Why Interviews Suck and the Tale of Two Chickens

Under30Careers | October 17, 2012 | 1 Comment

Once upon a time there was a farm boss, Maximilian the pig, who ran a tight farming operation. Weighing in at 213 lbs, he was one tough pig. He had held the seat of Chief Farming Officer for as long as the farm animals could remember. Times were tough but rumor had it that there was a new opening for an entry level position in the CD (coop department). New graduates of Mudville University were being encouraged to apply.

Enter Thomas and Kirk, two recent graduates from Mudville. Thomas was a sporting chicken who was known for his agility and speed, academics came easy to him, and he was a bit “cocky” in attitude. Kirk was a thoughtful chicken, who loved to ask questions, was a careful planner and desired more than anything to understand the higher level picture of how farm worked. They had one thing in common: They both were unsure of what they wanted to do with their one unique and amazing chicken life.

Thomas and Kirk both graduated in May with bachelor’s degrees. Thomas achieved his degree in Biotech and Kirk’s was in Agricultural Science. It was now the end of a long, hot summer and it was time to get started on their new life.

Thomas and Kirk both came from upper middle class families and listened to stories about their cousins success as lawyers, doctors, and CPAs. Thomas chose to focus his studies in BioTech, because that was where there was money to made.

However for Kirk, just making money wasn’t going to cut it. Success might have been defined this way in past generations, like for Ma and Pa chicken, but for Kirk, he wouldn’t settle for anything less than a job he loved, that paid very well, and where his ideas were respected. He wanted a lifestyle, not a job. Someplace where there was a cultural fit between what he saw his life being and the way the company felt to work in. He was indeed seeking to optimize his life and find happiness.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, creator of “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” and distinguished psychology professor at Claremont University, proposes that for a person (chicken) to achieve happiness in their lives one must differentiate themselves from others and integrate into a community that recognizes and appreciates their contributions.

A self that is only differentiated – not integrated – may attain great individual accomplishments, but risks being mired in self-centered egotism. By the same token, a person (chicken) who self is based exclusively on integration will be well connected and secure, but lack autonomous individuality. Only when a person (chicken) invests equal amounts of psychic energy in these two processes and avoids both selfishness and conformity is the self likely to relectcomplexity.- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1990

Kirk had achieved a nice balance between carving out a unique set of interests and talents for himself, while still achieving success in developing close relationships and showing kindness among his peers. It was a bit nerve wracking to have to leave the community he belonged to and find a place as equally satisfying. He consciously shifted his perspective from being afraid to seeing it as a challenge and an adventure.

Both Thomas and Kirk landed interviews with Henrietta, the CRD (Chicken Resources Director), and the interview was scheduled in one week.

Thomas’s Tale

Thomas had lined up interviews at all of the top farms in the region. He went out and purchased an expensive chicken suit and darn, did he look handsome in it. The night before the interview, he scanned their website and reviewed the job description. He knew all the tricks to good interviewing,

Research the company beforehand
Mimic your interviewer so they feel like you are a match for the job
Respect the pecking order and be polite
Have a solid “talon”shake
Look passionate about the job

How could it go wrong?

Interview Day

Thomas arrived at the farmhouse and was greeted by the secretary, Lois. She was a sweet old hen, but Thomas treated her with insolence and a curt tone. She wasn’t making the decision to hire him, so why should he waste energy on being friendly to her?

When Henrietta entered the room, Thomas fluffed his chest feathers and immediately stood to greet her with a wide smile and solid “talon”shake.

She led him back into one of the stables where he was surprised to be greeted by two other farm animals. George Hoofsteader, a bull who led the R&D (Regurgitation and Digestion) department and Sheila Baaaghran, the lead sheep overseeing the Coop department.

The addition of the other farm animals to the interview ruffled Thomas’s feathers initially and he wasn’t sure how to adapt to the environment. Eventually he did settle in and his relaxedcommunication style lead him through the interview. He did everything right, using the aforementioned checklist. He answered every question they asked, he looked professional, and treated them with respect. He even asked them a few questions at the end. Here were some examples:

1. How much vacation time is included annually?

2. What are the benefits? Healthcare, vision, dental?

3. Do you do casual Fridays at the farm?

Thomas left feeling like he aced it.

Behind the Scenes

The post-interview conversation about Thomas went something like this:

Henrietta: Thoughts on Thomas?

George: He’s a good rooster, but I don’t think he’s a good fit for our culture. He didn’t really ask us a lot of questions. And if someone is serious about their careers, they should be as interested in us as we are in them.

Enter Lois carrying a tray of coffee, cream and sugar… Remember Lois, the Secretary?

Shiela: I agree. He’s a very likable and smart chicken. His answers were solid, and his academic and work record was impressive. However, the quality of his questions were generic, self-centered, and lackluster at best.

Henrietta: Lois, you’ve been here longer than all of us. What did you think of the new candidate?

Lois: Do you really want to know?

Henrietta: Yes.

Lois: He was rude to me and treated me with no respect, suggesting that he will only treat those in his life well if he can get something from them. He lacks an overall kindness that I don’t think would be very pleasant to be around.

Thomas wasn’t going to fly at the farm after all.

Kirk’s Tale

Kirk had lined up interviews at a few farms, an agricultural law firm, an influencer marketing firm called BlogFrog, and a non-profit focused on advocating for small farms. He heavily researched each company and evaluated it not only for the position offered but also for cultural fit. He wanted a company that valued new ideas at all levels of the company (entrepreneurial spirit), knew that fun was a part of the creative process, and valued intelligence and learning. He was quite impressed by the culture statement of BlogFrog and was really anticipating the interview he had lined up with them. He looked at the vision statements for each company to ensure his values aligned with at least 80% of theirs. He was ready.

Similar to Thomas, he also went out and purchased an expensive chicken suit and the night before the interview, he reviewed their website and job description. What was different was that he had invested his time in really understanding each company, their product or service, their vision of why they were in business, and even prepared a list of pre-written questions with him on a yellow pad. This was going to be his future. He wasn’t going to be too laid back about it.

Before the interview he called the front desk, introduced himself to Lois, and asked her what the dress code was for the executives at the office. He also asked who he would be interviewing with and where he could get their bios online. He knew what to expect before ever stepping foot through the barn door.

Interview Day

Kirk arrived at the farmhouse and greeted the secretary, Lois, with a friendly “talon”shake. Lois, being happy to be greeted in such a way, offered Kirk something to drink while he waited.

He thought to himself, “What a kind old hen. So far, this is a very friendly environment to be in.”

When Henrietta entered the room, Kirk rose calmly from his seat, smiled and gave her friendly “talon”shake. As he followed her back to the stables, he asked her about her weekend and about the latest press release he found while researching them online.

Henrietta was impressed that he had known about the press release and how inquisitive he was about the new product release. He asked what departments in the farm were responsible for the original idea, how the market was tested for viability, where the product was designed, how they selected the materials, and how they were planning on marketing it with success.

With a smile, Henrietta stopped him as they entered the stable and said, these are all great questions for George and Sheila. Please come in.

The interview felt like an extension of the conversation in the hallway that was started with a few simple questions on a company press release. It was a lively exchange, not a Q&A session. Kirk was learning more about how the company as a whole worked by using a “product case study” approach. He could see how passionate the executives were about their work.

They gave him a tour of the farm and introduced them to other employees. He saw the operations, marketing department, and financial center of the farm.

Behind the Scenes

The post-interview conversation about Kirk went something like this:

Henrietta: Thoughts on Kirk?

George: He was awesome! I really think he would fit in well here. He is curious and open minded in a way that I think he would be engaged in learning about the farm, and confident enough to contribute new ideas as well.

Enter Lois carrying a tray of coffee, cream and sugar…

Shiela: He has the ability to discern the right level of conversation. What I like to call “zooming in” and “zooming out” at the right time to get the proper information to advance his understanding of the topic. I really think he would be a great asset to the farm because of his ability to cross-communicate between departments. He really wanted to know how the company worked… and where we were going. Definitely looking at us for the long-term.

Henrietta: Lois, you’ve been here longer than all of us. What did you think of the new candidate?

Lois: Do you really want to know?

Henrietta: Yes.

Lois: He is a lovely young rooster with a kind heart. I think he would fit perfectly and I would love seeing him every weekday morning.

Kirk was invited back for a second interview with the farm boss, Maximilian. He aced it and was offered the position.

You see, Kirk operated at a higher level than Thomas. He was genuinely engaged with the staff, curious about how the company worked, asked questions to uncover important information about the quality of their products, how the executive team supported the tiers below them, and if the company had a future… especially one that he would want to be actively advancing with his own effort.

For a peek at what the questions were that he asked, check out Kirk’s yellow pad of questions.

Barbra Bannon the Principle Firestarter at Evolution Consulting, a social strategy and online marketing firm. She is a founding member of the BOSS Alliance, an exclusive organization of executives with proven track records in professional excellence. Her focus is in neuro-marketing and its use in crafting persuasive and sticky messages to influence and engage culture towards a socially responsible vision of the future. She is the author of “How to be an Online Marketing Rock Star”. She is the former owner of Cranky Creative Group, an out-of-home advertising and graphics company where she served clients such as Mercedes Benz, Lenovo, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Kroger. She is an online marketing maven, a social entrepreneur, teacher, student, philosopher, writer, and idea addict. Her course topics range from “the modern media ecology and what it means for your brand” to “using social media to explode event engagement”. Connect with her at www.sparkevolution.com | Twitter @SparkEvolution | Facebook: www.facebook.com/IgniteEvolution.