Make sure your ego is in check during an interview

This post is not intended for the majority of the executives out there, but if I touch just a small percentage of the 15% of the population that it does pertain to, I will be satisfied.

It is so important to develop self-awareness for many areas in your life but it is especially important in an interview.  A couple of interviews that I had this week were extremely painful for me. There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.

When interviewing, be sure that you are connecting with the interviewer and not delivering a self-promoting diatribe.  Be careful using we versus I during recounts of successes.  When discussing an I (like a personal risk or observation you made that helped create the strategy etc.)be sure to immediately follow it up with a comment as to the team also being instrumental in delivering the success of the initiative.

Do not inflate your responsibilities or your value to the company. I had a candidate this week who was exaggerating about the work he had done at the Director level for the last few years. He then preceded to tell me that while he was a junior Manager, Ted Rogers personally recruited him to co-develop strategy with him at Rogers.  I would have burst out laughing at that comment if it were not for the fact that I had realized by then how much of my time that I was wasting in that interview.

Some interview tips to keep you from over promoting yourself:

1.  Keep your ego in check -Even if you are not a people person, Try a little harder to connect with interviewers.

2.  Don't inflate your successes - It is likely that the interviewer already knows who is responsible for what in your past organizations so your stories are immediately dismissed as tall tales.

3.  Be complimentary of your team - They are a reflection of your managing style and managing skills.

4.  Do try to exaggerate your importance in an organization - See point #2

5.  Try to be a bit self-deprecating in your delivery - This will show that you have some self-awareness

Farewell,

Mike