Every week I hear from friends and peers who are in the midst of a career change and stressing about the job interview process.
What if I say the wrong thing?
What if I overshare?
What if they don't like who I am as a person?
What if I don't sound like an expert/leader/creator/innovator?
The list of worries goes on and on.
With the high level stress surrounding the prospective employee's interview process, it's easy to forget that the interviewer has a long list of worries as well.
We're all human. The interviewee is human. The interviewer is human.
If you are interviewing someone for a job, your worrying thoughts might sound like this:
How do I introduce myself so they understand my leadership role, my working style, and who I am as a person?
How do I convey our company culture (both good and bad)?
What can I talk about to make them feel more comfortable?
What if I don't get a good grasp of who they are?
What if they don't get a good grasp of who I am?
The list of worries goes and on and on.
In the Harvard Business Review article You Don't Just Need One Leadership Voice - You Need Many, writer Amy Jen Su talks about the need to adjust your leadership approach (and leadership voice) in order to navigate the ever-shifting challenges of the role. She says:
"Ultimately, you should cultivate enough parts of your voice so that no matter the leadership situation or audience you find yourself facing, you can respond in an authentic, constructive, and effective way."
Su divides one's leadership voice into five types: your voice of character, your voice of context, your voice of clarity, your voice of curiosity, and your voice of connection.
Cultivating your leadership voice doesn't mean changing your vocal register, or beating yourself up over the amount of sentences that end in upward inflection. It’s also not about changing who you are to fit an ideal, expectation, or to assimilate.
It's about your unique communication style and strategy. It’s about your perspective and the life experiences that have shaped you.
It's about inspiring, motivating, and leading in alignment with your personal mission, vision and values.
Looking back at the list of worries that come along with being in the interviewer seat at a job interview, digging deeper into this concept of leadership voice will help you to ease your worry, prep for an impactful conversation with your prospective employee, and help you come to a decision about whether or not to hire them.
Using Su’s leadership voice framework will also help the interviewee get a better understanding of whether or not the job is a good fit for them. It’s key to plan and prepare for how you communicate the desirability of the role and the workplace. Share stories that will will help them to see what it’s like to be in that role and ones that give a true snapshot of your leadership style.
Pulling from the five leadership voices in Su’s article, here are the three that will best serve you when interviewing a potential new hire.
Interview a job candidate using your voice of character:
"A voice of character is ultimately about who you are and the intentions and motivations that guide your speech and actions." - Amy Jen Su
Set the tone of the interview by introducing yourself, your role, and your personal mission, vision and values. Sharing a story that illuminates how you lead - both at work and beyond.
Use this prompt to get your story started: What is something that you did that you never thought you could do?
Interview a prospective employee using your voice of curiosity:
"As a leader, you have a responsibility to give direction, share information, and make important decisions. But you need to be sure that you’re not approaching every situation as if you have all the answers or as if you need to advise on, problem-solve, or fix everything in front of you. In many cases, being the voice of curiosity is a better choice for the situation" - Amy Jen Su
During the interview process, treat your prospective hire as a peer and gain their trust by using your voice of curiosity. One way to showcase your strengths as a leader is to share an experience where the lessons learned and problems solved came out of mistakes made. This can be a work story, or something that happened outside of the office. By sharing a story like this, you are allowing the interviewee to release any tension or worry of their own and you are helping them to understand that there is no such thing as a perfect leader (or job candidate).
Use this prompt to get your story started: Tell a story about a time when you asked for help.
Interview someone for the job using your voice of connection:
"Increase your skill as a storyteller. Stories make our points more memorable and salient. They can enliven a keynote address or an all-hands meeting, drive home a point we’re making in a presentation, or help to close a large deal or transaction." - Amy Jen Su
No matter the leadership voice, personal narrative is a powerful communication tool. And when it comes to your voice of connection, this is the chance to share a story that helps your interviewee to place themselves in the role. Share what you like best about the company culture. Share an experience where teamwork really came into play. Find the story that exemplifies your passion to lead others while helping them to identify their own strengths and opportunities. If you focus on telling your story in an honest and impactful way, you will motivate and inspire your potential new hire to do the same — regardless of outcomes.
Use this prompt to get your story started: What was your best professional accomplishment?
In addition to sharing your stories, make sure that you give an opportunity for the candidate to share a story or two of their own.
Extra Credit Resources
If you are in the middle of your new job search and don’t know how to emerge from the stress spiral that is preparing for your job interviews check out this blog post and this blog post.