Phase II: The Gauntlet

Coming off of a series of interviews lasting six hours total, I feel I've been through the ringer.  Every aspect of my past, present and future has been scrutinized from every angle, and all that's left is to wait for their decision.

The interviews were with the commercial printing company, Woodridge Press in Anaheim.  The position is in the Leadership Development Program as administered by their parent company, Consolidated Graphics.  This is a three year intensive program, meant to give its graduates experience in every aspect of the printing industry.  They seek new graduates to offer this opportunity.

The first step was a PowerPoint presentation about the LDP, CGX and WPI (Leadership Development Program, Consolidated Graphics and Woodridge Press Inc. for those of you who aren't familiar with the initialisms).  This was really the background or the structure behind a conversation with my interview coordinator about how each of these entities fits together, and why I can expect in the LDP.  This also included a very brief

This was followed by a tour around the building, particularly the sales floor and production floor.  My coordinator explained the purpose of each of the machines and introduced me to their operators.  Controlled chaos would be the name I would give it.

From there started my interviews.  These ran sequentially, and were approximately fifteen minutes each.

First I spoke with the production manager, who had been with the company for what seemed forever.  He knew the history of the business, and was familiar with every piece of equipment they had every owned.  A very low key person, he seemed more interested in getting to know me than in intimidating me.

Next up can the financial controller, who had also been with the company for a significant amount of time.  She had some excellent insights into the management structure of CGX and WPI.  She seemed most interested in the concurrent positions I have held, and how I managed to keep it all straight.

After the financial controller was an account executive who had graduated from the program.  She was a very honest (some might say blunt) person who was upfront about all of her experiences in the program and did not sugar coat any of them.  I appreciated her straight forwardness, but it was a fast shift from the two previous more laid back interviews.

Finally I spoke with another graduate of the program.  He was unique in that he had joined the program with the intention of going into sales, rather than operations or finance.  We quickly found that we had a lot in common, including our reasons for being attracted to the LDP and the printing industry.

The most challenging aspect of this rapid interview and shift wasn't filling fifteen minutes, but quickly evaluating each person to whom I was speaking and trying to determine how to communicate my experience to them in a way that conveyed my interest and enthusiasm.

Lunch was enjoyable.  We went to the Cheesecake Factory.  Having had the foresight to check the menu out before hand I ordered a Salmon dish and a small salad that I knew would be clean and non-intimidating. 

Lunch was with the interview coordinator and the last interviewer.  They shared with me their experiences with the program and we got to know each other on a more personal level.

Afterward, we went back to the office, and I went in for my interview with the President of the company.  And let me tell you, I was nervous.  I could almost feel my heart beating out of my chest and had to suppress an attack of hyperventilation -- something that has never happened to me before.  At first I was a little confused about the purpose of meeting with him; thinking it was him interviewing me I started by attempting to jump into his stories and comments with my own interview-worthy anecdotes.  These were always followed by an extended, and rather uncomfortable, period of silence.

After about two minutes of this really awkward non-flow of conversation I switched gears and took to asking him questions and processing his answers.  From there it all seemed to go a lot smoother, and I felt infinitely more comfortable.  From him I learned about his experiences with the program, why he feels that it's a good program, and how he continued to learn and grow after graduating from it.  I also learned about the functioning of Woodridge Press, and his management style.

What I came away from that interaction was a sense of trust in his leadership; something that I have never experienced resultant of an interview.  He seemed very even keel and realistic.  The comment he made that I was most taken with was that he felt WPI should not be prepared for the best of times, rather be prepared to survive the worst of times.  Rather than having the capacity to deal with the absolute highest volume he can hope for, he instead aims to keep the company breaking even despite record low volume.

After the interview he thanked me for coming in, and told me they would reach a decision in the next week or so.

And after it all, I feel I've been through the ringer more times than I can count.  Not that I did anything physically draining, but the psychological and emotional toll was great.  I will update later on the final results!

Best regards,
Beth

Phase II: Interview Friday

This Friday I will have an extended series of interviews with Woodridge Press in Anaheim.  This will be the final step in the process of evaluating me for the leadership development program.

These interviews will include meeting the Production Manager, The Financial Controller, the Warehouse Manager, the President and one other individual.  For the process I will have a coordinator who will take me through the day and out to lunch.

Each meeting will be one-on-one and will last approximately fifteen minutes.  Because I wish to appear interested in learning more about the company I will prepare questions to ask each interviewer.  Though there is the possibility that they simply wish to converse with me, in case of conversation lag I will be ready with filler questions.

For the financial controller I will ask:

• I understand that one of the benefits of being a part of CGX means central office can supply its affiliate companies with resources, including financial backing. How closely are Woordridge Press's finances tied to CGX?
• Does the finance department enjoy the same autonomy that the other departments are offered?

For the Manufacturing manager I have prepared these questions:

• What methods does Woodrige use to accomedate fluctuations in demand? (ie layoffs or temporary workers).
• What factors cause or predict fluctuations in demand in the print industry?

To the Warehouse Manager I will ask:

• What sort of inventory tracking system does Woodridge employ?
• Does Woodridge use Just In Time inventory?

And for the president:

• Did you begin the LDP with the goal of becoming a company president, or was it something that you grew into?
• Do you feel that the LDP provided you with the experience and knowledge necessary to lead a company?
• As president, how involved are you in the day to day functionality of your location? How closely do you work with corporate?
• What is the management structure of WP? Of CGX?

To my coordinator:

• What makes a successful associate?
• How are mentors chosen?
• In what ways does CGX continue to support its LDP graduates?

And, just in case that final person is the Sales Manager:

• On what products does the WP sales team focus its efforts?
• What methods does WP use to find new customers?

The coordinator also recommended that I research the LDP further.  I will reread any information available through their website and attempt to locate the program in the news.  I will also read about the overall industry and how it is fairing.

Wish me luck!

Best regards,
Beth

Phase II: Personal Mission Statement

As recommended in They Don't Teach Corporate in College by Alexandra Levit, who is citing the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, below is the work towards my "Personal Mission Statement".

Step 1: Skills I possess

General Skills	Specific Skills
Communication Personnel Coordination Consensus building Democratic leadership Collaborative problem solving Charismatic leadership Organizational Ability Reading Comprehension Detail orientation	Microsoft Office Work MS Office Excel MS Office Power Point MS Outlook Express, 2007 HTML CSS Word Press Javascript

Step 2: Philosophical Journey
Time to sit and think about the following topics:
What are your values? What type of work would you view as a privilege to show up to? How do you prefer to work? What is success? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Starting with values:  Although much of my ideology is constantly changing and shifting, there are a few things that I have always considered important or valuable.  The first is the importance of knowledge and understanding.  It has often been said that one cannot have a democratic society without a well informed populace.  I believe this to be true; and believe this extends into capitalism at its core.

Equally important is expecting oneself to  be a role model.  Although I may go my entire life without anyone imitating my decisions, I cannot assume that will be the case.  If I chose to take an action it should be one that, if everyone else on the planet did the same, there would be a generally positive impact, or at least a negative impact would be mitigated.

Money and fame value very little to me.  Prestige is something for which I strive, however I seek it in the context of education or recognition for a positive impact.  I put more weight on outcomes than on effort; though I have never felt that the ends can justify the means of any action.

I believe that every single person on the planet is capable of anything.  Not strictly positive tings, either.  At it is the situations we chose to put ourselves in that define which actions we are able to choose from to take.  I do not feel that our actions are predestined by our personalities, but rather elicited through the situations of which we chose to be a part.

Continuing onto the Privilege of Employment
I would love to work somewhere that I feel is having a true positive impact on the world.  I would also feel privileged to work for a company that invests in its employees because it believes in their ability to make a positive impact on the company's overall well being.  A place that arms its employees with the tools they need to succeed and then trusts them to do it.  I hope to work with driven, creative people who are as passionate about the company's mission as I am.

Success
I define success first from the individuals' perspective, that they are allowing the organization to continue and prosper.  Second from the organization's perspective I view success as contributing to the overall functioning of society.  A good example of this would be a public transportation system.  The driver keeps the system going by shuttling people back and forth from their stops.  The system benefits society overall because people are able to get to and from their jobs, thereby feeding their families and putting capital back into the economy.

I also view success as pursuing continuous improvement of oneself.  Education is one of the main methods of pursuit in this respect.

The Crystal Ball: Myself in 10 years
In ten years, I hope to be working for a company that I enjoy, I hope to be pursuing a graduate degree and I hope that I will have contributed in a positive way to those around me.  I also hope those contributions will extend out into the general functioning of society.

Step 2: Putting it into a Personal Mission Statement:
I am seeking an position that allows for constant self improvement where I can affect positive change in an organization; which in turn has a positive effect on the overall functionality of society.

Step 3: What it all Means
I'm not certain what exactly this implies about my future career.  It gives me a good idea that the organization that I'm looking for should be one I believe in, it also brings to light that I put a great deal of importance on working in a position that is significant to the company and to the rest of the world.  Hopefully this will at least help me to filter through the results of my search.

Best regards,
Beth

Phase II: Book Review

I recently completed the book They Don't Teach Corporate in College by Alexandra Levit.  It's a book that covers all the lessons she struggled to learn as a twenty-something in the corporate world.  She covers all the hard lessons, mistakes and successes that eventually lead her to a position she enjoys in the field she loved.

I found I identified with her target audience quite nicely.  She described herself as someone who had always been successful in University, achieving high grades and expected to skip up the corporate ladder as easily as the collegiate ladder.  Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as easy as she expected.

Take Away
 There were may points in the book of which I was already aware.  For example, the importance of watching what you say, especially when it's documented in writing (something that I strive to do in this blog and my Facebook profile especially).  I'm also well aware of the importance of networking in a corporate environment.  However, there was quite a bit that I hadn't thought about before.

She recommends developing a 'corporate persona'.  Not an entirely new personality, but a more refined version of oneself to bring to work and work related functions.  Until this point I had attempted to find a company that would accept me and all of me.  In hindsight, this was a bit unrealistic.  A corporate persona should still reflect your personality, but should also show you've put the effort into showing respect to your coworkers.

She also recommends a personal mission statement; something that covers who you are, for what you're looking and how you plan to achieve that.  I will walk through this process in a later post.

One of the most interesting chapters was the chapter on accepting and dispensing criticism.  Being a success oriented person, I have noticed that I have a habit of taking criticism very personally.  She recommends that you separate the criticism from yourself; they aren't saying you are bad, rather that the action you are taking is not what is expected of you.  Actions are easy to reevaluate and adjust.  Your personality? Not as simple.  From there it's important to understand just what they are criticizing, and what actions they feel necessary.

As for giving criticism it was mostly information of which I was already aware.  Do it nicely, constructively, attack the behavior not the person.  But she also mentioned a strategy for coping with employees who, despite your best efforts, cannot accept criticism in any shape or form without falling to pieces.  She recommends treating them as though they are already exhibiting the behavior and praise them accordingly.  Someone not spell checking their work?  Say "It's wonderful that you always check your work for spelling errors. It saves me so much time!"  The idea being that having been recognized for this particular behavior this person will attempt to continue to receive praise of the same variety by then actually displaying the behavior.


Criticism
Although I do not completely agree with this assessment, it might be worth an attempt.  However, it would be necessary to proceed with caution.  There is potential that based on your praise the employee could assume their minimal efforts are enough.  When their mistakes become a serious problem and that person may need to be let go, they will view the reasoning behind their dismissal as being out of the wood work.  After all, weren't you just praising them for displaying the behavior you are now saying they were not doing in a satisfactory manner?

As with most things, I'm sure it's a situational contingency.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to job seekers who are interested in working in 'corporate America'.  The rules may be different in other life-paths but this is a concise guidebook to a world for which we seem ill prepared.

Best regards,
Beth

Phase II: Introduction

 After the initial contact comes the interview period. This is when companies and I determine if we are right for one another.  Much like a blind date, we each go in with the rosy pictures painted by our profiles (they have my resume, and I have their website) and hopefully get past those basic facts and on into the meat of the issue.  Will I fit in their company; do we each offer what the other is seeking?

A component of Phase II is evaluating just how selective I can afford to be.  How much do those credentials that I managed to rake up in University set me apart from the rest of the pack?  What exactly do I want in a position, how much of that do they need to offer upfront, and how much am I willing to accept one, three and five years from now?

 Phase II covers interview techniques and abilities.  Although I am not convinced that every position I interview for will be the perfect career for me, I plan to approach every interview with the same professionalism and learn from every success and mistake that occurs during the process.  This will include accepting any interview and using it as a practice opportunity.  I will also keep track of questions that will help me to determine whether I will have a positive relationship with an employer.

Finally, this will cover all of Method 5: self improvement.  Because the majority of what I have been pursuing through method 5 is knowledge that will help me in the interview process, I will no longer count method 5 in phase I.

Best regards,
Beth

Phases

Due to the successes experience in my initial contacts with job hunters, it seems that it is necessary not only to track my primary search mechanisms, but also my secondary evaluations.  I am introducing the use of 'phases'.

Phase I covers the initial contact process through the multiple methods described on the visitors page.  I will continue to report on the success of these methods, the lessons I learn and the merits of each.

Success in Phase I will be defined as progression into Phase II, or the subsequent contact.  This covers interview of any type (phone, in person etc.).  I will report the many resources I use to in pursuing successful phase II; as well as the lessons I learn in the process.

Best regards,
Beth