Confirm that your supervisor is the person who submits a request for your pay raise and bonus and ask for a clarification of how performance will be measured, when raises are determined, and who the key influencers are. Learn how and how frequently your supervisor likes to be updated on progress and the extent to which you can make decisions without approval. As a summary of this first and important meeting, you should document your agreed-upon deliverables and due dates and send a copy to your supervisor as acknowledgement that you are actively working on the near-term projects. Afinal outcome of this meeting should be an announcement from your supervisor or the human resources head welcoming you to the staff and describing your responsibilities. Leave no room for gossip about what you were hired to do.
Determine who the major influencers are, i.e., those who will evaluate your work and inform your supervisor how you performed. Meet with these individuals periodically; establish rapport and a supportive working relationship. Key questions to ask each influencer are primary business needs and how you can help to make them successful in their corporate role. If you are lucky, a mutual respect will develop with one of these influencers and the person will become a mentor.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
As a general rule, anyone higher than you on the organization chart can help to catapult you up or out of the organization. The first person to impress and demonstrate that the company made the right choice to hire you is your immediate supervisor. Meet with this person in your first week after all benefit forms, security badges, pass to the company store, and other administrative matters are completed. The purpose of this meeting is to determine what is expected of you in the first three to six months of employment. Document all deliverables with expected due dates, a description of what the results should look like, where and from whom you would obtain the data, and the purpose of each deliverable. Be careful not to assume too much responsibility too soon as part of the euphoria of a new job.
Interview your immediate supervisor to assess personality, determine if there is an open door to ask questions, and evaluate how close their relationship is to senior management. Establish or solidify a rapport as you did in Chapter 2.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
Some examples of a major accomplishment might be (1) to introduce one of your supervisors to a member of the management team at a potential customer, (2) to provide someone on the senior management team with an opportunity to be a guest speaker at a prestigious industry conference, (3) to identify and deliver a real, unexpected revenue opportunity, or (4) to identify a significant cost savings that can be realized immediately without creating enemies in the process. Identifying such an accomplishment is often as difficult as achieving it.
Ron was hired as a technology systems support manager in the help desk department. During the interview process, he was told by another technical staff member that the department needed a control program to track user troubleshooting requests. The week before he started his new job, Ron wrote a program that he thought would keep track of the department’s troubleshooting projects. He waited twoweeks to get acclimated to the new environment and updated the program to include requirements he uncovered on the job. He casually discussed the project with his supervisor who thought it was an excellent idea. Within the next week, Ron finalized the program and presented it to his supervisor. The supervisor was very impressed with Ron and his self-directed project. By the end of the third week of employment, Ron was in the office of the vice president of his department receiving praise for his initiative and quality work. A great start to a new job.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
One of the most significant steps to ensure a lasting success in a new company is to identify and accomplish something significant that would benefit the company within the first 3 to 6 weeks. It is important to identify a critical company or department need during the orientation period when you meet other employees.
Another reason for an early accomplishment is the recruiter’s guarantee period under which you are required to remain with the company. If you should leave voluntarily or be terminated during this period, the recruiter must return the fee or replace you at no cost. Be assured that the VP-HR is watching the calendar for that date to arrive, and the weeks prior are very dangerous for newly hired job seekers. Ask the recruiter when the guarantee period ends and plan to deliver results prior to that date. The guarantee period for contingency recruiters is generally 30, 60, or 90 days, while it may be one or two years for a retained firm. You should also ask the recruiter to suggest what would be an impressive accomplishment.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
Verity took all this in stride. When Barry asked Verity if she needed anything, she realized that there was no formal orientation program and she would have to orchestrate her own introduction to company employees. One key need Verity identified during her interviews was that the company expected her to improve a financial system with the chief financial officer (CFO) being the key user. She asked Barry if she could be introduced to the CFO and Barry gladly made the introduction in the first hour of the first day. Verity focused on her first impression skills and established rapport with the CFO. She then asked the CFO if he could describe the financial system and provide her with the requirements for improving it. The CFO was very impressed. Verity’s initiative left those who met her with the impression that she fits right in with other employees and was off to a running start.
During the honeymoon phase of a new job, a conscious effort should be made to ensure long-term success. The interview technique of uncovering the interviewer’s needs must be executed with virtually every person you meet for the first time. After making the first impression and establishing rapport, ask how you can help each personfrom your position on the organization chart or from a personal standpoint. This offer should be a major contributor to the first impression. Take note of the response and be sincere in your effort to assist other employees in the weeks and months ahead.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
If this activity sounds like you read about it a few chapters ago, you are right. In the first weeks of your new job, you will be interviewingwith every employee in your department or office location. If the company is small, you might meet every employee, and you must be ready for each one. The preparation and due diligence you performed when interviewing should be immensely helpful for this new and important purpose. In most instances, many employees will have the perception that you are able to “hit the ground running” on the first day. Do not disappoint them.
On her first day, Verity, the new information technology project manager, entered the reception area of her new company and introduced herself as the newly hired project manager. The HR director was supposed to welcome her, but he was called away to an emergency meeting. Fortunately, the HR director informed the receptionist to call the vice president-information technology, Barry, with whom Verity previously interviewed. Barry immediately went to the reception area and apologized for the absence of the HR director. There was no office space available and Barry walked Verity to a temporary location—a conference table in the CEO’s office. The CEO was out of town for the week.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
The first day at your new job is a surreal experience filled with exhilaration, apprehension, and many challenges that you convinced interviewers you can solve. You have just become a player in a new game—The Corporate Survival Game. Before you sit at your new desk on that soon-to-be memorable first day, you should have a plan to survive in your new company as long as circumstances permit. Starting a new job provides you with more control over your future than you had as a job seeker. Take advantage of your current situation and be proactive to ensure success in your new job and in the next interview game.
You are about to enter the world of company politics and the need to impress everyone you meet. The same qualities applied in the interview game plus unbounded energy must now be directed towards living up to and exceeding the expectations of those who hired you.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
Within an hour Susan received her offer letter, which included a respectable 10% increase over her previous salary. The background check was a surprise, but she had nothing to worry about because she was totally honest about her degree and all the information she provided Scott. She was very relieved that there was no personality test.
Susan called Scott the next morning. She had one question related to the company’s profitability and revenue stream since it is a private company. Scott replied with a reassuring answer. Susan then weighed the risk of negotiating for a higher base and the possibility of losing the offer even at this late stage. What convinced her to makethe first move to negotiate was the excellent rapport she developed with Scott. She knew her request must be done in a professional, non-demanding manner. “Scott, you know how excited I am about this offer, and I would like to ask if there is room in the budget for a base of $81,000?” Scott was apologetic in his reply and said “We can’t go a penny over $80,000. Would that be acceptable?” Another winning move by Susan. She accepted the offer immediately. Susan took the initiative to inform Scott that she would like to start on Monday, just five days away. Scott agreed and Susan will be the official winner of the interview game when she appears at her new job on Monday morning.
An acceptance letter sent to your new supervisor in advance of your start date conveys a professional image and contributes to a warm impression. Susan sends an e-mail to her new boss, the VPmarketing, stating how pleased she is to receive the offer and that she looks forward to being a productive member of the team.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
The call came the next week as Scott indicated. It was three months after Susan’s friend Tom referred her.
Scott: Susan, your references were impeccable and we would like you to join our marketing team. Our compensation package consists of a base salary plus annual bonus and company benefits. We would like to offer you $78,000 plus a 25% bonus based on the performance of both you and the company. Your title will be director of marketing reporting to the VP-marketing. The reason we conducted such an extensive search is because the position we are offering you is targeted at moving into the VPmarketing position when Tara takes over one of our subsidiaries in the next year or so. Well, what’s your reaction?
Susan: That is just wonderful, Scott. I am really ecstatic. Would you please fax or e-mail an offer letter and I will be back to you in a day? Also, who can I call for information on company benefits?
Scott: Terrific. I will fax an offer letter within an hour and I will tell Marsha, our Compensation and Benefits Manager, to expect your call. By the way, I will also send you a permission form for us to do a background check which we do for all new employees. I hope you will accept the offer and join us. Please let me know a start date when you
call tomorrow. Thanks.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
Almost a month had passed since Susan’s second interview when she saw Scott’s Caller ID on her cell phone. Because there was no recruiter involved, she will rely on Scott to be the intermediary betweenher and the VP-marketing. Following a few minutes of small talk, Scott gets right to the point. You impressed everyone and we would like to go the next step and check three references. We narrowed the search down from almost 250 candidates to just two—you and one other. If we can speak with all the references this week, then we will make our decision next week. Susan expressed her excitement and continued interest in the position. It was mid-afternoon and she told Scott that by the morning he would receive contact information for three references.
References
This was good news. Susan had one competitor to eliminate and her only weapon at this time was to select stellar references and be certain that they were well prepared. She worked three years at her recent company and decided to select two members of senior management —her boss (the VP-marketing) and the president. Her third reference was the president of another publishing firm with which she negotiated a marketing alliance. Alliances will be an integral part of her new responsibilities and a previous partner would be perfect to demonstrate her competency in that area. Two presidents and a vice president are excellent choices for references.
Susan immediately called each reference to alert them about a call and to let them know the urgent need for their response. She identified key areas for each to emphasize. The president of her recent firm was asked to expand on her professionalism and the trust the president placed in her to explore alliances with other publishers and to serve as a speaker at industry conferences. The VP-marketing was asked to describe Susan’s in-depth knowledge of membership-based businesses and her experience working with ad agencies, which was a requirement Susan surfaced in her first interview with Scott. The third reference was asked to describe Susan’s negotiating ability and professionalism.
After a brief discussion with each, she sent an e-mail outlining the information required for the upcoming call. Susan then sent Scott the contact information. Within two days, the three references called her to summarize the results of their discussion with Scott. Everything appeared to be going well. Again, Susan must wait.
Taken From:Winning the Interview Game
