Linchpin: Seth Godin’s New Book Releases Today
Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, is now out. And here are some reader reviews.
3 Questions to Ask in any Job Interview
In this down economy, a lot of people are looking for jobs. Part of the interviewing process is asking good questions of the interviewer.
Marcus Buckingham lists three questions you should always ask, and I think he’s right:
- What are the three top priorities for the person in this position during the next ninety days?
- What are the key strengths you’re looking for in the person you select for this position? How do these strengths relate to what this position is responsible for?
- How would you describe the company culture? Would you give me some examples of the culture in action?
First, you ask about top priorities so you can know what’s expected, especially at the start, and so you can identify if the employer has sufficiently thought through the position. If they don’t know what to expect, you won’t know what to expect. (And one of the three priorities they list will hopefully be: learn the position well.)
Second, you ask about strengths because the purpose of any organization is to make strength productive and because you will be at your best when you are in a role that calls upon your strengths. If the organization does not have this mindset, it’s a yellow flag and it may not serve you to work there. So you want to know if they think in terms of maximizing strengths. Also, you want to know if the position matches your strengths and thus if you truly are a good fit.
Third, you ask about the culture because this is fundamental to knowing your “fit” and because you want to work for organizations with a healthy culture. One of the best answers a potential employer could give to this question is: “Trust.”
And one last thing: Present your true self. First, this is right. Second, the interview will go better. Third, it won’t serve you or the company if you get the job on the basis of an inaccurate understanding of your fit for the position.
The Second Interview
If you are one of the many people out there looking for a job, the NonProfit Times has a good article on how to be effective in the second interview.
(What about the first interview? I guess they skipped that one. A good book for job-seekers that covers the first interview and a lot more is What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers.)
Graduate School without Graduate School for Unemployed College Students
Seth Godin has good advice for the 80% of college graduates who sought jobs but have not obtained one yet.
The Top Ten Things to Do if You Become Unemployed
Marcus Buckingham has a good article on The Top Ten Things to Do if You Become Unemployed.
The Future of Work
The cover story for the May 25 edition of Time is on The Future of Work. Here’s the summary:
Ten years ago, Facebook didn’t exist. Ten years before that, we didn’t have the Web. So who knows what jobs will be born a decade from now? Though unemployment is at a 25‑year high, work will eventually return. But it won’t look the same. No one is going to pay you just to show up. We will see a more flexible, more freelance, more collaborative and far less secure work world. It will be run by a generation with new values — and women will increasingly be at the controls. Here are 10 ways your job will change. In fact, it already has.
The ten changes they discuss are:
- The fall of finance
- Bringing ethics to management
- Employee benefits
- The change from a career ladder to a lattice, and the growing role of flexible working arrangements
- Postponing retirement
- The rise of green jobs
- The role of women
- The leadership transition to Generation X
- US manufacturing
- The last days of cubicle life (by Seth Godin)
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