Tip Talk From Your Counselor

The reception in the new job was warm enough. Couple of days passed comfortably while he was trying to go through his company and product induction. Later, he took on the charge.

One fine day, Roshan was abruptly called by his boss. The sight did not look soothing. Boss gave him a good stare through the top edges of his thick glasses. Roshan can’t forget the words, he felt were fired from an AK-47, from the other side of the table : “I am astonished that you have not followed up with the Director of Adbhut Corporation. This is a big account for us. You can’t afford to mess it up. You are supposed to manage this account very delicately. How can you afford to let the things slip. Go and apologise to the Director immediately. Make sure that it does not happen again. I perhaps had wrong perceptions about you when I interviewed you. I always thought that you were a smart professional who can become a superstar under me. I don’t know what is wrong with you. Look here, you will have to mend your ways here or we part company. Is it clear?”

Was it too much, too soon. Before Roshan could open his mouth and explain his position, the boss got busy on the telephone and signalled him out. Insulted Roshan hesitatingly walked back to his seat avoiding the glares of people in the corridor.

If you are thinking that Roshan should immediately quit or fight back, perhaps others might be thinking the same. The bigger question of course is whether Roshan made any efforts to find out about the boss or the work environment before hand, once he was contemplating to accept the offer? Did he ask some pertinent questions relating to the management style or philosophy of his superiors? If yes, did he match his profile and career expectations vis-à-vis the environment, the boss and the style?

In majority of the situations, the scanning of the perspective job is done through indirect scouting of information while the opportunity to get a direct-first-hand-feel in an interview setting is either not explored or utilized in compensation and benefit related issues. The result, the incumbent is as un-prepared as Roshan was.

Won’t the management feel bad if such questions are asked in the interview? After all, giving a job is still their prerogative. NO LONGER. If you need a job, the employer needs you too. The times have changed and for some very crucial positions, organisations would do anything to get the right person of their liking. Don’t forget what Mark Twain had said once, “Throughout my life I feared so many things, most of the things never occurred.” If the fears and inhibitions still trouble you, simply ignore them.

While you use your own language, paraphrasing and the style of delivery, ponder through some of these illustrative queries with which you may initiate your “in search of excellence” during your next encounter with a prospective boss in an interview setting.

• What styles of leadership does your prospective boss favor?
• What work style does he dislike / like in subordinates?
• What ambitions does he nurture for his team?
• What personal ambitions does he have?
• What type of stress situations does he encounter in the work situations and how does he  handle   them?
• What are his general likes and dislikes?
• How does he monitor the performance of  his subordinates?
• How does he provide feedback, counseling & coaching to his subordinates?
• What motivates him in the current job?
• How does he apply the ‘quality-of-worklife’ philosophy to himself and his team?
• What changes has he brought about in the past two years to improve the quality of work life for his subordinates?
• What does he expect from you within the next 2-3 months of joining and thereafter?
• If you are used to a particular style of working which is different then your prospective boss’s style, how can you too come to a workable common style?

Make mental notes and watch the non-verbal responses very closely. You will need to do a real close thinking before you arrive at the ‘MADE FOR EACH OTHER’ syndrome. The prospective boss is a critical entity to make or mar your career in the new organization. Of course, you’ll need to follow your instincts when deciding whether or not you want to work for a particular superior. But the more you can learn about a prospective boss during the interview - and afterwards, from sources inside and outside the company - the better informed you’ll be and the more likely you are to make a wise decision.

If you keep your eyes closed as a pigeon before joining, you will hardly have another option but to dig your head in the ground like an ostrich later.