Pippa had been approached to apply for a role in a major high street retailer, and it was her first interview in 15 years. 

She was feeling anxious, concerned she’d be lost for words or out of her depth. 

Pippa and I decided that despite her being uncertain if the role was really for her, the interview would be part of the training process she needed to land a role she did want.

She had questions about flexible working and hours required at the office because of childcare and her commitment to a local sports club. 

Both of these points were really important to her and non-negotiable as far as a new role was concerned.  We prepared two questions for her to ascertain if or how the Company would support her around this…

The telephone interview itself was fairly straightforward, and she knew she was more than qualified for the role. 

However, she got a sense of self-important arrogance from the interviewer, which made Pippa’s hair on the back of her neck stand up.

When it came towards the end of the interview, Pippa calmly asked her two questions and was told in no uncertain terms:

“We expect our senior finance team to be present and visible five days a week to motivate the staff, and we also expect them to be in first and leave last. It’s part of our culture.” 

Pippa de-selected herself from the process, telling the recruiter that the organisation’s expectations didn’t fit with her own.  She took her power back in that moment and felt SO much better for it.

That taught me, and anyone I share this story with, the lesson of asking about what you know you need sooner rather than later. 

If it’s not going to work for you and, if the response was like Pippa’s with no negotiation and an overarching sense of a lack of trust, find out sooner and don’t waste any more of your precious time. 

The interview itself though was useful. 

The recruiter respected her straightforward approach and carried on, more purposefully, looking for roles for her.

This isn’t where Pippa’s story ends, of course. 

As her search continued, my advice to her was to ‘continue to be brave and objective’ and these questions we came up with are just that. 

I want to encourage you to be the same in your interview processes as and when…

Here are the key questions Pippa’s used during the process of finding her new role:

• What one word would you say best describes your company culture?
• What key insights would you share with the incoming candidate to make the first six months in the role a success?
• How would you say you do things around here if there’s a success or an issue? What is the general approach?
• What do you see as the biggest challenges on the horizon for the company and/or industry?
• What do you see as the biggest opportunities on the horizon for the company and/or industry?

In other news…

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I’ve carved out lots of quiet time this week after a bit of a ‘bonkers’ time in London recently.  Our garden is feeling the benefit more love and attention…as we all do 😍