Winning the Interview Game: Everything You Need to Know to Land the Job

Although no two interviews are alike, each experience is identical in one respect. All interviews have a beginning, middle, and end. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 walk you through the important first interview, almost minute-by-minute, with a job seeker named Susan, as if there were a personal coach sitting beside her. Susan succeeded in scheduling a face-to-face interview with the vice president-human resources (VPHR), Scott Gilbert, who has been searching for a few months for a director of marketing.

The approach taken by Susan throughout this first interview would be almost identical for a first interview with an executive recruiter, a hiring manager, senior management, peer, subordinate, and other company employees. There are some differences in approach for these interviews, which are discussed in Chapter 4.

Human resources (HR) departments serve as both the company entrance and exit for the employee base. Because corporate recruiting is one of the many responsibilities of the HR department, HR management is usually aware of and coordinates staffing needs in all company departments. This is an excellent group to target for networking purposes.

The top HR executive has two very distinct reporting responsibilities. The first responsibility is to company senior management. In this role the HR executive is responsible for overseeing all aspects of company human capital including ensuring productivity, promoting employee satisfaction, serving as a job counselor to all employees, protecting the company from employee-related lawsuits, and being a conduct between senior management and employees by communicating vision and values.

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