Interview Power. Tom Washington

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      Gain the support and involvement of people who are naturally defensive and hesitant

      Develop innovative methods and techniques

      Effectively analyze profitability of products and services

      Able to analyze a complete product line, take it apart, and put it back together with greater profitability

      Develop highly effective computer generated reports

      Gain the confidence and absolute trust of people

      I led a research group in studying the profitability of installment lending at U.S. Bancorp. I analyzed gross yields, handling costs, and loan losses for the various types of loans. I developed a consistent and accepted method for measuring handling costs among the several loan categories. My analysis gained credibility with the senior lending managers. I worked with the installment lending department and obtained their help in the project. The analysis revealed that some types of loans had very high handling costs and were not profitable. My analysis helped initiate a move away from unprofitable loan categories. After discussions with a senior executive at the bank, I developed a computer report for easy monitoring of the rates, maturity, and size characteristics of new loans. This process helped ensure that we kept profitability high.

      In this example the fourth skill is likely to have the greatest impact. The person might state, “My strength is producing products with greater profit margins. I have the ability to analyze a complete product line, take it apart and put it back together with greater profitability.”

      Develop effective systems that increase sales and productivity

      Persuasive

      Develop sales incentives that really work

      Leader—motivate staff

      Conduct useful meetings

      Able to instill a need for planning and organization into staff

      Conduct motivating sales meetings

      Always create a winning team

      Get people believing in themselves

      Give people the tools to help them succeed

      In 1998 I was promoted from agent to district manager for New York Life. For the first month I hardly knew what I was supposed to do because there were no procedures or systems in place. Then I attended a seminar on insurance management put on by the Kinder brothers. They taught that you needed a system for everything. I learned a lot.

      When I returned to the office I began to write a recruiting and training system. It really helped new agents get off to a fast start, and those early successes increased their motivation and self-confidence. I developed good campaigns with wonderful awards to motivate the achievers on the staff. We had training meetings which were always great occasions. I spent a lot of time with my new people and really got them going. I made mistakes but I did enough things right that it started to show. In 1999 we finished number three in the region and number one in 2000.

      All of the skills listed are valuable, but it is the first skill describing the ability to develop systems that increase sales and productivity that will have the most impact.

      Now read the instructions for completing this exercise. I trust you will take the time to write about your top twelve accomplishments and then identify skills within them. These twelve experiences will undoubtedly be used frequently in your interviews. They are your best experiences and each contains 5-15 key skills. Any time you want to sell one of the skills identified, you’ve got at least one excellent example.

      The accomplishments you did not write about will also be used in interviews. If you have 20 or 30 that you did not write about, take up to two minutes with each one to identify the 2-3 key skills that jump out at you. Rehearse these experiences as well.

      Before you begin identifying your accomplishments, be sure to read all of the instructions. There are important points throughout that you need to know and understand before you begin.

WRITING ABOUT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

       1. Write a list of at least 30 experiences that you would consider to be accomplishments.

      a) List the experiences as they pop into your mind. Don’t filter them out, just list them. They do not need to be “knock your socks off ” types of experiences. Try to list 40 or more, but list at least 30. Once you get started listing them, one accomplishment will trigger another. An accomplishment is anything you:

      Enjoyed doing

      Did well

      Gained satisfaction from

      Are proud of

      b) Since people often share non-job-related experiences in interviews, do not feel limited to work experiences. Those with little work experience will of course emphasize experiences from school, hobbies, sports, or volunteer activities.

      c) Include at least fifteen work-related accomplishments (assuming you have job experience), with at least four coming from your current or most recent job. If you’re frustrated in your current job, it’s easy to assume there haven’t been accomplishments,but there have been. Sometimes it merely takes a little more effort to identify them.

      d) You have dozens of accomplishments. Don’t screen them out because they seem insignificant. Even these so called “insignificant” experiences can be used powerfully in an interview. These seemingly small experiences are often the perfect vehicle to demonstrate a particular skill or quality.

      e) Don’t try to complete your list in one sitting. Over two or three days, think of the experiences as you drive to work or take a walk. As you drive you might be able to jot thoughts down as you wait for a stop light. Or, as you arrive at your destination, take five minutes to madly list the experiences that came to mind. Then you might need two or three sessions at home where you really concentrate on recalling experiences for 15-20 minutes at each session.

       2. Write about your top experiences.

      a) Determine your absolute top twelve lifetime accomplishments. One way is to decide which have had the greatest impact on your life. Another way is to ask yourself which ones will reveal the most skills. Or, which ones will have the greatest impact in interviews. As you begin to write, be sure to leave a three-inch margin on the left so you’ll have room to identify skills.

      b) Write 100-400 words on each experience. Begin by describing the situation. Give some background. What were the circumstances? What were the problems you faced? How did you analyze the situation? What occurred? What actions did you take? What were the results? Use the SHARE model: Situation, Hindrances, Actions, Results, Evaluation. See pages 30 to 32. Write as completely as you can and give enough details so any reader would have a good understanding of what you did. If the accomplishment is job related, avoid acronyms or any technical jargon.

      c) Describe your role. Many accomplishments are achieved through a group СКАЧАТЬ