to a plant environment and you’re not going to wear your suit to a plant environment because they’re going to have regulations on what you can or can’t wear behind the doors of the plant if you’re going to a corporate interview. You need to look at everything from your shoes at the very bottom of you know at the bottom of your feet all the way to the top of your head you need to wear a suit the second thing or the third thing I say is wear what you’re most comfortable in. where you look the most professional if you’re not comfortable in a dress wear slacks and a blouse with a blazer at a minimum gentlemen blazer at a minimum no matter what
Nancy: Okay guys, you heard it blazer and then I feel like you always say wear something that makes you look cute and you feel confident in
Tiffany: 100%
Nancy: I heard you say that to me a lot.
Tiffany: confidence is key so that’s why you have to wear something you’re comfortable in and that you feel good in and that you’re going to present well in
Nancy: okay so now that we’ve made it to the interview phase, you didn’t camp out you brought your, you know your nice um portfolio and you brought your resume with you now it’s time for the classic the question that makes people freeze ramble or black out the “tell me about yourself”
Tiffany: mm hmm
Nancy: Tell us what is the interviewer trying to learn from this question.
Tiffany: What you want to do on tell me about yourself and I share this with everyone is I would start with well my former boss says this about me or my current boss says this about me because then you’re talking about yourself in third person without having to say well I’m organized and I’m wonderful and I’ve got you know advanced Excel skills use an example from your previous position for the current interview you are in if you are interviewing for an accounting position you could then say something like my former manager has stated that I’m excellent at making sure I hit deadlines that I always handle my portion of month and closed so then you can give them examples for what you’re currently interviewing for from someone else
Nancy: okay
Tiffany: they want to know what you’re capable of
Nancy: exactly, and so why do you think that we as candidates right cause all of us have been there why do you think that we like overthinking this question so much because I feel like I’ve done it before
Tiffany: uh huh because you just don’t interview enough so it really is like I interview people all day long every day I’ve heard every mistake there is to make and then I’ve also heard some really amazing responses and so I can share those with you but if you’re not used to talking about yourself to someone else and saying hey I’m really good at this it makes you feel like you’re bragging you know it makes you feel like they think oh well she or he is too they think they’re too good for this job and it’s really not it’s you having a genuine conversation with the person across from you letting them know why they wanna hire you so don’t overthink it you’re just being yourself and sharing your skill set
Nancy: okay, I wanna go back to something that you just said.
Tiffany: okay
Nancy: You said I think that people we don’t interview as often.
Tiffany: mm hmm
Nancy: and so, I’m gonna kind of go back to where I was interviewing and going to a lot of interviews.
Tiffany: yeah
Nancy: And I’ve had spent a long-time kind of at one place and then I was jumping in an interview, and I was very nervous about it.
Tiffany: mm hmm
Nancy: and Dhaval told me “Hey look you never turn down an interview you just go and that’s gonna be your practice.
Tiffany: that’s right
Nancy: So, you’re agreeing with this 100%.
Tiffany: and you know I’ve even talked to people that um maybe we have submitted for a job at Dagen and it’s not their job; their dream jo but the second thing I say about that is you never know who you’re gonna meet within that interview it may not be your dream job but that person sitting there on the panel may know of another job that is available and you might hit it off with them
Nancy: Ok
Tiffany: and you also have to go for practice, but you really have to go for the connection of the people.
Nancy: Ok, got it! Alright and then how long should this answer actually be right because I’m a talker. I would probably ramble on, and we’d still be in “tell me about yourself” and they’d be like Nancy, cut it.
Tiffany: Well, that’s
Nancy: (laughs) I mean.
Tiffany: Never. that would never happen to you.
Nancy: It might
Tiffany: It’s happened to me okay, so I say two to three points and these need to be practiced you need to practice in front of your mirror when someone says okay, you’re here at the interview, why don’t you just tell us a little bit about yourself of course thank you appreciate you for having me here today my former boss would say this about me and go into a short detail of the explanation my former coworker would tell you that I’m a chatterbox but it’s usually because I’m a chatterbox because I ask a lot of questions you know is there time for me to ask questions in this next job and Nancy’s laughing cause she asks a lot of questions
Nancy: I do guys, I’m sorry yeah, and Camille says that I say I’m sorry a lot which we need to I need a slap on the hand if I do that.
Tiffany: yeah, okay well, Camille will be on an episode soon
Nancy: she will
Tiffany: Camille
Nancy: You guys are gonna love her. Okay, so the “tell me about yourself” isn’t the only question right so let’s get into the big ones. the questions that show up in almost every interview. These are the ones candidates know are coming and somehow, we still panic when we hear them right so let’s break that down. Some of the questions are: “Why do you wanna work here?”
Tiffany: if you’re going to an interview and you don’t know why you wanna work there you didn’t do enough research you don’t know who else works there you didn’t look on LinkedIn into see what other positions are; you know available or what other people are doing or what company does you have to have a genuine answer on that response why do you wanna work here well I reviewed the website and I really stand behind your core values you know one of the core values we have at Dagen is fun, you know
Nancy: That is very true.
Tiffany: we work really hard it takes a lot of grit to do what we do and so we have to have some fun sometimes and relax so find a core value of the companies that you identify with hang on to that and then use it in your in the interview when they ask you that question why do you wanna work here
Nancy: perfect, and then I’m gonna ask you this next one but can you walk us through this question cause I feel like a lot of people; They’re really great about showcasing their strengths.
Tiffany: mm hmm um
Nancy: but then we kind of fumble on our weaknesses.
Tiffany: okay, right? When they ask you what are your strengths then I would have gone through the job description and you can do that with your recruiter like if it’s a Dagen we’ll do it with you need to go through the job description and say well as you can see on the job description you’re looking for the following things and that happens to be one of my strengths and then give them an example from your previous job of why that is. On the weaknesses they’re not looking for you to say hey, I really stink at Excel my belief is, and this is for probably the younger um Gen X or people that aren’t as skilled in a particular software. when someone says what’s a weakness you don’t have to say well I’ve never had any SAP experience you can say that you’ve had exposure to it in college and that you’re willing to dive in and learn whatever they would like would you know that you can learn or that you can be taught. They’re looking to hire you based on your capability in the future, not what you’re coming to the table with if you don’t already have that experience.
Nancy: Okay, describe a challenging situation and how you handled it? What’s the recruiter hoping to hear?
Tiffany: okay, so we talked about this yesterday
Nancy: We did
Tiffany: and my way of saying that is they want to hear the challenging situation. They want to hear the process of what you did to overcome it and then they want the solution and you mentioned that that’s the star method.
Nancy: Yes, it’s a specific situation task action and a result and it’s gonna help a candidate provide concise impactful stories focusing 60% on actions taken to demonstrate skills like problem solving leadership conflict and resolution so if you don’t know what that is people look it up.
Tiffany: look it up or call us and we’ll walk you through on how you can um you know give an example or answer that question
Nancy: You know and going back to that um you said earlier like when you are being guided with your job search with a recruiter you guys do interviews before their actual interview and you guide them and help them through the questions that they’re gonna be asked.
Tiffany: right because they may not have the verbiage for it
Nancy: exactly
Tiffany: especially if they’ve been in a job for a really long time and haven’t interviewed or if they are just nervous
Nancy: So that’s what I’m saying so maybe sometimes going the route of not using a recruiter can be a little bit more challenging cause you’re going in kind of just winging it unless you’re actually doing everything.
Tiffany: perfectly
Nancy: Like Perfect
Tiffany: is there a perfect interview?
Nancy: That’s what I’m saying so get yourself a recruiter. Okay, why are you leaving your current job? That question is so it’s not tricky, but I just feel like you need to answer it in a you know delicate way.
Tiffany: so, the number one question I get believe it or not because people get fired, terminated, or laid off
Nancy: I’ve never been fired or laid off.
Tiffany: oh, wow that’s impressive. I’ve been fired.
Tiffany: I’ll tell you what happened but especially in Houston, Texas where the oil and gas market is so huge people go through layoffs all the time but let me give you my response on if you’ve been terminated first of all uh a lot of people have been terminated. I bet 70% of the workforce has been terminated or fired for some reason. You have to be genuinely honest now genuinely honest in the sense of saying it in less than three sentences and then being quiet most of the time the interview is not going to press you if the answer is genuine for instance I got fired in my late 20’s It’s the only time I’ve been fired but I was working for another staffing agency and um the manager of that agency was involved in a relationship with our receptionist
Nancy: no, no, no
Tiffany: and that wasn’t going well. I know and anyway I made a comment about it and he didn’t like that, so I basically got fired the next day. what I Learned from that was that I probably just should have minded my own business which I now do to this day and so if someone asked me but they asked me why was I terminated and I said because I didn’t mind my own business you know if you’d like more information on that’ll tell you but there was a situation at work where two people were involved and it really was none of my business
Nancy: okay
Tiffany: so other people have been terminated for situations that are much more stressful and we can walk through that a layoff is simply a layoff but explain what round of layoff you were in were you in the first or the third that does make a difference if you decide that you’re gonna look for another job and they say why are you leaving your current job your answer has to be a reason for where you’re looking for growth or you’re looking for an ability to learn something new it could be for money maybe you’re your maybe you’ll just want to buy a new home or your early career and you’re looking for that next step up
Nancy: Okay, tell me about a time you worked in a team?
Tiffany: oh, they’re looking for collaboration they’re looking for did you lead the team or were you just a worker in the team
Nancy: Are you a team player?
Tiffany: yeah, are they’re looking for what portion of that team effort were you a part of and how involved you were
Nancy: Okay, and do you have any questions for us like what questions should we have for them?
Tiffany: At the end of the interview if you haven’t gotten all of your questions answered I have a couple that I like.
Nancy: You do have a couple I heard them a couple days ago and I thought those were really great.
Tiffany: I would ask somebody what the end of 30 days looks like for me and usually that’s on boarding and some training what does the next 30 days look like and then what is your expectation of what I should be doing or how I am doing at the end of the next 30 which is 90 days but don’t ask you know what is my expectations by 90 days because that’s just too that’s too broad. what is my expectation the end of 30 days the second 30 days and the third 90 days and then one of my favorite questions depending on who you’re sitting across from now this isn’t if it’s your coworker or it could be but it’s usually if it’s a senior management person I always like to end it on you know I typically don’t get this kind of one on one time with someone at such a senior level or someone that has as much experience as you do in the field that I’m seeking to be in so what advice would you give me at this time career wise what would you say to me
Nancy: I love that question.
Tiffany: I do too and most people who get the question love it as well and I’ve talked to clients that you know they say hey they asked me this question it was great because then it allowed me to tell them more about what’s going on in the company or more about how I got to where I was and what they can do and so it is it’s a way to leave on a good note for you to be able to say thank you so much for giving and sharing a part of yourself with me and you don’t have to say that you can say thank you for answering my personal question
Nancy: yeah, and I think it kind of opens the door to have that like one-on-one connection it’s not just so business.
Tiffany: yes,
Nancy: right
Tiffany: it is always about connection Nancy so in the interview that’s what you’re looking for from the beginning to the end
Nancy: Alright, you guys heard it. Okay, so now that we’ve survived the interview.
Tiffany: mm hmm
Nancy: congratulations to the ones that did and if you didn’t this is your practice round okay, but you’re not done yet right let’s talk about the thank you notes.
Tiffany: uh, it’s a must
Nancy: exactly
Tiffany: It’s a must! Golly, I got a thank you note the other day and it was three sentences it wasn’t to me but I what I would like to have happened is the candidates send the thank you note to me then I send it to the client and then I’m able to ask “hey what did you think” and then get feedback at that time but the email that I got I mean I’m talking about someone that was interviewing for a job that was $200,000 and they wrote three sentences thank you for the interview thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Nancy: (buzzer sound)
Tiffany: not good enough
Nancy: no ma’am
Tiffany: so your thank you note needs to be a minimum of 10 to 20 sentences it does not need to be three paragraphs but it does need to thank them for their time also make a point about why you believe that you would be the person for the job make a reference to something that was discussed during the interview on why you would be successful and then also anything about that industry that you either are already involved in or why you want to continue to be involved in or why you think that this fits who you are and then that’s it they’re looking to see your writing style and then they are also looking to see that you can write. Don’t chat GPT.
Nancy: I was just about to say that.
Tiffany: don’t chat GPT
Nancy: It’s like you read my mind.
Tiffany: because when you read a lot of thank you notes when you read resumes like I do all day long when I’m constantly engaged with people in email I can tell you within 10 seconds if it’s a chat GPT thank you note and if it’s a chat GPT resume
Nancy: So now that you’ve sent the thank you note now the waiting begins.
Tiffany: mm hmm
Nancy: Let’s talk about how long the wait should actually be, I mean but I’m gonna be honest I feel like I’ve waited and waited and waited and waited.
Tiffany: mm hmm
Nancy: and waited I’m gonna say that again because I literally, I’m not kidding you I got one like I don’t know maybe like three weeks ago and this was like I had applied like I don’t know 2024, like that’s
Tiffany: wow
Tiffany: okay so I don’t want to hurt your feelings but in the interview one of also and I should have said this one of the last questions that you can ask them is where are you in the process and when should I expect to hear from you
Nancy: This is why I’m now recruiting, so I know these answers.
Tiffany: yeah but you always want to ask in the interview that you know thank you for having me if you want the job you need to say I would really like this job and when do you think I should hear from you are y’all already have you interviewed quite a few you know are you still interviewing do you have a deadline for putting a person in the role so then if they say two or three weeks and if you haven’t heard from them in a week or two reach out to them send them an email
Nancy: what should we say in that email just for the ones- that we don’t know.
Tiffany: seeking clarity on the timeline I thought that was a good subject line from someone seeking clarity on timeline and then in that email he asked me you know do you have any response from the client or do we you know was I contender
Nancy: So basically, just reading that subject line made you wanna.
Tiffany: oh yeah, yeah, it was a good subject line
Nancy: Okay, I like that.
Tiffany: you know if it’s checking in everybody’s checking in what are you checking in about I mean and but I know people are checking in about their interviews I mean I know the person so I know why they’re checking in and shame on me for not getting back to them before they had to check in but I did like the subject line
Nancy: What should we not say?
Tiffany: Why haven’t you gotten back to me?
Nancy: I’m reaching out because I haven’t heard back.
Tiffany: yeah, I mean
Nancy: You need to call me now!
Tiffany: we try really hard at Dagen to respond to people it does get tough sometimes because you’re talking to so many people all the time um and we do have clients believe it or not that don’t get back to us and that’s extremely frustrating um and most of the time it’s because of internal things going on that we have no control over
Nancy: So, before we wrap up let’s hit a few questions that candidates should be asking but usually don’t. okay, what qualities make someone thrive on this team? I’m not sure if we went over that and then like what qualities does your current top performer have. I know you mentioned that one yesterday why do you think that’s a great question to ask.
Tiffany: well first of all its gonna tell you if you’re capable of accomplishing what that top performer has done it’s also going to tell you what you’re gonna have to do in order to exceed what that top performer has done and also its gonna tell you just how hard you’re really gonna have to work it’s almost like a um a what you know a peeking inside the window without asking just how hard am I gonna have to work here you know um and it also is gonna you’ll find out if that’s going to match your personality style so if it’s a sales job and they tell you that person hasn’t missed quota for two years you know to be the top performer you’re gonna have to not miss quota for two years I mean that’s an extreme right but yeah it does give you kind of like a peek inside the window of what’s going on
Nancy: okay alright and then I just kind of want to not leave on this note but I was talking about it yesterday how I think that candidates and interviewers and hiring people we’re all the same we just but when they’re on the other side and they’re asking all these questions we get so nervous right but like I’ve noticed on all my interviews when I was going to interviews there’s like a icebreaker kind of moment to make you feel more relaxed and I think to kind of calm our nerves so I just want people to remember that everybody is like me or you we’re we have our own lives and then just go in feeling confident, calm and just know that it’s gonna go great.
Tiffany: That’s right but I also tell people that if they are really nervous, they need to say that out loud when they walk in
Nancy: like before?
Tiffany: yes when they walk into the interview and they sit down across I’m sitting across from you right now and I could possibly be very nervous I would say Nancy thank you for having me but I am really nervous so that that person across from you can say oh relax we’re just having a conversation most people aren’t gonna look right back at you and go well you should be you know you should be really
Nancy: That’s true
Tiffany: but it gives it is your own icebreaker of saying gosh you know I’m really glad to be here but I’m really nervous
Nancy: Aww, I like that.
Tiffany: your gut response is to is to try to immediately make the person feel relaxed and comfortable
Nancy: okay
Tiffany: Now what I tell people when they come when they interview with me is I usually can pick up on if someone’s nervous I mean cause I’ve just been
Nancy: cause you’ve done it for so long.
Tiffany: and so, I just say listen you and I are two people and what we’re gonna do is see if we’re a match
Nancy: and see that’s what and that’s what I’m saying like you guys know.
Tiffany: Well, a client should know that
Nancy: That’s true
Tiffany: They should be able to break the ice with someone and say “Hey, listen thank you for coming in. I like what I’ve seen on your resume and all we’re gonna do today is have a conversation.
Nancy: and have a chat.
Tiffany: and see if were a match.
Nancy: yeah, exactly. Okay, alright so now it’s one of my favorite parts of the show well I’ve decided to do this well to add this on and it’s called “Did they just say that.”
Tiffany: oh (laughs)
Nancy: This is where.
Tiffany: you said it alright
Nancy: I ask Tiffany to share a wildest most out of pocket completely unexpected things that candidates have said in general and trust me she has stories. So, what do you got for us?
Tiffany: I’ll give you my most outrageous story and it was when I first got into staffing and there’s been many more since then I’m gonna have to start documenting them, but I was working for a
Nancy: I’ll create a spreadsheet for you.
Tiffany: Great idea, okay when I think of one I’ll just send it to you!
Nancy: yeah
Tiffany: But my most outrageous story was I was early into probably hadn’t even been doing it a couple of years and I was an I was leading an onsite for an oil and gas company and all of a sudden I looked up and the police department three policemen were walking into my office and they asked me if a particular person was at work that day and I said I think he is and they said well could you walk us to his desk and so of course at that point I had to get HR from the company
Nancy: weren’t you scared?
Tiffany: uh, yes, yes! because I had no idea what was going on but they arrested him on site that day because he was going into the women’s bathrooms on different floors this building has 71 stories he was going to different story every day and going into the women’s bathrooms this is pre cameras this is before they had a camera on every floor right
Nancy: oh my gosh
Tiffany: and he would go into the women’s bathrooms and sit in the stall with his feet up on the toilet and then when the woman walked into the restroom, he was peeking up over the stall
Nancy: Creeper
Tiffany: as the women were in there and then but they never could figure out who he was because he was going to different floors he wasn’t going to the floors of the company he so called worked for, he was going through the 71 stories
Nancy: oh my god
Tiffany: and so that’s probably one of the most outrageous things I’ve ever seen people do
Nancy: okay guys that, that is pretty crazy.
Tiffany: that’s pretty crazy, people are crazy
Nancy: that brings us to the end of today’s episode.
Tiffany: Yep, episode 3 we’re glad you joined us today. Nancy and I have a really great time doing this and we hope that we have helped you with some of the questions.
Nancy: Exactly, and then also I hope it’s not the end of your confidence heading into your next interview. Remember there’s no really perfect answer in recruiting but there are smarter ways to navigate the process.
Tiffany: catch us on our next episode. Follow Talent unfiltered and listen to us on Spotify and
Both: Apple
Nancy: I’m so excited about that.
Tiffany: We’re very happy
Nancy: okay so if you’ve got a question, you want us to tackle next send it our way until next time.
Tiffany: Until next time.
Nancy: Ciao, ciao, ciao!