NO CLEAR AND STRUCTURED THINKING PROCESS:
As you reach the mid-level of your career journey, you start taking on supervisory and manager-level roles. The standard you must meet differs significantly from the one you need at lower-level functions, especially regarding your communication style. The way you communicate and what will be seen as just as necessary or sometimes even more critical than your operational and technical skills.
Let me talk straight and from a senior hotelier’s point of view: If you are applying for a supervisory or mid-management job, you must have acquired particular abilities and interview skills. I observed, more often than not, that applicants were – based on their abilities- ideally suited for a position, but did not meet communicational requirements, less, they did not understand the intention of the interviewer, in many cases myself, and their replies were more often than not, acceptable, but instead of to structure their answers clearly with a beginning and an end, many candidates continued talking without an end in mind. It is like when a lawyer asks a question. Provide a clear answer related to the question only and do not ramble on. And this happens so frequently. The interviewer will hardly interrupt and find out more about you than you may want him or her to find out.
Therefore, mid-level candidates are rejected due to their inability for more structured thinking. This spells disaster if you are a team leader and want to become a manager leading a team because communication breakdowns in a hotel at the supervisory or managerial level will be detrimental to quality and productivity in any area.
One prominent and most asked question that applicants fear the most and do now know how to answer correctly in the job interview is, “Tell me about yourself.” And since they do now know the proper reply,or are not properly prepared, they begin to mumble and try to find the answer while answering the question. Candidates at all levels start fall into this trap.
Actually, it is not a trap but self-created. For some reason, applicants get terrified because this question has been described and talked about so many times.
The truth is, it is simply an icebreaker question. A moment, when the interviewer scrolls one last time thru your file and gives you the opportunity to begin the interview on your own term. There is no hidden agenda or trap, unless you create it. There are many very smart people out there on the social media, on LinkedIn, on YouTube and the likes. They love to talk about this question. And what they talk about is mostly correct. You can spend hours upon hours and watch and listen.
So I will not waste your time by showing you the negative replies to this question but instead provide you with a simple format that you can use as a template which works very well. No matter at what level in your hotel career journey or position you are in the moment.
You must “De-mystify this question. Again: The simple reason why interviewers begin the interview in this manner, is not to destabilize you but because they are switching into the interview mode after looking through your resume for about a minute or so. They reach out and give you the chance connect in the best and easiest way.
It is a 2-minute answer question, never more. As General Manager and later CEO, I realized how “caught off guard” many candidates were and how desperate they became to answer this question. Some of them provided a re-play of their resume, others created a stand-up story, and some began to mentally wander around trying to find ad-hoc answers like: “Oh, before I forget or another thing to add,” and then go off on that tangent hoping that the interviewer has mercy and interrupts them eentually.
I removed this question from my arsenal early but turned it around to initiate the conversation. Based on the info provided in the resume and cover letter, I told the candidate about themselves and asked them to confirm or explain. That strategy worked very well for me, but this question has lost nothing of its mystique; instead, it has been amplified due to the many career coaches and interview consultants out there. Not to say they do not do a good job, but I want to keep it as simple as possible. Here is how you should prepare to answer when asked:
“WELL, I HAVE BEEN IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY FOR FOUR YEARS AND AM CURRENTLY THE RESTAURANT SUPERVISOR AT THE 4-STAR XYZ HOTEL IN XYZ CITY. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM MY RESUME, I HAVE BEEN PROMOTED TWICE DUE TO MY EXPERIENCE AND PERFORMANCE. THE PROMOTION WAS DUE TO $ AMOUNT REVENUE GROWTH AND PAYROLL REDUCTION OF $ AMOUNT (OR ANY OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU HAVE HAD)
I AM VERY CUSTOMER-FOCUSED, AND HAVE AN AVERAGE EXCELLENCE RATING OF X%, AND WORK. I MOTIVATE MY TEAM CONTINUOUSLY BECAUSE WE ALL WORK BETTER IN A SUPPORTIVE AND FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT.
I THRIVE ON CHALLENGES, BELIEVE IN CONTINUED MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENT, AND WANT TO GROW PROFESSIONALLY. I AM NOT A JOB-HOPPER AND AM VERY LOYAL TO MY PRESENT COMPANY. HOWEVER, AN OPPORTUNITY THAT ALLOWS ME TO MOVE UPWARDS FROM A 4-STAR COMPANY INTO A 5-STAR COMPANY DOES NOT COME ALONG OFTEN, AND I HAD TO APPLY WITH YOU. YOUR SEARCH FOR A RESTAURANT MANAGER POSITION IS EXACTLY IN LINE WITH MY INTERESTS, EXPERTISE, AND THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP IN MY CAREER.
SINCE MY PRESENT DUTIES INCLUDE THOSE OF A RESTAURANT MANAGER ALREADY – ( I COVER FOR OUR RESTAURANT MANAGER FREQUENTLY) – I WILL NEED ONLY A LITTLE TIME TO FAMILIARIZE MYSELF WITH YOUR OPERATION AND THE TEAM AND CAN MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT QUICKLY IN YOUR RESTAURANT.
I KNOW YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTAND REVENUE GROWTH, MENU UPDATES, AND EXPENSE MANAGEMENT. “
IN MY FREE TIME I ENJOY (TRAVEL, READING, SPORTS, – whatever your hobbies are-)
This answer will take approximately 90 seconds, based on how you speak. Deliver it moderately fast with pauses in between to give the recruiter a chance to ask a question eventually. Make sure to keep eye contact and remain relaxed.
• This reply connects to your resume, what the recruiter knows already.
• It highlights your promotion based on your accomplishments.
• It gives you enough time to add, for example, an award or your outstanding customer relations skills.
• You describe yourself as a loyal employee with clear goals for your career and what you bring to the table regarding readiness, experience, and value add-ons like revenue growth, cost savings, and leadership skills. You provide basic info of your private life.
Spend no less than half of the interview answering this icebreaker. Many candidates are trying to find an appropriate answer or tell their life story and get lost in the narrative.
This is a transitionary question to make it easy for the interviewer and yourself to discover common ground and get the interview to a good and constructive start. My sample answer helps the interviewer to begin asking the more structured questions which will come up in every interview.
You can use this answer as a template and modify it for your position. Be it in rooms division, housekeeping, sales or marketing, human resources, or finance. It is interchangeable for the jobs and, more importantly, for all levels, whether at the entry-level, mid-management, or senior management.
The most important thing to remember is to keep your reply below the 2-minute limit and that this question serves as an icebreaker to get the interview going. If you stick with the framework of my earlier description, you will be fine as long you remain composed and professional and answer appropriately.
So here you have it. This will help you end this myth about this “Tell me…” question. If you have doubts, you are welcome to do further research online. However, I have said it many times and will repeat it. Refrain from wasting your time unnecessarily. There are many “Specialists, Coaches, and Teachers online. Some of them are good and provide lots of information; many are just not worth your time.
Your resume, the interview, and the interview questions are essential tools for your career. They are important, but you do not want to be kept in limbo and outside your comfort zone eternally. You want to have a solid resume and be well prepared for the interviews, but once you get the basic tools right, you will be ready not only to continue with your career growth but also to address and think about more important questions which will come up in your journey towards the top.
Tomorrow I will continue with the third reason why you could be rejected for an interview. So stand by and have a great day on your way to the next career post.
Good luck!
Helmut H Meckelburg