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Quantify to Qualify

Is your success due to your efforts or are you just along for the ride with a successful brand?

 

Our team was recently discussing some of the challenges that we have seen candidates facing in today’s market—a key theme seems to be increased scrutiny of quantifiable accomplishments, like sales increases and KPIs during the screening and interview process. When you think about this, it makes sense. Anyone can tell you how wonderful they are in an interview, but it’s only through a meaningful explanation of what you have accomplished, how it was done and citing relevant statistics that the interviewer can have a sense of your ability to achieve results.

We have talked about this in the past—the need to be specific in your accomplishments when writing your resume and preparing for an interview. But, we continue to see a renewed emphasis on drilling down into these specifics from our client companies. I suspect it has to do with the luxury brand landscape now—the days of simply needing a great product, brand story, and distribution channel to be successful are long gone in this competitive marketplace. If a company is seeking a leader to oversee some aspect of its direct-to-consumer or wholesale channels, it needs assurances that this leader can deliver results—whether at a single unit, multi-unit, or C-Suite level.

What success needs

So, when you are speaking with a prospective employer, can you tell your success story? Not in general terms or overall results achieved but how you achieved them? Each success needs to have the following components:

  • What was the challenge?
  • What did you identify as the solution?
  • What partners did you involve in the development and implementation of the solution?
  • What were the results?
  • Most importantly, how would you replicate that success in a new environment?

Effort vs. Brand Momentum

When it comes to results, you should be clear on the details. This includes information such as: What is your current % increase to LY and Plan? How does this compare to your company’s trend?

In other words, is your success due to your efforts or are you just along for the ride with a successful brand? What top KPIs do you focus on and how do you hold your team accountable for achieving them?

Now, if you are the interviewer, it’s also important to ask the right questions so as to hear the candidate’s specific success stories. The exchange has to be a two-way street, asking the right questions to elicit the specific answers that you need to make your decision. We will sometimes hear from a candidate that the interview was “great, very conversational, but the interviewer did most of the talking and only asked me general questions such as ‘tell me about yourself”. Then, the client’s feedback was that “I didn’t hear enough specific examples from the candidate.”

Articulating achievements

If both the candidate and client are on the details of this exchange in the interview, then the story should be told to the best of the candidate’s ability, and an objective hiring decision can be made.

To achieve interview success, it’s all about articulating your job successes in enough detail to show that you CAN take responsibility for those wins. Don’t wing it— think about these questions in advance, write down the details of your answer, and practice telling your story.

Remember: You need to “Quantify” your successes to “Qualify” for a great job.

Quantify your successes and unlock unparalleled opportunities in luxury and premium markets. Reach out to a luxury recruiter today and take the first step toward hiring quality talent.