How can you take a big step up in your career?

Q: You want to take a step up into management. Your real strength is not your past experience, but your ability to learn quickly and get things done. What's the best way to stand apart from your competition in an interview for a management job?

Nick's reply: Choice No. 3 is a popular tactic nowadays. It's called a behavioral interview and it's hot in human resources circles. In a behavioral interview, you tell a story about how you handled a situation in the past. That's not a bad idea, but it's a far cry from choice No. 1: Ask the manager to lay out a live problem and show how you would do the job in the interview.

The problem with the behavioral interview (and most other kinds of interviews) is that it's all talk and no action. Where's the behavior in telling a story? Why tell a story about the past when you can dive into the work and show what you can do right now for the manager who is interviewing you?

Most candidates sound the same because they're answering the same stock questions the manager asks. You can stand apart from your competition -- even experienced managers -- by actually doing the job in the interview. In my experience, a manager will leap over 10 skilled candidates to hire one who shows strong motivation and enthusiasm along with an ability to learn quickly. What better way is there to show this than to jump right into the work?

This takes considerable research. Buzzwords won't cut it, and recounting past successes doesn't show how you'd do this job now. Talk with other staff members and find out what needs doing in this job. Forget about your past successes. Instead, ask yourself, what could I do to make this department more successful? (Hint: It's probably not spelled out in the job description.)

Then make an offer to the manager that few candidates would dare make: "Please lay out a live problem you're facing, something you'd want me to handle if you hired me. I'll show you how I'd tackle it profitably for you." Now you're set to show what you can do:

1. Clearly communicate your understanding of the manager's business and the task at hand.

2. Demonstrate how you would tackle the work. If it isn't possible to actually do it (it might require a machine, tool or information not at your immediate disposal), describe a brief but well-thought-out plan. Work this out in advance, if you can, but be ready to think quickly on your feet.

3. Indicate how your approach would fit in with the way the department does its work. If you're not sure, ask the interviewer for guidance. (Yes, you're allowed to ask questions!)

4. Work out the profitability issue: Try to show how your work would pay off.

This works well in either a telephone interview or face-to-face because it immediately sets you apart from competitors who are unprepared. You can answer the standard questions, if that's what the manager wants, and still take a few minutes to show how you're going to "do the job to win the job."

Some managers will be startled by this approach because they're stuck on the traditional hiring process. Help them break out of that mindset, and you'll be playing by new rules that are to your advantage. I find that merely asking for an example of work that needs to be done (or about profitability) gets a manager's attention. If a manager balks, question whether she or he is someone you want to work for.

To take a big step forward, you must take the initiative, you must take a risk, and you've got to be ready to deliver right there in the interview.

Copyright 2008. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.