Use My Disappointment As Your Edge (Too) - Melissa Llarena

Use My Disappointment As Your Edge (Too) Use My Disappointment As Your Edge (Too) I recall what one of my managers early on in my career told me when I asked about being considered for a promotion as a result of my strong performance evaluation. He looked at me in the eyes and said that I had to behave like an account executive for a number of months before I would even be considered for that inch up in my career. The backstory is that I had accepted a drastic pay cut and demotion to switch sectors into this job so you can imagine my chagrin.I was irked not because I was an entitled kid who had been given gold stars all of her life and this was my first disappointmentbut because at that point I had years of experience and I really shouldn’t have agreed back then to start from scratch even if it was to enter a new industry. I should have waited for a role at the right level to make its way onto my “desk” instead or I should have been more creative in the process.However, regardless of the fact that I felt a bit deflate d, that was a crucial learning moment which continues to reap its rewards (for my clients).I carried this comment with me and ten years later I tweaked this feedback to the benefit of my coaching clients who were interested in securing promotions â€" in any circumstance internally or externally.So here’s how I turned my disappointment into the insight that can become your edge:I took that idea about playing the part to earn a promotion to teach business professionals who partner with me before an interview to play the part of the role they are going for during the entire interview process â€" from the way they structure their proposed business solutions to the content of their 90-day plans.This guidance has nothing to do with arrogance and assuming you have the job â€" far from it. It’s all about giving interviewers a sample of how you’d think in that role.If you decide to partner with me, here’s what you might hear me say, verbatim.I want you to play the role.Play the role that you are gunning for as you prepare for networking conversations.Do the same when you are interviewing with decision-makers.Close the conversation playing the role better than ever before.Here are some examples to help you leverage this idea about playing the part during a job interview:I coached a specialist in fundraising vying to secure a generalist role as the executive director of a not-for-profit organization. I pushed her to think about her interview answers as if she was already responsible for a wider breath of responsibilities beyond securing donations. I even urged her to ask questions that a generalist would ask at the end of her interview. This client was an expert grant writer and her natural tendency was to think about increasing revenue streams and securing new dollars. Yet, I wanted her to ask questions that showcased her broad perspective into what the organization needed in terms of capital investments with which to serve its constituents while maintaining a h ealthy budget. As a grant writer she was far removed from evaluating capital investments however if she assumed the executive director role then this task would mission-critical â€" as a result, she had to start considering the larger organization’s administrative needs in that interview room.   Ironically, I wasn’t the only person who coached her to consider this strategy of playing the part so apparently other savvy interviewees are doing the same.I also used the same guidance for  a middle manager in a financial powerhouse type of organization. Her interviewing process was nail-biting and draining â€" sound familiar? The background on her is that she has delegated very little. She was accustomed to playing in the weeds. The challenge for her was operating at a 10K foot level â€" and if she was going to secure a c-suite spot she had to adjust her lens accordingly as early as in the interview room.   She had to play the part not only to showcase that she was c-suite material bu t also because she was interviewing with a CEO who consumed information at that “forest” level. My client had to ask the right questions based on her need to know the information as the firm’s CFO she was interviewing for precisely the CFO spot. In the end, this tweak in mindset has made a difference in her approach and preparation.As with anything this takes practice. Try it before going to that big interview.The key is to reconfigure what you care about or consider in your interview answers so that it encompasses your most important priorities as if you were already hired for the new role. If you play the part while you are being evaluated for the role then you’ll do a better job of showcasing that you really are ready for that promotion.Not sure how to adjust your interview answers? Hire me and I’ll take the guesswork out of your efforts. In my opinion and that of my clients  it makes more sense for you to focus on the efficacy of your proposed business solutions then to spin your wheels trying to figure out the current expectations that exist during the interview process in any world-class organization the latter is precisely what I bring to the table.