Business

The Purpose of a Job Interview

Published

3 years ago

August 12, 2021

If I were to ask you what’s the purpose of a job interview, you’d probably say something along the lines of, “To show what I can do for the company.”

You’d be right in that your answer implies you’re asking for a chance—you understand an interview is a sales meeting, which is the mindset you need to have when being interviewed.

People stress preparing for an interview. Actually, the key to a successful interview is to not over-think it. Although there’s no interview formula that’ll work every time, it’s helpful to think of an interview as a conversation with four distinct but overlapping purposes.

Connect: Get to know the interviewer. (bond)
Culture: Understand what type of person works best at the company.
Challenges: Identify and clarify the concerns the company’s management team has.
Close: What are the next steps in the hiring process.

The holistic mechanics used to achieve these four purposes are the following five interview stages:

Introductions (connect, culture)
Small Talk (connect, culture)
Information Gathering (culture, challenges, matching your experience and skillset)
Question/Answer (culture, challenges)
Wrapping Up (close)

Notice “culture” appears four times. I can’t overstress the importance of fit when it comes to deciding you’re “the one.” If you’re having a tough time with your job search, it’s because you’re trying to fit yourself into jobs and companies where you don’t belong.

If you make connecting with your interviewer a priority, you’ll be memorable in a good way. If there’s no connection, your experience, qualifications, etc., are meaningless to the interviewer. This isn’t a transgression—this is human psychology 101. Maya Angelou’s words, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” offers sage advice.

Truism: We’re incline to want to work with and do business with (READ: “buy from”—remember, an interview is a sales meeting.), someone who makes us feel good and whom we can relate to—people we feel comfortable with. You can call it bias—I call it what it is: human nature. As much as the government has tried to mitigate bias through numerous legislations, bias continues to exist and always will.

Getting someone to feel at ease with you doesn’t require repartee and dazzling verbal displays. It simply requires demonstrating interest—genuine interest, not fake I’m-trying-to-butter-you-up interest—and a willingness to listen. Do you know anyone who doesn’t like being paid attention to?

Listening is key to understanding what the other person wants and needs and, therefore, is the foundation of persuasion. (Reminder, an interview is a sales meeting.) A person is more likely to want to build a relationship with someone who understands their situation, their problems, and their goals. Listening and observing to understand another person is never time wasted.

When it comes to asking questions ask questions that show you’re eager to contribute to the company’s success and not what you can get from the company.

While there are infinite number of questions you could ask your interviewer, there are three questions to always ask:

How is success measured in this role?
What skills and attributes are valued by you and the leadership team?
[If your interviewer will be your boss.] What’s your management style like? How will you manage me?

Listen carefully! Be ready to interject examples of how you exceeded expectations and demonstrated the skills your interviewer mentioned are valuable.

The most common interview advice I give: Lose any sense of entitlement you may have! You’re not owed a job. With so many human factors being part of the hiring decision, the best candidate on paper doesn’t always get the job. Entitlement is a huge turnoff.

Employers aren’t going to offer you the job because you only have $350 in the bank, and your mortgage is past due. The position will be offered to the person regarded as qualified to do the job (skills, experience) and is considered to be a fit (this is paramount)—the person the interviewer can envision working with, will fit in with the current team and whom they can see themselves dealing with daily and will meet their boss’s approval.

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Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

Business

Roots sees room for expansion in activewear, reports $5.2M Q2 loss and sales drop

Published

3 days ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.

The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.

“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.

The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.

But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.

Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.

“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.

“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”

Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.

The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.

In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.

Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.

The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.

The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.

Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.

Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.

It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.

Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.

Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ROOT)

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Business

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

Published

4 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.

No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.

Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.

A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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Business

Transat AT reports $39.9M Q3 loss compared with $57.3M profit a year earlier

Published

4 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.

The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.

The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

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