The Portfolio + Notepad

Here’s a quick tip – spend a little bit of money on a portfolio, leather-bound preferably. You need this portfolio to carry two things – a couple copies of your resume, a notepad and a pen.

A resume because sometimes your printed resume gets lost in the HR shuffle – its a lot quicker if you can just pull a new one out instead of us having to print a new one out.

A notepad and pen because if I ask you a question that you can’t answer, what you should do is right that question down and my email address and tell me that you’re going to find the answer and email it to me.

And a portfolio because it rains in the Philippines and the last thing you want is to hand me a wet, wrinkled resume.

What’s Your Brand?

Moving to the Philippines has been a welcome change from San Francisco. Other than the fact that it’s sunny and 90 degrees everyday – a big change from San Francisco’s perpetual fog layer – I’ve also become exposed to the fashion industry, something I’ve always followed and at times, have broken the bank for (Batman Yellow BAPEstas!). The fashion industry is also a lot more complicated than my industry, outsourcing. I sell a service, they sell a lifestyle. I need stability everyday while they are always looking for the next fresh thing on the block.

However, take away the glamour, the models, and the designers and the people running the fashion industry are the same ones in mine – hard working, driven, and ultimately, successful business people. In the Philippines, the @Divine Lees, @Rosario Herreras, @Bryanboys are the business and creative minds behind a slew of fashion endeavours that are not only making their names in the Philippines, but also around the world. More importantly, they are all beginning to achieve the pinnacle of fashion – building a brand.

I use them as examples because they possess the ethos that I try to preach in this blog – not only have they been prepared for every interview in their lives, they’ve been prepared for every opportunity presented to them as a result of those interviews. Divine, Rosario, and Bryanboy not only possess amazing creative talents but also the work ethic needed to turn mere opportunities into very successful businesses.

As a partner in my own company, many people I meet envy the fact that I never have to interview for a job. However, most people have it very wrong. The true story is I interview everyday – I’m selling not only myself, but my company, my partners, my staff and ultimately, my brand to people and companies all over the world that I want to work with.

So what do the writer of this blog and our 3 fashioneurs have in common other than our sartorialist tendancies? The fact that we never stop interviewing and neither should you. Every person you meet, whether in an interview, at a dinner, or even casually on the street is your chance to build your brand and reputation in life. I’m not saying that you approach every person you meet like you’re being interviewed or you are interviewing them – instead approach every person you meet as as an opportunity for you to build your brand.

The question then to ask yourself is, what do you want your brand to be known for?

I Interview in Sneakers and Why You Shouldn’t

Most people I interview are quite shocked that I am the person interviewing them? Why? Its because I’m typically in the office in jeans, a t-shirt, and some bright blue Onitsukas and not a suit. I choose to not wear a suit (or business casual clothing) because in my opinion, the quality of clothes I wear has no impact on how hard I work. In fact, I end up working LESS when I’m in a suit and tie just because I’m so uncomfortable. So casual wear in the office is my choice and I allow everyone else to dress casually in the office.

However, you don’t have that choice. In fact the choice has already been made for you if you follow one of the golden rules of interviewing – Always dress better than the person interviewing you.

I’ve had many awkward moments where I’ve walked in a suit and tie and everyone around me is wearing in t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. It didn’t matter – I hadn’t yet earned the privilege to come to the office dressed like that – I was still interviewing for the job and so my attire had to be the suit. I had no other choice.

So what message does that send to the person interviewing you (who is wearing jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers) when you’re wearing a suit and tie? That you’re dead serious about this job and you took the time to prepare not only your resume and answers, but your physical appearance, before coming into the interview. It doesn’t really matter if your suit is one size too big or your tie hangs below your belt line. What matters is the fact that you are simply wearing a suit and tie.

While that alone won’t get you a job, these are the little factors that come into play when I’m determining who to hire and when you’re one of the candidates on the fence, you want all of these little factors to go your way. With all candidates being equal, I’d be more inclined to hire the person who came in professionally dressed compared to the person who looks like they just came from a game of street basketball. If that person spends an extra 60 minutes getting dressed for their interview, I figure they’ll spend the extra time to make sure they get their job done right.

Take Time To Think

Often times during an interview, people are so nervous, they answer each question without really taking the time to think – they begin speaking almost as soon as I’m done speaking. But, this isn’t Jeopardy – it’s not about who buzzes in first but who buzzes in first with the right answer.

I asked an especially difficult question earlier today for a managerial candidate, a question that took me about 25 seconds to ask. I wanted to know what were the problems that her old HR department had and how those experiences can help prevent those same problems from appearing within my company. As she was beginning to talk, she seemed flustered and I cut her off and I told her to take a few seconds to think about the question.

She spent about 10 seconds thinking about her answer while I thumbed through her resume and profile. The silence was not awkward as she was clearly deep in thought about her answer.

She came back to me with a, “Okay, to answer your question….” and proceeded with a well-thought answer that nailed the question.

Don’t be afraid of a few seconds of silence during an interview to think about the question you just received. Even if you now the answer already, take a couple moments to gather your thoughts and deliver your answer as fluidly as possible. Not every moment spent in an interview has to be spent talking.

In fact, if you did a little bit more thinking and a little bit less talking, you’d go a long way towards nailing that next interview.

Tell Me About Yourself, Part 2

This is probably a post I wil repeat again in the future, but I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having a well thought-out and prepared answer to tell me about yourself. If, for some reason, you fail to have one ready for your interview, the next big thing is to avoid a common pitfall that interviewees get themselves into – talking, ranting, and going on and on (just like I am right now) about everyone in their family except themselves. After the end of your 100 second spiel, I know more about your mom, lola and 3 siblings you’re trying to put through school than I do about you.

You’ve got about 45 seconds to impress me before I start zoning out because I frankly, I don’t care about anyone in your family but you. In fact, don’t even mention them at all during the interview unless I ask.

Focus your answers on you – your last job and your core responsibilities there, the reason why you took that specific course in college, and why you’re sitting in front of me now.

Rehearse and memorize this. Make it sound natural. Practice in front of your friends, family and a mirror.

Then go for it on your next interview. Comment back and let me know the results!

Saying Much About Nothing

Most of the people I interview with are very short and direct with their answers. Few elaborate beyond the initial scope of the interview question – If I ask you what is your weakness, they will name the weakness (Good!) but never elaborate on when that weakness was tested in a professional environment or more importantly, what they are doing to correct that weakness (Bad!). The end result is a basic answer to the question that lacks any depth and breadth to show me more of who you are.

However, saying too much about nothing is just as harmful as not saying enough to answer an interview question.

Earlier today I conducted an interview and I posed this question to the interviewee: “So, you’ve come from very rigid corporate environments and you’ve even received your MBA from a very good institution. How will you handle the change from a corporate environment to a young, entrepreneurial environment where things work at a much faster pace and your job functions vary with the business needs?”

She spent about 8 minutes answering the question without really answering it. She rambled on and told elaborate stories about her previous work environment (Good!) but the stories were completely unrelated to the topic at hand (Bad!). The only thing I can remember from that question is the fact that wearing Crocs to her previous office constituted casual dress and because of that, she’s ready to work at a younger and more entrepreneurial company. I don’t know how valid that statement is but thats the only thing I remember. She did this for every question and this was probably the longest interview I’ve conducted this year.

I came to the conclusion that while she was a very bright and motivated individual, there wasn’t much substance behind her interview answers. It was all interview fluff – words, statements, phrases that don’t add any value to your answer and distracts me from the question you’re trying to answer. Fluff is like static – the more fluff you have, the more your potentially good answers gets hidden in the noise.

In the end, I want you to answer the question with as much depth and breadth as possible but I don’t want you to treat the interview like your own personal monologue.

Interview Advice: Answering the Question, “Tell Me About Yourself”

Interview Advice: How to Answer, “Tell Me About Yourself.”

I’ve interviewed hundreds if not thousands of people ever since I started my company 3 years ago and I always start off each interview with a simple question: “Tell Me About Yourself.” It is a question that is meant to be vague and doesn’t necessarily have a right answer. However, while there is no right answer to this interview question, there is a right way to answer this interview question.

Before I start off with teaching you the right way to answer this question, I’ll run through some examples of the wrong way to answer this question. So what shouldn’t you say when you answer this question?

First, don’t talk to me about your personal life – I don’t care about how long you’ve been married, how many kids you have, your civil status, or your religion. Keep that to yourself. These facts should have nothing to do with the job you are applying for – I’m interviewing you, not you and your wife.

Second, don’t tell me what your favorite color is or how many FX rides it takes you to get to Manila or Makati. Unless these questions are relevant to your job position, share them with your friends and not the employer you are interviewing with.

Third, don’t talk about your personality traits. I’ve heard everything from ‘I’m a jolly person’ to ‘I like to smile’ to ‘I’m a hard-worker.’ I assume that everyone who comes into my office works hard and is generally a happy person. There is no need to highlight these assumptions – if anything it makes me question why you are telling me you are happy all the time – could it all be a lie?

So what sort of answer am I looking for to the question, “Tell Me About Yourself?”

In short, I want you to summarize your resume and highlight the last 2-3 companies you’ve worked for, what you did there, and why you are sitting here in front of me right now. If you can do this in 1-2 minutes, great. If it’s longer than that, I guarantee you that the interviewer stopped paying attention long ago. Keep it concise, to the point, and all business. If I want to ask you what your favorite color is, I will ask you that. But until then, focus on the work you’ve done and why you’re in my office interviewing for this position right now.

Here’s a quick example of how I would answer the question:

“Hello, my name is Paul Rivera and I currently work at Google where I served as an AdWords Account Manager for the past 3 years. As an AdWords Account Manager, I handle these duties and manage this amount of revenue. In addition to these duties, I also do this at Google. Prior to Google, I worked at Unilever where I did this job, and that job. While my job has been very fulfilling at Google, I’m seeking a more challenging opportunity that will test the skills I’ve built up over the last few years at Google and that’s why I’m sitting in front of you now for this interview.”

You get the point. If I were to hear that from an interviewee, I’d come away very impressed because this person not only clearly knows their resume (you’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t know whats on their resume) but also knows why they are interviewing for this position.

I could really be leaving Google because I was passed up for a promotion or am not happy about my compensation but that’s not what you want to focus on. You want to focus on the positive contributions you’ve made and how your skill set can contribute to the success of the company you are interviewing for.

The best way to answer this question is to practice. When I was in college, preparing for my interviews with prospective companies, I practiced answering this question to the point where I had it memorized and could recite it both in long-form (lots of details) and short-form (a quick summation).

Success in an interview, just like in life, is a result of preparation. If you’re prepared to answer this question, then I might just be prepared to hire you.