jsync | Java Staffing Specialist

"I Come in Peace!" - Best Ways to Avoid Threatening an Interviewer

03/06/2007

by Dave Fecak

The situation is unavoidable and the topic is largely a bit taboo. When you interview for a job, chances are you are interviewing with three different levels of technology professionals, and each individual at those levels will have personal goals and career aspirations that may be threatened by your hiring by their employer. Conversely, perhaps you have interviewed candidates for your company and said (hopefully to yourself, under your breath and while alone), ‘If we hire this person, my role here could be compromised’. The problem lies in the fact that generally the people who make the hiring decision (the interviewers) all have individual goals, and those individual goals may or may not be in line with the goals of the organization.

So how can one interview for a position without coming across as a threat to the people doing the interviewing? If you come across as having no drive you will not be selected, and if you come across as too driven you may scare off those that may see you as the competition. What are the best ways to display confidence and the desire to move forward in your career without threatening the careers of the interviewers?

For simplification, we can break down those three levels as ‘People I’ll Report To’ (PIRT’s), ‘Peers’, and ‘People I’ll Manage’ (PIM’s). Some of you will have CIO’s as PIRT’s and for others it might be a Development Manager, just as some of you will interview for roles where there will not be any PIM’s. Regardless of what level position you are interviewing for these tips should apply across the board.

The first key to this exercise is to become aware of the role of each individual you are interviewing with and to identify whether they are a potential PIRT, Peer or PIM. If the interview team is known beforehand, usually a recruiter can give you some insight into this, but it’s also important not to get hung up on their titles. There is usually some opportunity to simply and politely ask ‘What is your role here at the company?’ – just make sure to ask at an appropriate time (e.g. I wouldn’t suggest asking it in reply to a technical question).

Once we’ve identified who we are dealing with comes the tricky part. Let’s break it down.

The PIRTs – threatened level: generally low – A PIRT is probably looking at you as you would like to be viewed – someone he/she can trust that when you are given a task that it will be completed. However, there certainly are some exceptions where a PIRT will be more threatened. Perhaps he/she feels your skills are at or near his/her level and although you would not be an immediate threat that you could be gunning for his/her job in the not too distant future.

In general it is safe and recommended to discuss your long term career aspirations with a PIRT. You may want to make it clear that your goals are long term and your immediate goals would be to focus on the tasks he/she presents to you, and that you are aware that by doing a good job you may be rewarded in the future with advancement.

The Peers – threatened level: highest – the Peer is probably looking at you in two separate ways. First, the Peer wants to know how well he/she could work alongside you on a daily basis. Not a problem – you’re thinking the same thing. Second, the Peer wants to get a sense of whether or not you would be a threat to his/her advancement in the short term based on both your skills and your ambition. Danger!

The best way to come across as non-threatening with a Peer is first, if possible, to avoid discussing your short or long term career goals in too much detail. If asked about your thoughts on advancement, it is probably best to respond that you have goals just like everyone else in the world but your immediate goal is to do the job at hand and work in concert with the Peer to achieve those goals. To create an immediate team spirit, make it clear that you and the Peer will both be recognized if you work together and complete projects successfully, so it is important that you develop a synergy to help drive both of your careers. Often the Peer’s success is dictated by his/her ability to work well with you and other Peers, so try to display the feeling of ‘we’re in this together’. Go easy on the talk about ambition with the Peer.

The PIMs – threatened level: moderate – like the Peer and the PIRT, the PIM is thinking about how he/she would view you on a day-to-day basis. ‘Can I see myself working FOR this person?’ The second thought the PIM has may be, ‘I’d like to be considered for the job which you are interviewing for.’ And in some fairly rare situations, the PIM may be in the running for the job without your knowledge. Awkward!

The first objective for the PIM interview is to reassure PIM that you are not going to come in and rock the boat on day one (unless you sense from PIM that is what is needed). Change is probably the biggest fear the PIM has, unless PIM has a strong distaste for the current manager. Try and assess the PIM’s relationship with the manager and play off of that – PIM may be starving for leadership or perhaps being suffocated by micromanagement.

If you get a sense that PIM is indeed interviewing for this same position, make PIM aware that you like to recognize employees for great results and reward them with advancement opportunities. This should set PIM’s mind at ease a bit, but generally it will be tough to overcome PIM’s potential hesitation to endorse you. Fortunately, PIM’s influence in the hiring process may not be as strong as Peer’s or PIRT’s.

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