The Three Questions

Cross-posted to The Green Suits:

As is the case at Monty Python's Bridge of Death, successful job interviews depend on the answers to three questions. Image h/t 1975, Monty Python (pythonline.com)

Fans of this website know that I am a big fan of Monty Python. And from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the “Bridge of Death” scene may be one of the funniest ever filmed. Remember the three questions the Bridgekeeper asks all who approach the Bridge of Death?

Bridgekeeper: “What is your name?”
First man: “Sir Lancelot.”
Bridgekeeper: “What is your quest?”
First man: “I seek the Holy Grail.”
Bridgekeeper: “And what is your favorite color?”
First man: “Red!”
Bridgekeeper: “Well…off you go then.”

Sir Lancelot answers wisely and safely gains passage across The Bridge of Death. To some, Lancelot’s experience seems much like an interview in the current job market.

So, what three questions might you expect to hear from a hiring manager? Last year, Fortune interviewed Heidrick & Struggles CEO Kevin Kelly who provided this boiled down but spot-on answer:

“Can you do the job?
Will you love the job?
Can we tolerate working with you?”

Hopefully, you won’t hear a hiring manager posing questions to you in such a brusque manner. But with these three questions, Kelly identifies the essential need. Let’s break it down:

CAN YOU DO THE JOB?

How well suited are you for the assignment? Do you have the requisite knowledge, training, and experience? Can you back up your claims with positive metrics? Can you hit the ground running with minimal or no training? Seriously, if you couldn’t do the job you wouldn’t have made it past the phone interview stage.

WILL YOU LOVE THE JOB?

This question speaks directly to motivation: What sets the fire burning in your belly each morning as you leave for work? Are you passionate? Will you enjoy a place where missions and strategies seem to turn on a dime? Can you visualize yourself being successful on the job and at the company? Can you see yourself rising through the ranks at the company? Will there be enough challenges and reward-opportunities three, four, five or more years from now to keep you jazzed about the company? And for The Green Suits: Is this company as committed to environmental sustainability and social responsibility as am I?

Actually, it is most-likely during the face-to-face interview round that the hiring manager will pick up on your body-language and soft-skills to determine whether or not you will be happy and thrive at the company.

CAN WE TOLERATE WORKING WITH YOU?

This is the “fit-check.” Regardless of great answers to the previous two questions, a hiring manager and his or her team may not see you being successful–or worse–compatible with company culture. Or the consensus may be that you are too much like the company culture and the need is for an iconoclast, someone who is a shaker-upper who will rattle a struggling company out of malaise. With this question, you hope for the best outcome. But really it is for others to decide.

For The Green Suit presenting him or herself for a sustainability or social responsibility management role in a not-already-committed-company, determining whether or not the team members can work with you may have a lot to do with how you frame language and answer [their] questions about difficult situational dynamics or company politics.

Still, knowing that it basically comes down to these Three Questions can be empowering. It need not be disabling. Understanding the mechanics of the candidate-selection process will help you be better prepared for interviews, and may increase your chances of landing a truly great job.

Now, I must ask: what is YOUR favorite color?

Tailoring the Green Suit Now in Joseph-Beth Booksellers’ Career Section

Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Fredericksburg, Va. is a great local bookstore.

Why is this store great? Well, it gives back to the community.

It also ❤s local authors!

Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy has new prominent shelf place in the store’s career section. It won’t be hard to find; look for the shelf talker (left).