5 days Ago
The next time that you will be interviewed for that dream job, better reign in your conversational skills and avoid becoming a "smooth talker" as one CEO considers this as a red flag and you might end up farther from your coveted job from where you started. Omar Asali, CEO of Ranpak, an eco-focused packaging company, shared his thoughts on why he would steer clear of those job applicants who are very good at promoting themselves, always delivering the "right words" in response to a question. "You always have to be careful with people that are very smooth talkers and very promotional," said the 53-year-old executive whose company has a whopping market value of $661.
06 million. He also said that he is not hiring people because they have these phenomenal presentation skills, rather, he hires them because there are certain jobs that need to be done. One of the things that Asali emphasized is getting to know the applicant really well at the hiring table, discussing both work and non-work related subjects.
While he may not be involved in all of the hiring process, he underscored how he would personally discuss matters whenever the open position is for very senior executives, CNBC reported. One of the things that Asali would ask the interviewees, which he described as very insightful was the 10 words that would come to mind of the candidate to describe themselves. For Asali, the spontaneous answers of the applicants allow him to have a bird's eye view of their personalities, how they would be at work as professionals, and in their personal aspects.
"The more honest they came across — the more sincere they came across — the more I enjoyed the conversation," said Asali. "You would be surprised with people I hired that were pretty open and vulnerable about things about themselves," he said further. Aside from Asali, another CEO who would also ask questions that tend to highlight the level of self-awareness of the interviewees is Everette Taylor, the CEO of Kickstarter.
Taylor revealed that he would ask those job applicants to discuss a particular time that they made a mistake and failed. He said that those who take responsibility for their shortcomings are also the ones who can easily work with others. However, those who struggle with the question often lack self-awareness.
"I try to keep my ego at the door. I'm wrong all the time. I have an incredible team that's super smart and will put me in my place, and I love that," he said.
.
