According to Glassdoor, a corporate job posting attracts an average of 250 resumes, with only 5 candidates selected for an interview.
How do you hear those delightful words of “you’re hired”? Let’s walk through how a company pops the question of asking you for a job interview.
My tech executive clients stand out because they are laser-focused on the company. This company focus continues with four stages before, during, and after the interview.
For the first stage, a job seeker researches all aspects of the company, including culture, executive team, mission, accolades, competition, P&L, and gaps. I’m collaborating with a Director of Artificial Intelligence at a Fortune 50 company and researched Deloitte for a career opportunity.
- Annual report: Deloitte is a private company incorporated in England and Wales. It comprises firms that are members of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“Deloitte Global”). The company provides a 100-plus page integrated annual report that focuses on the company’s purpose, strategy, value creation, key numbers, and related performance and impact for the financial year 2022/2023.
- Deloitte Website: A search on “AI” revealed that Deloitte had an AI institute that attained an excellence award. They offer a monthly newsletter subscription, scientific research, and a report on the state of generative AI based on a survey of 2,800 executives across 6 industries.
Subsequently, in the second stage, armed with this corporate intelligence, the outstanding candidate develops a custom cover letter, resume, and LinkedIn introductory email to reach out to the potential hiring panel, e.g., recruiter, hiring manager, and colleagues. There are several research avenues my Director of AI pursued.
- Networking: My client had the inside track with a former colleague and friend who lived in her hometown and worked at Deloitte. She inquired about the application and interviewing process and discovered that the typical hire timeline is 6 months! Her friend knew who the potential AI recruiter would be and offered to share my client’s resume with this individual.
- Google Search: After a 15-minute telephone interview with the recruiter, my client received a video conferencing invite with a Deloitte Managing Director. Interestingly enough, this person didn’t have a LinkedIn profile. I searched for his name to uncover a YouTube interview at an AI conference where he shared information about how his enterprise customers apply generative AI. My search further revealed his PhD background with U.S. teaching positions and academic papers.
Rounding out the third stage of the interviewing process, the best candidate responds to questions with curated answers related to the company’s vision. In addition, the candidate asks 4 pointed questions related to leadership, culture, gaps, and success factors. Based on my collaboration with tech executives and annual research trends, I created a list of 10 interview questions. It’s normal for the interviewer to answer questions organically during the conversation. It’s almost 100% certain that at the end, the recruiter or hiring manager will ask, “Do you have any questions?” Well, of course, you do.
- What drew you to the company? What’s helped you stay at the company?
- Have you changed your product roadmap related to AI or sustainability initiatives? What shifts have you noticed?
- Please describe your management style and the type of employee that works well with you.
- Why is this position available? Is this a new role or a replacement for another colleague?
- How would you know at the end of the year if you hired the right person for this position?
- Whom do you consider your top competitor, and why?
- What are the most significant opportunities facing the company or department right now?
- Can you tell me about the team I’ll be leading?
- Based on the company’s progress on diversity and inclusion, how can I support the mission?
- Do you have any hesitations about my qualifications?
Ultimately, in the fourth stage, post-interview, the selected tech executive stands out by following up with a company with a focused thank you email highlighting their candidacy. Here’s a format you can clone and own.
Circling back to a company “popping the question,” my client had two initial interviews with Deloitte.
Each session went well because she was armed with company-specific information. Each time, the Deloitte employee encouraged her and gave her tips for the next steps of the interviewing process. Today, she received a 3rd round interview request. Although their 6-month timeframe seems egregious to me, I’m confident that in the Fall, my client—if she’s still in the job market—will hear those delightful words, “You’re hired.”