Interview Power. Tom Washington
we had had great sales, but I didn’t know how great. When I got the results a couple days later I realized that we had increased sales 62% over the previous year. We had by far the biggest increase in the region of 18 stores. We succeeded because everyone pulled together and because over the past two years we had added many loyal customers by having unique merchandise and by providing great customer service.
Evaluation. That experience showed me what you can do when you have a staff that cares and is trained well. I put a lot of effort into hiring people who want to work and are trainable, then I show them how to sell our products and how our customers like to be treated. It’s incredible what you can do as a team. I also realized at that time what I was capable of. I had always worked hard and I knew I had a lot of energy, but I didn’t know that I could stay that focused for that length of time.
Let’s review the story and the impact it had on you. Brenda told the story to back up her claim that she had drive. Without a doubt you are convinced that she has drive. She also created some word pictures that will help you remember her. You probably felt that moment of panic when a key assistant manager quit just seven days before Christmas. Then you probably visualized the staff eating pizza. Then you saw them in jeans singing songs and passing out candy canes and being very friendly even though all were exhausted.
Notice how Brenda created her word pictures. She mentioned the holidays so you probably pictured people bundled up. She said they couldn’t keep the shelves stocked so you probably visualized people quickly grabbing items right off the shelves. Brenda has told a very effective story, in large part because she used SHARE.
Results Sell You
To have the greatest impact on interviewers, include results in your stories whenever possible. It is always best if you can describe accomplishments in terms of dollars or percentages. One of my clients was able to tell employers that in the two years since she had taken over her territory, she had increased the sales of shoes by 54% and profits on her sales by 68%. The company had been marketing in that territory for 20 years. You can see how impressive this would be to an employer. Another client stated, “I developed a simplified computer program for a client which reduced the computer runtime by 40% and saved over $17,000 per year.”
Dollar figures and percentages are so valuable that you should even estimate them when necessary. The computer programmer in the example above had to estimate the dollar savings. She knew the runtime was reduced by 35–45%, so she chose 40% as her figure. She knew how frequently the program was run, and she knew the cost of the computer time. Thus, the $17,000 figure was calculated using simple arithmetic.
While not all results can be quantified, many can. When I’m talking with people to gather information for their resumes, I’m frequently told, “There’s really no way to estimate it, I just improved it.” I will then ask questions from different angles and we invariably arrive at a figure we can use. You can do the same with your results.
Below are additional statements which effectively convey quantifiable results.
I developed a new production technique which increased productivity by 7%.
Through more effective recruiting techniques, I reduced terminations company-wide by 30% and turnover by 23%.
I edited a newsletter for an architectural association, with readership increasing 28% in one year.
I implemented a 12% cut in staffing through attrition which resulted in virtually no reduction in output.
I organized a citizen task force which successfully wrote a statewide initiative, adopted with a 69% favorable vote.
As chairperson for fund raising, I developed a strategy which increased funds raised by 26% while reducing promotional costs.
I set a record of 46 days without a system failure.
Which/Which Resulted In
Results are powerful. Everything you’ve done on a job has had a result. When the result is positive and significant, it is worth sharing in an interview. Train yourself to look for results. Remember, you don’t need computer printouts to verify your results. Your own honest estimate is sufficient. If asked about it during an interview, just describe how you arrived at the figure and then go into more detail concerning how you accomplished it. Results sell you.
I’ve developed a simple technique which will help you identify your results. Take each of your key experiences and add the words which, or which resulted in. Then simply ask yourself what the result was. For example, “Wrote an office procedures manual” becomes, “Wrote an office procedures manual which decreased training time and billing errors.” After you’ve taken time to quantify the results and to explain it more accurately, it will become, “Wrote an office procedures manual which decreased training time of new employees by 25% and reduced billing errors over 30%.”
The trick is to identify the result or results first and then seek to quantify them by using the hard data you have available or by estimating the result. Also, don’t stop with just one result or benefit. Many of your best experiences have had several results, so take the time to identify them. Each different result will come in handy at different times in an interview.
Let’s look at a project that produced multiple results.
In my position as lobbyist for the Detroit realtors’ association, I was very active in building coalitions with the homebuilders, the Economic Development Council of Detroit, and other housing groups. As part of these coalitions, I was asked to co-chair an affordable housing committee. From the realtors’ perspective, government regulations were a major problem. So I pulled together an all-inclusive committee, including representatives from General Motors, Housing Coalition of Detroit, and the Detroit Housing Authority, as well as county and state officials. We brought in local experts on a variety of topics and asked for recommendations for reducing or streamlining unnecessary government regulations. We came up with over 80 recommendations and presented it at a regional event sponsored by the mayor and county executive as well as the Detroit Free Press. It was publicly well-received, and because of the quality of the recommendations and the breadth of the coalition, over 30 key recommendations were adopted in the past year, with more to follow I’m sure. By streamlining permit and building processes, builders are saving about $600 per home.
Sam demonstrated numerous skills in this project as well as several results. Let’s examine the results and quantify them if we can.
Brought together a coalition of groups that usually oppose one another.
Persuaded government organizations and agencies to remove unnecessary government regulations.
Reduced the cost of building a home by over $600 each.
Reduced the average time to obtain construction permits from 120 days to 75 days.
Developed strong relationships with government agencies by showing that we realtors didn’t oppose everything they recommended, and worked with them to actually strengthen some regulations.
Developed allies that we never had before. (With many of these allies we knew that we wouldn’t agree on certain issues, but we found that we could work with them on others).
This array of businesses and organizations learned the importance of really listening to what each group was saying and of taking the time to learn what was most important and critical to them.
Got the ear of the mayor, who previously would not listen to us.
I personally gained great visibility by being interviewed by three major newspapers and by the CBS and ABC local affiliates.
Received a $5,000 bonus from the realtors.
Everybody wins. More affordable housing units can be constructed so more new homebuyers can get that first