The Principle of Demonstrated Competence - Jeff Fischer

The Principle of Demonstrated Competence 1

The Principle of
Demonstrated Competence

Jeffrey M. Fischer, Ph.D.

In my article, The First Interview: Fight, Flight, or Fit, I wrote about the initial
screening interview and stressed the importance of being “who you are” rather than
trying to impress or be who you think the interviewer or the company wants you to be.
In this article, I’ll assume you’re in play. The next round of interviews addresses the fact
that they like you, but they still need to assess whether you can do the job.

There are many ways hiring companies try to determine competence. The classic way is
to look at the past – this is the birthplace of the “tell me about a time where you…” line
of questioning. Other times, companies will ask candidates to do case studies or perhaps
take an assessment. In these examples, the interviewee is essentially asked to perform a
party trick to prove that they have what it takes.

There is another way.

Many years ago, I was running an investment fund and needed to hire a Risk Manager. I
screened hundreds of resumes and called and screened about 20 candidates. I then
called back a dozen candidates who were all highly qualified. After exchanging
pleasantries, I asked them all the same question. I explained my current approach to
managing risk and shared with them some of the problems I was trying to solve. Then I
asked them to help me think about the issues right then and there. This question
stopped them dead in their tracks. Each of them had come prepared to explain what

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Copyright © 2013 Jeffrey M. Fischer. All Rights Reserved

The Principle of Demonstrated Competence 2

they had done previously and why it qualified them for the job I was trying to fill. None
of them expected that I would ask them to try doing the job with me.

I already knew they had relevant experience; that was precisely why I offered them the
opportunity to do the job with me on the spot. I told them this directly and actually said
things like “this isn’t a trick question, I’m genuinely interested in thinking about this
with you, just relax and work with me for a while” but it didn’t make a difference.

There was one guy who didn’t freeze. Instead he lit up like a Christmas tree and began to
tell me about how he loved analyzing risk. He had great suggestions and I pulled my
chair around to his side of the desk and we spent about an hour and a half working on
the problem at hand. Later that day, I received a thank you email that included a
working Excel risk model spreadsheet for our company. This wasn’t an interview tactic;
he loved his work so much that he couldn’t help it. He was doing the job before he even
got the offer. This is the principle of Demonstrated Competence. He is currently a
partner in that company.

The Great Ones Can’t Help It

In the case above, I created the space for the candidate, but I have seen this happen
before the interview even takes place. When I launched my current practice, I posted an
ad for an Assistant on the local Craigslist board and received many responses. There was
one inquiry from a candidate who was over five hundred miles away and worked
remotely. I was impressed that she had found my listing and mentioned that in my
response. She replied that she had set up RSS feeds with keywords for the positions she
was seeking so that she wouldn’t spend time searching for them; they would
automatically end up in her inbox for her to explore. Right then and there, I knew I was
on to something.

I selected 4 top candidates for calls (including the remote candidate) and suggested via
email that they look at my old website and my new website (then in beta format) to get a

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feel for where I was taking my practice. Some wrote that it was “interesting” but the long
distance candidate wrote that she had found a few typos on the beta site. When I called
her, she was apologetic that she had flagged these errors. She said she was a natural
proofreader and “just couldn’t help it.” BANG! In my mind, she was hired on the spot.

As a matter of courtesy, I didn’t want to cancel the calls with the other candidates so I
told her that I was impressed and that I would call her shortly with an answer. Over the
next couple of days, she sent me several great suggestions about things I should consider
and shared her thoughts about what to do next. There was no ego in this, no positioning,
and no tactics – in fact, she continued to apologize for taking initiative before she was
offered the job. I called, gave her the offer, and sent her a retainer fee BEFORE we
finalized her contract because she was already doing the job. The great ones just can’t
help it.

If you have done the hard work of clarifying your CORE and identifying what you love to
do and what you do best naturally, you will instinctively be prepared when the
opportunity to demonstrate your competence arises. You may still need to answer
generic questions like “tell me about a time when you…” but this becomes a simple
matter of fleshing out examples of times you have succeeded by being “who you really
are” and by doing what you do naturally. It won’t always happen, but when this
resonates with the interviewer, you can easily shift to Demonstrated Competence. Odds
are it will happen by itself, but there are things you can do to increase the odds.

The first is to prepare by really thinking about the company’s business and how you can
bring your unique skills and talents to bear. Understanding the company is much more
than researching facts and figures. You must begin by thinking and acting as if you
already work there. Then, you must genuinely ask insightful questions and be prepared
to offer meaningful input when the moment is right.

One client of mine “bombed” on an initial interview question because he couldn’t
address a technical issue. When we debriefed the interview, I asked him if it was a good
question. He replied, “Hell yes, it was a great question!” I asked him if he would have

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been interested in the question regardless of the interview and again he said he would
have. I then suggested he go away, research the question, write up his answer, and send
it to the interviewer. This was not a tactic per se – the interest was genuine. The client
wrote that it was a great question and asked the interviewer to look over the write-up
and check my client’s thinking. My client got the job and later learned that he had been
chosen over candidates who were much better “on paper” because of his Demonstrated
Competence.

There’s a confidence that comes along with Demonstrated Competence. There will
always be competition, always someone else who will want the position you’re vying for.
But when you can demonstrate that you are as competent in real life as you are on
paper, it shows that you are naturally cut out for the position regardless of degrees or
previous experience. Interviewers get that and they’ll want you on their team!

1709 Legion Road, Suite 212, Chapel Hill, NC 27517 | 914-584-0466 4
Copyright © 2013 Jeffrey M. Fischer. All Rights Reserved