Professional Development

Homework

0:00:04.8 Latrina: Alright, here we go, we are live guys, we are live in NP Collective, so we’re gonna take a moment and allow people to hop on and get ready. We are coming to you in March with a lot of information. So first, we started out with our disease processes and having someone come in and talk about diabetes, but now we are transitioning back over into our jobs category that we are talking about, so tonight, I’m really excited to bring to you a really good friend of mine to be honest, a really good friend, she is Courtney Underwood, so she is coming to us and she is gonna talk to us about all things HR because, why? Because that is what she does and that is her genius zone to be honest, guys. That is where she is at, so I am excited to have her. She’s gonna share a plethora of information for you, but more importantly, I’m gonna tell you what she’s gonna talk about after I introduce who she is and her background, so let’s kind of go right for it.

0:01:14.3 Latrina: So like I said, I am bringing to you Courtney Underwood, she has over 18 years of experience in human resources and leadership development. Courtney Underwood understands the unique challenges that companies face from the hiring and managing their talent as an HR alignment strategist, she helps her clients understand the importance of an effective team and how it impacts the growth and profitability of their business. After spending more than a decade in corporate America, serving companies across several different industries, Courtney knew that she had to bring the proven corporate strategies she created to the audience that needed them the most, entrepreneurs and they need a strong foundation to start.

0:01:58.4 Latrina: So utilising her signature systems tools and resources, Courtney founded, hopefully I’m saying it right, Kassar Consulting to help entrepreneurs and leaders navigate the business of people and increase their bottomline. So her favorite quote is, “You cannot dominate the marketplace without first mastering the workplace.” And so with that being said, Courtney, I’m gonna bring her up. Courtney is going to talk to us about pitching ourselves to the companies that we want to hire us. I cannot explain to you how important it is that you need to know who you are and be confident in who you are so that you can pitch yourself appropriately so that you can get the job of your dreams. Hey, Courtney.

0:02:43.4 Courtney Underwood: Hi Latrina, thank you so much for this opportunity. I’m so excited to share these tips with your community, like I said, like you said, you have such a rich community and the members here are just so committed, so I love speaking to an audience that gets it. So when we think about the importance of pitching ourselves and really leading with our strengths, that’s what successful interviewing is all about, so I have close to 20 years of experience, and it still feels weird to say, but just digesting that, I focus on both leadership development, but also navigating the business of people, so when I think about the focus and my zone of genius, it’s really all about making these great connections, having the right people in the right position at the right time, so interviewing is a big part of that, the screening and selection process can feel intimidating or feel even brutal, but it doesn’t have to be.

0:03:50.9 CU: And so when we think about some tips, some best practices, some resources, I have some practical things that everyone listening and watching can take it with them and implement right away. I’m all about the practical, so we’re gonna get right into it, so I will start sharing my screen because I have a presentation for everyone today, and we will get right into what it takes. Inspired to hire, that’s where we are starting.

0:04:26.2 Latrina: Fantastic, so hopefully everybody is here, and I see people just jumping on Courtney. I’m listening, I’m excited, we are at the interview portion and stage. So this is how to present your best self, we all have heard about that elevator pitch and how to do that, so Courtney is gonna take it away, alright? Here we go.

0:04:47.7 CU: Thanks, Latrina. So inspired to hire interviewing as a leader. Now, when you think about the title of this presentation, it was very intentional because interviewing as a leader requires you to shift your mindset, it requires you to think differently in order to actually ace the interview and lead with your strengths. So just a bit about me, Latrina gave me a wonderful introduction, I have been doing this for close to two decades, and I love the business of people, I love sharing the insight and resources that people can actually use in order to move forward. I’m big on support and advocacy, and human resources is really just an extension of that. So again, it’s nice to meet everyone here, this is who I am and this is what I do.

0:05:40.4 CU: So we will get right into why interviewing successfully matters and what you want to lead with. Now, a successful interviewee does three things: They showcase their value, they lead with their expertise, and they demonstrate the transformation. So I want you to remember this acronym, VET, V-E-T. Value expertise and transformation, and I want to back that up with some key statistics that really illuminate why it’s so important to get this right. The first is 7.5 seconds, that is the number of seconds that it takes to make a first impression. 7.5, we both know that that is not a lot of time at all, 7.5 seconds. The second is 58, that’s the number of days on average that it takes to fill a leadership position. Now, when we think about the typical interview process, the typical interview cycle, that is a stark difference from the pattern that we’re used to seeing. 58 days that is close to two months.

0:06:49.8 CU: So when we think about first round of interviews, second round of interviews, third round of interviews over time for these leadership, these director level positions, it takes two months, two months, and then the last is 47%. That’s the number of applicants that get rejected due to not researching the company. Can you believe that? Just by not doing their background research, not being prepared for the actual interview, 47% of applicants get rejected just by not doing their due diligence, so that’s close to half. So just by having this training, you are putting yourself a leg up above the competition, so this is why it matters, again, we are showcasing our value, our expertise, and the transformation. The impact that we make.

0:07:38.9 CU: Now, the first thing that I want to lead with is preparing for the interview, there are just so many things that you need to consider before you even get in the door. So before the interview, remember the last line I said that 47% of applicants get rejected because they haven’t researched the company, so the first R that I want you to remember is research. You need to research the company, research the individuals that you will be meeting with, you need to research the company culture, what’s top of mind for the company so it’s not just Googling, visiting the website, reading a couple of blurbs and thinking that you’re done. Research is intentional. So when we think about the type of research that we’re doing, the types of things that we’re looking up, again, let’s start with the company itself, you want to research the company, the history, the news. If they’ve been in the news lately, the culture, you want to research the initiatives and goals that they have before them.

0:08:42.8 CU: When you think about the people that you’re meeting with, feel free to stalk them, most people have a digital footprint nowadays, so you can start with LinkedIn, you can read their bio on the company website, whatever it takes to get as much information as possible, because you want to go in feeling confident and that requires preparation. The next thing, and a lot of people miss this, you would be surprised is rehearse. That means that when we talk about potential interview questions or just the art of talking about yourself, that requires rehearsing. A lot of people say that they’re prepared because they’ve done the research, they mold over some answers in their head, but actual rehearsing requires that you say those answers out loud, and that is a forgotten stuff for so many people, so just because you have these bullet points or this nice paragraph in your head, you feel as if you’re prepared, but it is another thing entirely to actually say those answers out loud. So rehearse them. You can rehearse them in front of your friends and family, if that seems kinda weird, rehearse it in front of a mirror. You want to make sure that you are comfortable saying what you’re saying out loud, so you don’t trip over your words, you don’t have long pauses. You don’t stutter. It should flow naturally.

0:10:07.2 CU: Now, the third R is reflect, reflect. When we think about the application process, it is so easy to be swept up in the momentum of job hunting, job searching, screening and selection interviewing that you forget to assess whether this is a company that you actually want to work for after you do all of this research what things have you found that lead to more questions, and what things have you found that make you excited to work there, what things have you found that kind of question whether you’ll be a good fit with all of the information and all of the preparation that you’re doing, you should reflect, you should take time to digest the information and not collect it for information’s sake. So when you’re learning about new initiatives that the company is launching, when you’re learning about the interviewer themselves and their hobbies, their interests, their career history. You want to take time to digest that information so you can then apply it during the interview and we’ll discuss what that looks like.

0:11:14.9 CU: So the first thing that we are going to talk about is the infamous elevator pitch. What does it mean to pitch yourself? What does it mean to actually sell yourself? What is a elevator pitch? We hear the phrase used all the time, but what does it actually sound like? So the anatomy of a pitch usually talks about three different things. The first is who you are, the second is what you’ve accomplished, and the third, and again, many people miss this is why you’re the answer. Why you’re the right fit for the job. So when you put all of that together, it really should be about 75 seconds, which is how long it takes to ride an elevator. That’s where the name elevator pitch comes from. So when you’re capturing that, 75 seconds is usually about four to five sentences tops, so in four to five sentences you want to capture who you are, what you’ve accomplished and why you’re the answer.

0:12:16.3 CU: So I’ll use myself as an example. If I’m giving a elevator pitch and you wanna make sure that you tailor it to your audience, but a typical elevator pitch for me would be like, “Hi, I’m Courtney Underwood, HR Alignment Strategist at Kassar Consulting where I teach entrepreneurs how to build and manage their teams. It is essential to have a healthy team in place because it increases your productivity, your profits, and most importantly, your peace of mind. I have over 20 years of HR experience, and I’m very excited for today’s opportunity.” So again, very generic, high level, but you can absolutely take all of that information in that blurb and flush it out to tailor it to whoever is listening. So again, you want to say who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and it’s really, really good if you can quantify that, add numbers to it, and then connect the dots as to why you’re the answer.

0:13:12.6 CU: Why you’re the right fit for the role. What drew you to the opportunity. Was it the organisation itself, was it the potential for growth, what was it about the role, the company, the mission and values that drew you to apply in the first place, because if you’re putting all of that in the elevator pitch, it shows that you’ve done your due diligence, you know exactly what you’re applying to, what you’re getting into, where you’re going, and why you belong, so you have to connect the dots and you’re doing all of that in 75 short seconds. So that’s why an elevator pitch when used correctly, when used appropriately, can be so powerful. You are literally pitching yourself or selling yourself within the first encounter to show why you’re the answer, that’s really what it’s about, showing why you’re the answer.

0:14:06.3 CU: Now, let’s talk about what an elevator pitch isn’t, because a lot of people get elevator pitches wrong. An elevator pitch is not your life story, let’s start there. Now, you see in this picture, this lovely picture here, it looks like the interviewer is just sobbing and the interviewer themselves is uncomfortable. On any given day, I can be the uncomfortable one because I hear a lot of pitches gone wrong. So the pitch is usually the result of an open-ended question, tell me about yourself. And a lot of people respond with their whole life story. “Well, I was born and raised in Chicago, I’m the youngest of 13 children. I really love dogs, and I’m thinking about adopting a puppy in the next three months, but when you think about the different types of puppies, I’m not sure whether I want a big one or a small one, because my sister has allergies,” you say you can go on and on and on. Pitching is not your life story, they are not asking what you’ve been like since birth up until this moment. So you want to make sure that your pitch is concise. Again, you are selling yourself, not selling your biography.

0:15:21.2 CU: The next is pitching is not a venting session, a lot of people hear the tell me about yourself question, and they respond with everything that they don’t like about their current workplace or about their former boss or about their life situation, like, “Yeah, I’m Courtney, I work in HR, I applied for this job because my boss is really rude and it looks like the company is downsizing. I don’t wanna be on the chopping block, so I really need a job. I have two kids to support, and I’m really stressed out about that. So it will be great if I can get this job.” And these aren’t responses, I’ve edited them a bit for clarity, but these are actual responses that I’ve gotten in my HR career. So when we think about what a pitch is, we want to make sure that we’re not venting to our potential prospective employer about our current situation, so pitching is selling yourself and in selling yourself, you do not have to downplay anyone else or anything else.

0:16:25.6 CU: And then the third thing is, pitching is not a humble moment, pitching is where you are actively bragging on yourself, you are leading with confidence, you are selling yourself, and you’ve been given an opportunity to do so, a lot of us are uncomfortable with the notion of selling ourselves, we’re uncomfortable with talking about ourselves or bragging about our accomplishments or our skills, or everything that we are and everything that we do, but when you’re pitching that is actually the goal. Pitching is an invitation to brag on yourself. So you have to get comfortable with sharing your accomplishments, quantifying them and making sure that the person asking knows exactly what you bring to the table. So you have to be able to do this with confidence. This is why a pitch is so important, because again, you are demonstrating your worth, your value and the transformation that you bring, all in 75 seconds.

0:17:29.2 CU: Now, we’ve prepared for the interview, we’ve nailed the elevator pitch and it’s time to actually interview, and a lot of director level or leadership level positions have behavioral interview questions, those are questions and we’ll talk about some examples. But they use the STAR method, so the STAR method is an acronym that stands for a situation, a task, an action, and a result. So when you think about behavioral interview questions, they usually start with, “Tell me about a time when,” or, “Describe a situation where,” or. “How have you handled X, Y, and Z?” So they’re asking you to tell a story with real life examples pulled from your career. So behavioral interview questions are essential to master because that means that you have to have some highlights and some examples and some experiences from your career to date, ready to kind of pull out of your back pocket in order to share in the interview, behavioral interview questions are never a simple yes or no. So you have to be comfortable with the art of storytelling, and so the STAR method is a great way to do that.

0:18:50.0 CU: Again, STAR stands for Situation, meaning what was the situation? What happened? You’re setting the scene, you’re providing context. The next one is Task, meaning what had to be done in this situation? What was the goal? The next is Action, what action did you take in order to move it forward or accomplish whatever needed to get done, and then the last is Result, what was the outcome of your contribution to the problem, to the project, to whatever it was at hand. So the STAR method is a great framework to really structure your responses to these behavioral interview questions. Now we’ll go right into some examples of what behavioral interview questions look and sound like, and then walk through some potential answers.

0:19:48.0 CU: Now decision-making. Now remember, the goal of a behavioral interview, especially for a leader, is to discern your actual leadership qualities. Behavioral interview questions for leaders speak to qualities that a leader should have. First and foremost, when you think about what it takes to be a leader, is the ability to make good decisions. That’s why I always lead with decision-making, because a lot of people just take it for granted that they’re able to make good decisions, but you and I both know that that’s not always the case. So good leaders have to have sound judgment and good decision-making capabilities. So a typical interview question, a behavioral interview question for something like this is, “Tell me about a time you had to make a key decision with only a small amount of information available?” So those are watching and listening, I’m sure, just hearing that question, the wheels are starting to turn, you’re setting the think of situations. For some of you that might be a regular occurrence, the reality of working in the position that you’re in.

0:20:59.7 CU: And when we think about responding to this question. Again, we’re going back to the STAR method. So the situation, you have to think about what the situation was, what is the situation where you had to make a decision with not enough information available. The next is the task, What decision had to be made? What was before you. One, did you have to work out? The next is action. What action did you take? Meaning, what decision did you make? And then the last is the result. What is the outcome of that decision? Was it successful or not? Why or why not? Because again, you are telling a story, you are responding to this question with a story, describing the situation, the task, the action and result by remembering those four things, you’ll be able to provide a very concise but effective response to any behavioral interview question and decision-making capability is just one of the things you might be asked, especially when you think about the leadership roles that you’re stepping into. The next quality that leaders should have is conflict resolution. You and I know this very, very well.

0:22:15.3 CU: Conflict resolution, how are you able to manage problems? How are you able to confront issues in a calm and peaceful way? So what does the behavioral interview questions look like for conflict resolution? How do you deal with different opinions? When leading a team. Now, I’m sure that you have more examples, but you have to find a specific one in order to successfully answer this question. So giving a generic answer of like, “I just handle it.” That is not what a interviewer is looking for. They want specific examples in situations where you’ve had to deal with different opinions when leading a team, because that points to your ability to make decisions, to handle conflict, to problem solve and to actually lead. Because it stands to reason that there will be times when the team that you’re leading will have different opinions about something, and as the leader, it’s your responsibility to handle it, but you have to have specific examples because you’re painting a picture of how you’re able to navigate these things successfully.

0:23:29.1 CU: The next leadership quality that interviewers are looking for is your ability to build relationships. Now, you may know that you’re a people person, or you may know that you’re not a people person, but in a leadership role, you are going to have to build relationships. So one of my favorite questions to ask as an HR professional is, “Can you tell me about a time that you struggled to build a relationship with someone important?” Now, the answer to this question can potentially speak volumes, because one, if the person in question wasn’t able to build a relationship successfully, if they tell this story and at the end of the story, it didn’t go well, that tells me about their ability to persevere, to bounce back, to not be offended, these are things that we want to make sure that we address because we all know that the realities of working in our positions isn’t all sunshine and rainbows all the time. There’s going to require… There’s gonna be some relationship building and that requires effort, that requires pushing past emotions, that requires a degree of maturity.

0:24:40.1 CU: And so when you think about a time that you struggled to build a relationship with someone important, it may be someone that you got off on the wrong foot with, but then you took efforts to make it right and now, a happy ending, you guys work well together, that is usually the story arc that interviewers and want to hear because it’s honest. It says, “Hey, we got off on the wrong foot. We didn’t agree about something,” but I made this effort again using the STAR method. I took these actions in order to get us on one accord, and now the result is we’re able to work together successfully. These are qualities that any leader, no matter the role, no matter the position has to have. You have to be good at relationship building.

0:25:30.7 CU: So now we’ll go to another quality, and that is communication. Oh my goodness, you would think it would be a kin to relationship building, but it’s a bit different because again, this is about leadership, we’re looking through a leader lens. A great question for communication is, “How do you communicate expectations to staff, and what happens when those expectations aren’t met?” As leaders, you’re going to have to hold people accountable, you are going to have to have the tough conversations, you are going to have to follow through and issue consequences when things aren’t up to par, and those are all skills, those are not things that come naturally. Holding people accountable is a key management skill that has to be homed, refined, developed like anything else, and it’s rooted and effective communication.

0:26:23.2 CU: So when you think about how do you communicate expectations to staff, I’m sure that you’ve worked with plenty of leaders that weren’t the best communicators, maybe they just assumed that everybody around them was a mind leader, or maybe they only communicated half of what needed to get done and forgot the other key half to make the project successful, or maybe they only communicated when things went wrong and never when things went right. Working under leaders who weren’t effective communicators, it really illuminates why it’s so important for you as an applicant to get it right. So how do you communicate expectations to staff, and then what happens when those expectations aren’t met? Now again, when we’re responding to these interview questions, they have to be specific, we are telling stories, we’re not giving generic answers like, “Oh yeah, I’m a clear communicator, I have no problem outlining what’s required.”

0:27:26.4 CU: That is a very generic answer, and you’re selling yourself short without painting a picture for the interviewer. So you can name a time where you had to train your staff on something new. Whether it was a new program, new software, new way of doing things, new protocol, whatever it is, and then if something fell through, how did you handle that? What was the consequences? How were you able to hold them accountable, and was it done successfully? Again, these are key leadership qualities that we’re looking for, so we’re revisiting the STAR method, that’s Situation, Task, Action and Result, these are key leadership qualities, and you want to make sure that you’re using the STAR method in order to respond to them.

0:28:16.8 CU: So we’ve talked about, again, just to recap where we are, we’ve talked about the anatomy of a pitch, we’ve talked about best practices to prepare, we’re going through behavioral interview questions, knowing that these are leadership qualities that we’re speaking to, because it’s more than just what we call technical skills, which is whether you can do the job or not. All of these are what we call soft skills. These are actual skills that talk about how we deal with people, how we interact with each other, how we behave, how we communicate with each other, and it’s what separates a good employee from a great leader and we’re interviewing as a leader, this is what it means to pitch yourself and go further in your career.

0:29:08.4 CU: Alright, so the next quality that we want to discuss, it’s problem-solving. As a leader, people are going to look to you to solve problems, they’re just gonna look to you as the fixer, so that’s something that you have to know and embrace as a leader. And so interviewers wanna make sure that you understand that. So a great question, and that’s pretty common, especially at this stage in your career, is describe a time you identify a small problem before it became much bigger. I know that many of you watching and listening probably have tons of examples of catching something early before it blew up in everyone’s faces, and that is what we want to hear.

0:29:51.9 CU: Now remember, when you’re telling the stories, don’t be afraid to make a conversation on engaging, but remember, this is also not a stage play. So you wanna make sure that you’re delivering the information that you’re telling a story, being very sincere, but also that you’re not acting it out and having a cast of characters and subtitles, like all this big thing, because remember, this is usually within 45 minutes to an hour for the average interview time, but when we think about giving our answers, and I’ll talking about the tips in just a minute, we want to make sure that we are answering the question that we were asked, which is a big skill in and of itself, but also that we’re able to highlight our expertise. Again, going back to the first acronym that I shared, VET, Value Expertise and Transformation. So these are the things that we are highlighting, that is the whole purpose of using the STAR method.

0:30:54.5 CU: So now, we’ll talk about what it means to actually interview as a leader. These are things that you should remember when you’re actually in the interview. The first is to be calm. This is a big one because we get nervous, we get anxious, we don’t know what’s ahead. It’s a big opportunity, it could feel intimidating, but we should be calm because remember, we’ve prepared for this moment, we’ve prepared for this interview, we’ve done our research, we’ve rehearsed our answers, and we’ve reflected on whether this is the right opportunity for us. So the whole purpose of doing all of that prep work beforehand, is so that when you’re actually in the interview, you are confident and knowing your stuff, you’ve done the research, there should be no hidden tricks, waiting for the other shoe to drop, gotcha moments, because we are prepared, we’re equipped, we’ve done what we need to do. So you can be calm and confident knowing that you’ve prepared for this moment. Confidence is another thing entirely, because we want to make sure that we are leading with our best face forward, that we are really assured of all that we are and all that we bring to the table, and that requires a mindset shift.

0:32:18.7 CU: So when you’re coming into the interview, remember you’re presenting yourself as the answer because they need you more than you need them. I know sometimes it could feel like the other way around, but you should be interviewing them just as they’re interviewing you, interviews go both ways. You should feel confident knowing that they selected you to learn more about you, and you should feel like you want to know more about them, to make sure that you’re making a sound decision for you and your household. So confidence is something that comes as a result of preparation. You can be calm and confident when you’ve prepared, you can be calm and confident when you’ve done your due diligence, you can be calm and confident when you’ve done your research, but without either one of those things, it can feel as if you’re on a shaky foundation, and I can tell you first hand that winging it is never gonna work, don’t do it. If you know you have a interview coming up, take time to prepare.

0:33:15.6 CU: The next is conversational. We’ve rehearsed some of our answers, but that doesn’t mean that we’re reading them off, as if we have some invisible cue cards. That is incredibly boring for both yourself and the interviewer you want to give yes a little razzle dazzle so they remember who you are. It’s not saying that you have to be fake. It’s not saying that you have to do a song and dance, it’s not saying that you even have to be animated like you’re in an infomercial, we’re not saying that at all. But we are saying is that you’re talking about your experiences, you’re talking about your expertise, the great thing about behavioral interview questions is that it’s asking you for something that you’ve already done. You’re really just recapping how awesome you are, and doing that, you can be conversational, you want to draw the interviewer in.

0:34:09.4 CU: The next is concise. That means that we’re not, again, doing these elaborate soap opera stories when we’re answering questions, with the main cast of characters, and again, some side characters and some impressions and some voices, we’re making sure that we’re concise, that we’re answering the question that’s been asked. I can’t tell you how many times that as an interviewer, I’ve had somebody give me a very long elaborate answer to a question and then forget what I asked, saying, “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, but what was the question? I know that we went everywhere else.” And I can tell you especially as an interviewer that sometimes that can come back to bite you. Because I think that you’re not as focused as you need to be. So you want to make sure that you’re concise.

0:35:03.2 CU: And then the last is, the goal of a successful interview is to make a connection. On average, for any leadership position an interviewer might interview anywhere from 10 to 20 people, depending upon the position and how it was posted and the path to that, but you wanna stand out? Right, you wanna make a genuine connection, that’s why it’s so important to research beforehand and learn about the interviewer themselves, see what common connection points you may have, whether it’s a city, whether it’s the school they went to, whether it’s what they’re posting, what they care about, volunteer opportunities, organisations that they’re a member of.

0:35:42.9 CU: So much of our lives now, especially in the times that we’re in, is lived online. There’s plenty of ways to stalk people for better or for worse, right? So use that to your advantage and make a sincere attempt to make a connection with the interviewer, and so if you have these five things, these five C’s, then you will be successful, Calm, Confident, Conversational, Concise and then having a genuine Connection. And so that’s actually my last slide again, this is who I am this is what I do. At Kassar Consulting, I have a ton of services that speak to all things human resources, but I wanted to share these things with you today because I want you to win, I want you to succeed. I’m super excited about this opportunity and I am available for questions. So thank you again.

0:36:46.1 Latrina: Here we go, I’m coming back. Wonderful. I want to let you know that the students were on fire, so they absolutely loved you, Courtney. They were just more so saying, “Oh my gosh, I need to practice this,” I need to do exactly what you were saying when you were talking about the STAR method and the elevator pitch. I think that the one thing I definitely loved that you said, and it came later on in the lecture, it was, the interview is you presenting yourself as the answer. And so I think that we really need to take that, and it is not a time to be humble and to say, “Oh, I just kinda do some things.” No, this is your time to shine. Tell us what you’ve done and tell us how great you are at it.

0:37:35.2 CU: Yes, yes absolutely. You are showcasing your worth, you are connecting the dots again, ’cause interviewers, they’re usually busy, they have a job of their own to do, and they see so many people for the process. So you are microwaving it for them, connecting the dots, presenting yourself as the answer because it shows that you’ve done your due diligence, you know why you’re a good fit. So you’re really just sharing information that they need to know if anything you’re making their jobs easier.

[overlapping conversation]

0:38:05.1 CU: So yeah, it’s about showcasing your worth, do not be humble, or just assume that they read every single bullet point on your resume and that they know. I can tell you as an interviewer, as a busy one, we skim, we skim. We’re looking for some key words, some stats, we’re skimming.

0:38:25.7 Latrina: And we’re also just looking at the resume and just seeing the typo and how it’s laid out. And those are things that I look at. I’m currently hiring right now, and I have hired in the past, mostly nurses in my background, so definitely hiring those healthcare workers, we’re just looking real quick just because… And again, you guys, remember, you are now, like she said, you are stepping up into that director level type position, you are now providers. This is not a situation where you want your resume just to look any kind of way and you just want to answer any kind of way, you’re gonna be making a lot of revenue for these folks. Upwards up to a half a million dollars a year. There’s a lot of money to be made, so you are very valuable. So like she said. Things go both ways, so you wanna present yourself in the most professional, but confident way that you can.

0:39:22.2 CU: Yeah, yeah, it’s really about connecting the dots, just showing why you’re the answer, if anything. Because it can feel uncomfortable to talk about ourselves, to sell ourselves, to really brag on ourselves, but just know that you’re actually helping the interviewer out like, “Oh yeah, I’m actually the answer. I’m who you need. We can shut this down right now,” right? And when we think about impactful ways to share that I always share whenever possible, see if you can quantify your accomplishments, put a number next to it. When you think about the different metrics that you’re measured on or what’s required to be successful at this director level. Go to the job description. If you can say, I’ve done that and I’ve impacted it this way, been there done that. Yeah, it’s so much easier and you get call backs faster, you do interview process faster. We talked about the average time being about 58 days, it’s just close to so many months, right? But you can microwave that process if you’ve done your due diligence and done their homework for them. So it’s really about just stepping up and don’t fall into the humility trap because humble people aren’t the ones getting hired first, so you have to make sure that you know to sell yourself. And yeah, it’s your time to shine. It’s an invitation for you to do this. The stage is already set, so walk in it. Own your greatness.

0:40:54.1 Latrina: I love it, I love it. I’m excited. I’ve got so many ideas just from you talking so you guys better get ready, because you know how I am, I’m ready to throw homework at you, I’m not gonna do that right at this moment, but I am gonna give you a little bit. And I tell you a little bit, that’s up my sleeve. Courtney, just by you talking, I got the idea of why don’t we have a space where you guys can practice your pitching, and that would be really, really important, not only for new NPs, but also for established NPs, because you need to give yourself credit where you’ve done the work. Like she said, “Don’t fall into that humility trap.” If I’m trying to grow, make more dollars, because that is also what we’re trying to do, let’s just be frank, we all love money, so if we’re trying to make and request the bigger amount of salary, you have to be very confident and sell yourself like she’s saying. I answer, this is why you want to pay me this much money, okay? 

0:41:57.4 Latrina: So just look for it coming, guys, because I’m telling you, we’re gonna have that space for you to be practicing your pitches in a very non-threatening, but definitely giving you feedback type of way, and I’ve already got some ideas of who could be on the panel, Courtney, [laughter] on the panel to kind of help us hone this in and practices, but just with that being said, I’m still excited that you were here, I’m also excited to say that I’ve got even other ideas for you to come back.

[laughter]

0:42:29.8 CU: Yey.

0:42:32.1 Latrina: Talking about conflict resolution and quantifying your experience, which I think that we need a little bit of help in. So those might be some things that I might have me back for, but I’m so pleased that you were here today.

0:42:50.1 CU: Oh, thank you so much. Like I said, I love talking about the business of people. I want this community to win. I’m a big believer in leveling the playing field. And yeah, I’m super excited. Just super excited. Yeah, I want to hear those pitches, because it does require rehearsing and saying it out loud. A lot of people make the mistake of saying, “I wrote it out, I know what to say,” but they never practice saying it out loud, and that’s something that I myself have had to do. I practice what I preach and required, just repeating it in front of the mirror when I’m about to brush my teeth, before I go to bed, just saying it to no one in particular so I’m able to get it right, right? And yeah, it’s a skill, so rehearse, you’re worth it, just take time to brag on yourself, it’s a good affirmation too.

0:43:41.9 Latrina: I so much appreciate that. So with that being said, we’re gonna wrap it up guys. I thank you so much, Courtney, for being here today.

0:43:53.1 CU: Thank you.

0:43:55.4 Latrina: Alright guys, so you guys are absolutely going to have homework from this magnificent pieces of information that Courtney gave us. So just be on the look out for it. But again, don’t worry, it is only here to help you get better and to help you dominate these spaces because that is what I am trying to do, I’m trying to get you to the point where you are super confident in who you are and what you know, so that you can get the jobs that you want to get and command the salary that you want to command. None of this is in an effort to, we hear that word bragging on yourself, and it feels very uncomfortable because then we hear things like the negative, being selfish and, “Oh, you’re just money hungry.” Let’s be real about it, money makes the world go around. We all like it, there is no harm in appreciating it and wanting more of it, plus we all have bills to pay. So we all want to do those things, and you guys, it’s okay to own that. There’s nothing selfish about being that and wanting to do better for your family, absolutely nothing. So we are going to be confident in who we are and build that confidence for you. So hopefully you really enjoyed it, I can tell that you kind of did, and we will definitely be having Courtney back.
0:45:14.8 Latrina: Again, so much appreciated for her being here. So with that being said, guys, if you missed the beginning of this, the replay is always available and it will be available in your portal, but I’m gonna let you know right now, please do the things that Courtney has suggested that we do and begin writing your pitch and practicing. It’s gonna come in handy because you know, I’ve got things up my sleeve. Alright guys, well, I hope that you have a wonderful night and I’ll see you soon. Check your emails just to make sure we don’t have any communication coming from you ’cause we could be asking you lots of questions. Alright, guys, talk to you later. Bye.