DoubleDip Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I wouldn’t ask this “What is something you wish
> were maybe a little different about the culture?”
> or anything else about culture. You are basically
> asking the interviewer to make a negative
> statement, and this will likely make them
> uncomfortable and potentially reflect badly on
> you. Not worth it. I always ask about the
> challenges I’d face and about the interviewer as
> mesaregr8 mentions, and also if I am interviewing
> with my potential new boss, imagine it’s one year
> from now and we are reviewing what I did this
> year, what should I have done in that year that
> would have made it a successful year etc. Also
> what qualities they ideal candidate would have….
> what makes THEM successful, what they love about
> the job etc.
Agreed, quick Black Swan Interview 101 Guide: Avoiding Negative Statements
Avoid ever making even the hint of a negative statement in interviews. For example, if they ask you what you’d change at your current place, find a way to phrase it as various positives and move on. They’re fishing to see if you’ve had past workplace conflicts (which is a big flag).
As one example of “fishing for conflict”, sometimes they’ll say describe a manager you had who’s style you didn’t agree with or something along those lines. In this situation, one approach is to change the question (approach A):
“I’ve been very fortunate to have managers I’ve always looked up to, I think that’s partly because a successful work environment is often more about generating a dynamic that is tailored to the team members than taking a one size fits all approach. We all have strengths and weaknesses, so you try to identify how you can best operate within the team, much like building an offense around a quarterback’s style if you watch football. Often times getting good results is more about finding that team rhythm than necessarily getting individuals that fit within one mold or another.”
Alternately you can use the age old “so a friend I have was wondering…” approach (Approach B) of masking your experience by attributing it to an anonymous friend. In this approach you still keep it positive by using words like “less effective” rather than “bad” and keeping things professional and somewhat non-committal. If you go into a spitting tirade, they’re gonna see through your ruse and think you’re a boss hating nut job:
“I’ve been very fortunate to have managers I’ve always looked up to, but I have noticed examples in other departments through coworkers where the managers style may not have been a very effective fit for the environment. For instance, back at XYZ…..”
Lastly, in fast paced finance positions, particularly those with long hours and close working quarters such as ER (where you’re with them more than their spouse) or IB (same) or most positions in NYC, they want to know you have a thick skin and know how to absorb a potential heated situation without an emotional breakdown or a halt in the work flow while you call your mother. So in questions like the one above, it’s often helpful to tag on a final disclaimer at the end that 1) shows you have thick skin and 2) suggests you’re being honest and not completely sugar coating your past experiences, something like:
“But sometimes of course in close quarters during earnings season understandably there’ll be the occasional heated comment, but in those situations it’s always served me well to keep it in context and maintain a focus on professionalism and getting the job done.”
As a final point, be careful not to hammer on approach A too much in interviews. You need to quickly identify which type of question it is, generally, they’re hoping to either hear a certain answer or hoping to not hear a red flag answer. If you use approach A too much and change the question you will come across as dodgy, and if it’s a question where they’re seeking a set answer you’ll be disadvantaging yourself. But if it’s a question where they’re hoping you avoid red flags, then approach A is fine.
