Manager Interview Tips

I only manage myself these days as a freelancer. But, in my former life I managed a team of people in the U.S. and sometimes abroad. There are tons of articles on how to interview, what is often overlooked is that preparation should also be taken by the interviewer.

I've learned this all too well and have fallen prey to a few pitfalls of interviewing myself -- such as looking for a person I like versus someone who is right for the job.

Here is an article I recently wrote for ehow.com

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Manager Interview Tips

By Rebecca Wicks

Contributing Writer for ehow.com

Every hiring manager wants the right employee in the job he is filling. We all envision someone who has knowledge, listens, picks up skills quickly and meshes well with the rest of the team. Many of us have hired a candidate who we thought was a perfect match only to find in upcoming weeks the choice was poor. A bad hire can cost managers and companies substantial money and time. The key is to be strategic when interviewing job seekers.

Know What is Needed

1A A common mistake is to walk into an interview unprepared. Make a list before starting interviews including what specific attributes and skills are needed to succeed in the job you are hiring for. While we all want perfection -- organized, able to multi-task, prompt, etc. -- think carefully not only about what requirements you need but at what level you need them to be. Nearly everyone possesses all competencies to some degree, your job is to find out at what level so you can compare candidates.

Collect Real Evidence

Try Try not to ask hypothetical questions. This usually prompts candidates to respond with what they think is the correct answer. What you are looking for is what the candidate has actually done, specifically how they have performed in the past to exemplify a skill you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for someone who works well under stress ask, "Tell me about a time when you had to perform in a stressful situation." Or, if you are looking for someone who can solve problems on their own ask, "Give me an example of a time when you were able to problem solve a situation."

Probe for Key Information

3In In order to gain insight into the personality, ability and character of a candidate, press for additional important information. Ask "what were you thinking/feeling," to understand the thought process of your candidate. Or ask "what did you do/say?" to better comprehend more specifically how he handled a situation. And, be sure to ask how a situation ended. Having your interviewee describe what the results were sheds light on how they perceived what was important in the situation.

Keep the Conversation Relevant

Yo You don't want to know what the job seeker usually does, you want to know what she actually did. Similarly, directing the candidate to use the term "I" not "we" will assist you in accessing what she actually did herself. Asking follow-up questions in the past tense also helps to keep the conversation on track with details of what the interviewee has done in previous situations.

Dos and Donts

5. Do
--Ask specific clarifying questions.
--Continue your discussion about a single situation until you have a complete understanding.
--Take notes.

Don't
--Let the candidate give you generalizations or speak in theoretical situations.
--Digress into irrelevant conversations.
--Go into speculative information for example, what she hopes to do in the future.

Feature writing

Since I have been absolutely horrible about blogging on this site, I've decided to post some of my work periodically as well.

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Faring Well at the Fair

By Rebecca Wicks

Ventura Breeze

Aug. 12, 2009

In these tough economic times especially for those of us with jobs like writing which provide a less than steady income, many of us have found our budgets a little tighter. That said, the Ventura County Fair only comes around once a year, and when you have kids it’s practically unavoidable. My goal this year: to enjoy the fair with minimal damage to the pocketbook.

Opening day we packed up the two kids and headed out. We circled downtown searching for a place to park. Dodging pedestrians streaming toward the fairgrounds we got lucky and ducked into a space.

A free downtown parking space meant $10 in parking fees averted. Good start.

Because we had purchased a sheet of ride tickets the week prior – $20 for 50 tickets, a $17.50 savings – we headed straight for the Ferris wheel.

I have never been a huge fair fan. Fried food is not my cup of tea and rides that spin are pretty much my arch nemesis but when you have kids, you do what you have to do.

Case in point: A friend of mine who is pretty much scared of heights relayed to me she ventured onto the Ferris wheel that day with her two kids. When waiting at the very top for people to climb in and out down below her three-year old – to her horror – started rocking their seat back and forth.

“Honey, please sit back – look at the ocean!” she said in a falsely chipper voice attempting to divert the little girl’s attention.

“My heart was pounding, I thought I was going to be rocked off to my death,” my friend told to me later.

After bumper boats, spinning airplanes, rumbling trucks and a ride that seem to drop my little girl out of the sky we headed to the other side of the fairgrounds home of the scariest-looking rides at the fair.

Some looked as if designed after personal nightmares. My favorite to watch was called Wind Surf. It swung approximately 20 riders up, down and then upside down where they stayed suspended while simultaneously having water shot up into their faces.

There is just so much to look at from the rides and crazy food offerings to the booths hawking leather goods to the people themselves.

If I had a nickel for every time my three-year old pointed at something – a ginormous hot dog on a stick, someone bungee jumping, a man dressed up like a banana – I would at the very least made back the amount of money we spent on food.

After taking in some rides and playing a guaranteed-win duck game we sauntered over to see some animals. While in the past my three-year old looked at pig after pig with delight this time, they just could not compete with the rides. Pigs, cows and sheep were definitely out this year for her. However, they were not completely neglected as my one-year old did seem to appreciate them.

We compromised with a pony ride. We lucked out and purchased two tickets for the price of one from a lady who was leaving the fair and didn’t need them.

After this, everyone was ready for food. This was round two for my husband who had already managed to eat a pork chop on a stick within the first 10 minutes of arriving.

“Next time we have a big BBQ we are totally serving pork chops on a stick,” he announced dripping juices onto the stroller.

With a table full of nachos, fish tacos, chicken strips and fries we discussed what we had seen and done so far. My husband asked our three-year old daughter if she liked the fair.

This is when she proudly announced that she is going to get married at the fair.

We discussed as a family how this would work logistically. Would we provide ride tickets for guests? What time would be best? What would fair organizers think?

We topped our fried food meal off with a shared ice cream cone and made a final stop at the petting zoo before departing.

We only used half our ride tickets which means we will most likely make a second if not third visit to the fair this season. We missed the youth center and botanical areas which I’d like to get to next time.

In the end we did okay budget-wise. Our tally went something like this: $1 in entrance fees; $35 in food; $10 of our ride tickets; $7 pony ride; $3 in petting zoo fees and $3 for the duck game.

My three-year old is still telling stories of the fair to anyone who will listen – family member, friend, foe or stranger – so in my book it was $60 well spent.

Getting excited

My pet project is inching closer to the finish line.

I just received the redo of the last pages from the illustrator. I'm trying not to get too excited because I know we have some final wrap up work to do still -- but it's hard not to!

SEO Copywriting

Business has definitely slowed over the last couple of months.

A part of my business that has remained strong is search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting.

SEO is the process by which you increase the quantity and quality of visitors to your Website. The fact is, 85 percent of all initial Website visits originate from search engines. And, there are only two ways to appear on search engines: organically or via paid means.

Paid Search Engine Marketing
Paid search is a tactic such as paid inclusion or pay-per-click ad listings. The benefit – it works fast and effectively, getting your message in front of Web surfers who are in an acting context. The shortcomings of paid search – it can be expensive. Paid search is oftentimes recommended for opportunities that require immediate action, e.g., if it’s a seasonal sale of products or a timely political message.

Organic Search
Organic search is a process by which Web users find Websites having unpaid search engine listings. In essence, it is a merited search based on indexing pages using content and keyword relevance versus who paid more to end up at the top of the list. The benefits – people trust organic search as “earned” support for a Web site – and, it’s free. It has also been found that it is more effective when the person is involved in a considered purchase, e.g., choosing a consultant or purchasing a car. The main limitation to organic search is that while it may not cost money to appear toward the top, it does take time and expertise. It also takes time for a site to “gain traction” with search engines.

Which then, do you ask is better? The answer – much like any tactic when it comes to a marketing mix query – is both. The most powerful way to get your Website found is to use a mix of both organic and paid search tactics. Much like public relations and advertising, it is the mixing of the two disciplines which yield the best results – you just have to figure out the right percentages of each for your business.

And, of course there is no cookie-cutter solution. This is why many call upon public relations and marketing firms who help clients create a cost-efficient Internet marketing plan that can be continually monitored for guaranteed success.

How To...

When I was in PR and developing plans for a wide variety of companies I found a good chunk of the proactive marketing created was centered around a single concept -- the "how to."

When I worked with Gymboree one of our seasonal marketing outreach programs consisted of:

-- A video news release that was all about "How to Pack for a Family When on Vacation." We hired an expert on packing and developed a news piece where she gave tips to viewers on how to keep the headaches to a minimum on a family vacation by packing smartly.

-- A satellite media tour with the same expert. Basically we booked her on as many morning television shows as possible and via satellite, she conducted interviews with local newscasters giving tips on how to "pack without becoming a pack mule for your family."

-- A matte release that was in essence the same story but written in a news article style. It was put on a wire service for newspapers who needed help filling their paper with relevant stories for their readers.

When I worked with Amazon, our holiday pitch was focused on "how to budget for the holidays." We looked at a number of budget experts, e.g., Suze Orman (note: this was before she had a TV show and her rates were much more reasonable then) and then after choosing had her do a similar bit to the Gymboree one (SMT, VNR, etc.).

For JELD-WEN, the window and door company we wrote a bevy of different stories for editorial consideration from"how to chose the right windows," and "understanding different door materials," to "how a door can increase your home's value" and "beautifying your home with wood."

It's funny, after transitioning to the "other side," I find myself developing eerily similar pitches to when I was in PR.

So much of what we read are essentially a "how to" pieces.

It may seem like a simpleton marketing strategy, and many writers may "poo-poo" the idea of writing these but at the end of the day -- it may very well pay to master the "how to."

Working with clients

The word “free” may be the root of the word “freelancer” but don’t be mistaken, you are never completely free. Yes, you are free from a stringent 8-to-5 lifestyle and you are free from one boss hoarding over you however, now you just have multiple clients which means you have multiple people who are your boss.

I have been working with clients, board members and committees for close to 15 years now. I’ve found if you make sure to always take care of a couple of basics, working with clients goes a lot smoother.

Here are some highlights on how I keep my “bosses” in line.

• The Relationship Matters – If you work with a client long enough it is inevitable: something will go wrong. It’s like the saying “sh*t happens.” Things won’t always go according to plan, middle-men will make mistakes, and well, so will you. It happens, and it happens to the best consultants and freelancers out there. When this happens, when there are no excuses, all you will have left to fall back on is your relationship – so make sure it is a strong one.
  
  If you have been always been honest and fair, if you have always given your clients a sense of security, your client will forgive you and you will be able to move past whatever atrocity has occurred.

• Anticipate – My very first job was as an event planner. I planned parades, auctions, pub crawls, you name it. Since then I have planned my fair share of press conferences, trade show events, grand opening and more. I have learned that anticipating everything that can happen is the best way to run a successful event and a successful relationship with a client.
  
  It seems a simple mantra “be prepared.” But, you will not believe how many times I’ve had people on my teams say, “but that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Well, it did. And, those of you who at least gave some thought to a contingency plan will be better off.
  
  At an event it may be as simple as having a box full of tape, a stapler, scissors and Sharpies. For a freelance writer it may be ready for a client to say they don’t want to pay because they are not happy, or surprising you by asking if you will co-write something with a writer you have never met. If you think about it, you can most likely guess what different clients might do.

• It’s in the Details – It’s expected that the freelancer or consultant pay attention to the little things. After all they are paying and, in our society that means they expect to be treated a particular way. Organization on the part of the freelancer puts a clients mind at ease, and makes them feel secure and confident. Be organized by asking questions, e.g., when is the deadline, is there a particular tone you are trying to strike, etc. Lay out your work process and your timing. Also, be diligent. If you said you will call at a certain time, do so. If the client was going to email you information and hasn’t, you follow up with the client.

• No Surprises – Much like Wall Street for the most part clients don’t want to be surprised. They want to understand what they are paying for and know what they are getting. Talk them through situations, processes and give them lots of examples. You are providing an intangible product to them – your writing – make them feel confident in what they are likely to receive from you.
  
  Again, questions play a key role for example, discuss how many words they want in a piece. It’s also always good to follow up with an email detailing what you discussed, who will be responsible for what tasks and the timing of each action item. This way it will all be crystal clear and you will have a happy client who expects what you are planning to deliver!
  

Independent Publishing in China

Printing in China is cheap -- and, I mean dirt cheap compared to printing in the U.S. or anywhere else for that matter. For a long time Mexico was the place for inexpensive in independent book printing, but now like in so many other manufacturing areas, China has taken over.

The benefit: those of us with smaller projects like my book with the Santa Barbara Zoo can actually exist. The downside -- well, there are many. 1) You don't really know what you are getting, 2) Prices tend to vary wildly even if you're getting the same specs quoted and 3) English as a second language always presents communication issues.

I've been going through the headache of quoting my project. Working with some Chinese business folk is akin to working with a New York celebrity agent on a bad day -- lots of yelling, threats, rudeness...you get the idea. It is no work for the faint of heart.

I've gotten a lot of things printed in Asia for corporate jobs (as well as worked with my fair share of NY agents for celebrity bookings) and it's tough, but if you don't have the budget, you don't have it.

So, if you're planning on going to China to get something printed here are some tips, and hey, I'm learning as I'm going too.

1) Be very specific with your specifications. And, I mean specific, e.g., size, thickness of pages, rounded corners, 4-color, etc.

2) Ask for a sample. If they don't have one they are willing to give you outright, ask if you can have one that you can mail back to them.

3) Ask for references. Get the name of one or two of their clients, preferably for jobs that are similar to yours so you can talk with them to see how satisfied they were with the quality of the product.

4) Google them. Do a little homework on the company you're dealing with to see if anyone has said anything good and/or bad about them.

5) Get a proof. Make sure you get a proof of your book, brochure, etc. before they go to print on the entire job.

6) Do as much as possible in writing. Leave a long and arduous paper trail if you can.