How to do an interview with The President (of a company...)

Between the Trapezes - On Job Search! | November 2024

Help for when you’re between two career certainties

November 2024

The holidays are here!

You already know what I'm going to say: keep up your job search. With so many social activities this time of year, you can meet more people than usual.

That means more NEW people to add to your network, and who might have contacts in your target companies.

So have a business card you can give out. Sure, you'll run into people who will prefer to get your email signature. But a card is handy. See the short article below for tips on generating a REAL business card.

And be sure to click the link to my article on LinkedIn about that pesky relative who keeps asking you about job search. Some handy advice on how you can actually enlist their help!

Joanne

(Can't see all the content? Just click on the three dots to expand the content and read the newsletter) Not in job search? Please forward to someone who is - thanks!

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Join the Between the Trapezes group on LinkedIn! This is a networking group "for those between two career certainties".

We meet on Zoom, so your location doesn't matter. We coach you in how to be prepared for the meeting so that your networking REALLY counts, even in online meetings.

Not only do you meet others with connections, there's also a ton of materials like tip sheets and scripts that Joanne shares only in the meetings, and then only on the group page. So click the link below to join in and let us know how we can help you network!

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Joanne Meehl

Resume expert whose resumes land interviews. Holds "The Resume Queen"^®trademark, lives up to the title.

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Networking guru who coaches you in elegant (not needy, gimme gimme) networking, getting nominated for roles.

Interview prep that puts you at ease matching yourself to what they need and describing why they need you.

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Interviewing With the President

The president of a company, that is.

You've had a few interviews at Super Startup, Inc., or Helping The Community NonProfit, and now they want you to meet with the president, Jill Jones. Why?

For one, they like you and may be involving her because they want her stamp of approval on their decision.

Two, they like you as a prospective co-worker and they just plain trust her judgment and will follow her lead.

Three, they like you and it could just be their policy to involve her.

So should you treat this interview any differently? In most ways, not really: the "presidential" interview is no different in that you have to tell a few Challenge-Action-Result stories to illustrate why they need YOU. Your strengths, for example, include solving problems and making clients happy, and you have the stories to prove it.

But where it IS different is that company presidents look at the company as a whole. Where it’s been, certainly, but most importantly, where it’s going. They think in terms of years. The bigger picture.

And they highly value the teams they've put in place. This is one of their many creations when it comes to looking at the company as a whole: Teams execute around the vision, and the vision usually comes from the top.

So mention what impresses you about the company and the people and where the company is headed. Those are the things she will want to know over and above your strengths and successes.

Relish your interview with the top person in the company. If they say "This is the person for the job", you're in!

DON'T MISS Joanne's post about that pesky relative who bugs you over Thanksgiving dinner, about your job search. What do you say? Click the link (in red) for the answer. And enjoy the link in the post that takes you to the SNL video about Adele...hilarious!

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This month’s Tip from Joanne:

Use business cards

Bring plenty of business cards with you during the holidays, even if you're going out of town. Even if you're 500 miles from your target geography, you don't know who you might meet whose network touches yours -- and who may know the hiring manager at your dream company.

For job search be sure the card has your name, your cell number, your email address, your LinkedIn URL, and a line or two that includes your title and industry, or title and tagline.

Today, a new contact who you might have just met at a networking function might scan your card and hand it right back to you. That's fine because now they have put your contact info into their Contact database, a very good thing.

Have it printed professionally on good card stock, not on your home printer on cheesy paper. It's not that expensive to do it right.

Carrying a business card, even if it doesn't have a company's name on it, is just the professional thing to do.

Thought of the Month

Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.

— Sanchita Pandey, author and songwriter

Joanne's website: NEW service - Resume Critique

Joanne Meehl Career Services LLC | Zoom or 612.440.6765 (by appt) | Joanne@TheJobSearchQueen.com

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