As of this writing the employment scene is still hopping. HR jobs abound here in the Northeast corner of the USA and it sometimes feels like a giant game of musical chairs. I was speaking with a VP level colleague recently who is seeking her next role and we were discussing the relative merits of moving to a particular organization. It was in an industry familiar to her, the HR challenges and opportunities were aligned with her experience and interest, the HR team in place seemed solid and the job posting described wanting a progressive, forward thinking, transformative leader. The one fly in the otherwise lovely ointment (hmm…can “ointment” ever be lovely?? I think not.) was that, through the interview process, she was not afforded a meeting with the president.
Given what they were looking for in an HR leader and what the description of their “Duluth” was and being that the role was VP level, it was hard to imagine taking the job without connecting directly with the person whose vision she would be working to help achieve. We talked about ways around it. Certainly, not every hire should expect to get an audience with the president – most especially when they will not be reporting directly to them. Perhaps there was a way to achieve that connection without a one to one meeting. We turned to our questions for help.
As HR pros we’ve seen interviewees take great pains to answer questions “correctly” and just about twist themselves into pretzels trying to be the right fit for a job opening. I have or interrupted many an interview by reminding the person that we – and they – are looking for the right fit. We need to take our own advice. When seeking a new HR leadership role we of course would like to be picked. But are we being picky enough about being picked by the right picker? I know it isn’t always the case, but in this employment market, we have a little more flexibility as job seekers. If we try too hard to fit our square selves into the round role then we may miss an opportunity to connect with a job that is a match made in heaven [Click to Tweet] – for them as an organization and for us in terms of meaningful, gratifying work. Take advantage of this opportunity to be picky. Here are some questions that can help you make a good pick:
- What’s on the docket?: What are the biggest challenges facing the organization?
- Where do you start?: What have you done so far to address these challenges?
- Where do you stand?: What do you expect HR/Talent/OD can contribute to this effort?
- Who else is accountable?: What stakeholders will have an impact on (or might feel an impact from) the change you’d like to see? What are your expectations for their involvement?
- Is it kismet or conflict?: What kinds of HR contributions/programs/initiatives/leaders have you worked with in the past? What did you like about them? What could have been better?
Consider the answers you get to these questions. Consider who you were able to have answer. (In my colleague’s case it was important for her to hear the answers directly from the leader and not being able to secure that was a kind of answer in and of itself.) Are the answers consistent from leader to manager to peer? In order for you to do your best you’d like to be able to leverage your best. If the answers aren’t aligned with your strengths and passions, take a pause. Is this the place for you? [Click to Tweet] Or is kismet just around the corner?
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