Capítulo II. Características
II.4. Apuntes de trabajo de campo
Did you have a “heads up,” and what did you do to try to save your job? Think of it as a critical survival skill in the corporate jungle. Sometimes having a “sixth sense” about the ax can prevent it from falling. Example: A new boss comes into the firm. After two weeks, you notice a horde of interviewees strolling into his office. From casual banter that you overhear, it seems obvious that he’s intent on hiring an army of people from his last firm. Yet, you know that there is technically a “hiring freeze.” Do you:
A. Keep your head down and meticulously finish your projects? B. Call your headhunter?
C. Arrange a meeting with your new boss to emphasize why he should keep you? D. All of the above?
When an interviewer is interested in learning whether you saw the ax coming, he’s trying to assess your political prowess.
210.
I know that you were pretty happy at your last company for a while. When did things turn ugly, and what did you try to do about them?A.
Yes, I was blissfully happy there for about three years. I was promoted and given raises regularly. And I had a terrific team of people that I was managing very nicely. Then, the company decided to move my boss to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and they brought in a new boss from the Washington, D.C., office. Quite honestly, I think that my new boss felt threatened by the network ofalliances that I had built in the organization. I heard through the grapevine that he was saying terrible things about me behind my back. He told upper management that I had “poor presentation skills.” Of course, since these people were all based in Washington, they had no way of knowing that this rumor was false.
I called a meeting with my new boss and asked him to stop spreading these vicious lies. I also gave him the names of certain clients to call, if he needed proof of my competence.
In retrospect, I think that a better tactic would have been for me to have invited my boss to more client meetings. Then he could have seen for himself how happy my clients were with my performance. I guess I thought that years of great performance reviews would save me. I brought copies of them with me today, plus two letters from my clients to show you. (Then, pull them out!)
Why This Technique Works
1. You’ve proven that a new, chronically insecure boss was out to get you from day one.
2. Your performance reviews and letters from clients demonstrate that you were cut unfairly.
211.
If you knew that things at your company were rocky, why didn’t you get out of the company sooner?A.
Honestly, I was working so hard to keep my job while everyone around me was being cut that I didn’t have any time left over to look for another job. With all of the mergers that have been happening in our field, layoffs are a way of life. Yet, so far, I’ve been pretty fortunate. I’m also happy that I tried to save my job, even when all hell broke loose. At least I gave it my best shot!212.
Were you there the day LBN folded? How did they tell people, and what was it like?A.
Yes, I was there the day LBN fell to pieces. It was a travesty. For months, rumors had been flying that LBN was going to be purchased by our biggest rival. Of course, everyone was quite upset about it because we all feared for our jobs. In a merger, you never know if your own job will be spared.Still, my attitude was to keep my head down and just do the work. I was determined to stay out of the political fray. In fact, when allies of mine would march into my office and shut the door to bemoan our fates, I would always advise them to keep the door open and get back to work. Many of them would just nod and go gossip with someone else on staff. During the next few months, every single one of them was cut. I kept expecting that someone would call me in and let me go, but it didn’t happen.
Then, one day, the last fifty people on staff were called in to a conference room. “The merger with SSP didn’t pan out,” we were told. “As a result, LBN will be closing its doors in three months. Please feel free to use our office resources to help yourselves find jobs. We’ll be circling back to
each of you to discuss your severance packages.” We were all in collective shock for about a week or two afterwards. But I used the next couple of months to get my resume together and start making the rounds with recruiters.
Why This Technique Works
1. You lost your job, but you didn’t lose your head. In fact, you tried to advise your work allies how to keep their jobs.
2. You used emotional language to describe your circumstances, and, as a result, come off as a compassionate manager who should be rewarded with another job, pronto.
Inside Information
Always try to use words that distinguish you from others who were laid off. By explaining that in the second round of layoffs, they had to “cut the meat,” your situation becomes much more sympathetic.
213.
You say you were laid off in a general downsizing. How many other people lost their jobs on the same day?A.
I don’t know the exact number, but roughly 20 percent of the staff. And this was in the second round of layoffs. In the first round, 15 percent of the staff was cut. The company’s numbers were weak for years, but to their credit, they really tried not to make any cuts for a long time.I was told that in the first layoff they cut all the fat, and in the second layoff they had to cut the meat. I’ve been talking to a couple of companies, and I’m pretty close to an offer at one of them. But I’d much rather work for your firm, because I’ve always respected the work that you do. And I think that I’d fit in well with your energetic, vibrant corporate culture.
Why This Technique Works
1. You answered the question, then followed up with proof of your desirability: there’s another company who’s courting you right now.
2. You flattered your interviewer by revealing that you’d much rather work at his company. There may well be two job offers in your immediate future.