Buzzgain

It’s a tough marketland a job, and most companies are starting to layoff people. That said there areopportunities still available and manyopen positions. This post is about using strategies, tools & techniques to adapt and change your interview process during this downturn. I make the assumption that you have looked at several job boards and have been able to secure that critical first round of interviews or discussion.

First: what’s changed about the interview process now?

1. 1. Your competition is the decision to not hire even though for each position there are 2-3 times more the # of candidates.

2. 2. Time lines are stretched: In most companies now the CEO has the final approval on opening new requisitions or approve new hires. In normal circumstances it would take 2 weeks to get anything signed by the CEO (trust me, I’ve been there), but now it takes 4-6 weeks.

3. 3. You are meeting / interviewing with lot more people (3-4 before vs. 6-8 now). The dynamics of the interview change with the increasing number of opinions and stakeholders.

So how do you need to adapt to get hired?

1.  Network twice as much: Look for specific industries that are growing: Green Technology, Repossession firms, Property Management companies. Within industries look for companies that are doing well in a down sector: E.g. Data center consolidation (Virtualization).

Using LinkedIn you can see new hires and promotions within a company. Usually a promotion carries with it some head count or new responsibilities that might be best for a contractor or free lancer. Target those individuals first, so you can get a leg up before your interview.

2. 2. Research about the individual you are going to interview with before: Most recruiters will be able to tell you who’s going to interview you. Else hit Linkedin or Xing and get the list of all the employees in the position that you believe is relevant for you so you can better understand who’s going to interview you. With the exploding # of users on Facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc. you are bound to find more details about that person, their background, school, college. It’s a great way to break ice quickly and gives you more time to discuss what’s unique about you and how you fit the role.

3. 3. Come prepared with a point of view on the position (90 day plan): To put the person at ease that you can “hit the ground running”, spend some time to think about what are you going to do in the first 90 days. Put it in writing. A simple month by month with max of 3 bullets per month should suffice. It need not get too specific, but during your interview it gives you points to discuss.

4. 4. Provide an active leave behind which can be distributed easily via email: Your 90 day plan might be one. Some analysis on a competitormight be another. A list of relevant blogs they should be reading on the industry might be 3^rd. A landscape of the market or relevant news with your color commentary on how it affects that company might be 4^th. This makes it easy for you to be on their mind even after the interview and helps the discussion around candidates on a more tangible deliverable.

5/ 5. Be thoughtful in your follow up: The usual thank you for the email won’t suffice. That’s table stakes. Now you need to ensure that you ask questions during the interview that can lead to a more thoughtful follow up. You have more time to think about the questions, so leave an email to the individual with a more detailed response and ask 1-2 questions you missed during your interview.

The basic rules of the interview have not changed during the downturn; it’s just that changing dynamics means you need to change your strategy and correspondingly your tactics to respond better.

What do you think? How have you adapted your interview techniques during the downturn?