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30-60-90 Day Plans for Interview · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: A good and relevant 3060 90 day plan presented at an interview can make the difference between getting the job ahead of tough competition or not getting the job at all.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: A 3060 90 day plan gives the interviewer a good insight about how you're going to approach the first three months and can quickly assess your experience, your confidence, if they think you can add value quickly and how realistic you are about what you can achieve.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me what would you plan to do in your first 30, 60, 90 days?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Is a great question to ask to separate the great from the good or okay candidates at interview.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is a make or break interview question.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: So in this podcast, I'm going to cover firstly when you should create your plans for interviews, secondly, four typical mistakes candidates make when answering this interview question, and third, I'll go through four key areas to consider for your plan while in the interview process.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and I've had a 25-year management career at Foster's, Innocent Drinks, EY, Peer Consulting, among others.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I've heard a whole range of interview question answers when asking candidates about their first 90-day plans during interview.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: As you can imagine, the interview answers range from poor to really impressive.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I've used 3060 90-day plans to help deliver quickly in many jobs, including multiple turnaround and high growth situations at manager and director level.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.training provides online business courses to help professionals, managers and business owners improve their performance.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if you like this podcast, please share it with friends and colleagues.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start by talking about when you should start creating a 3060-90 plan for interview.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: The further you go through the interview process, the more likely you'll be asked about how you would approach your first 90 days in the job you're applying for.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: There are several reasons for this.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, you should have more information about the company and team, which makes asking about your first 90 days more useful from the interviewer's perspective.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Second, in the latter interview stages, there is often little difference between the remaining candidates, and this question can create big differences, making the interviewer's choice easier.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And third, the hiring manager wants some reassurance about the value that you might deliver and if you will hit the ground running.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you get offered the role, of course.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a great question to find these things out.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the more senior the role you're going for, and the further you get in the interview process, the more likely you'll get asked about your plan for the first 90 days or get asked a very similar question.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: I would suggest that you create a 30-60 90-day plan based on the role that you're going for before you start interviewing.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: This will be high level and company generic.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Then, as you do your research about each company, you want to apply to and certainly as you get into the interview stages, make your plans more specific to each role you're going for.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: This question might be asked at the first face-to-face interview.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: It is much more likely to be asked at the second or third round of interviews.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Another common format is to be asked to prepare and give a short presentation on your 30, 60, 90 day plan.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, your first 90-day plans for interview purposes are about providing confidence to the hiring manager that you will be a valuable addition to the team and you will create value for the company quickly.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm going to cover four key mistakes that candidates do make when preparing 30, 60, 90 day plans for interview.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: The first that the plans are too vague or too detailed, second, the plans are unrealistic, third, there's no measurement included in the plans, and fourth, the plan is used inappropriately during the interview process.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So in a little bit more detail.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, providing a vague first 90-day plan is not going to impress, especially if the interviewer has spent time telling you about specific situations and you have not included them in your plan, or at least verbally referenced them.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Public, company-specific knowledge should feature in your plan when it impacts you or your team.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if a company was growing fast and had an ambitious product rollout and you were going for a marketing job, make sure your plan is as specific as possible given the information available to you.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And providing a plan with a lot of detail is not expected during the interview process because you simply won't have enough relevant information to create a detailed plan.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Your plan should be specific on what you do know about, or can reasonably guess, but higher level on everything else.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: The second error are putting forward plans that are unrealistic.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: A typical error is overpromising to try and impress.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: An experienced professional or manager will know what is possible and what is unlikely based on their experience.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Overpromising is a sure way to demonstrate your lack of experience or judgment and this rules you out of the running.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Equally, being very safe in your plans is equally likely to rule you out of the running because the hiring manager wants to see value delivered as quickly as possible.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Your experience and judgment are critical and this interview question tests both.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: The third error is not including measurable milestones in your plan.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Measurable milestones is so the hiring manager and you know when the goal has been reached.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: The hiring manager may need to use the goals to justify hiring you as well.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: So include sensible, measurable milestones within your 30-60-90-day plans and do caveat them.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you join you'll may well find out a lot more, and it means that the milestones you have put forward have to be changed to remain realistic, so just remember that point.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And fourth error, don't present a 30-60-90-day plan too early in the interview process.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you've not been asked for one, presenting one in the latter stage of the interview process can land you the job.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you're trying to present one at the first round of interview, for instance, you are unlikely to have enough information to present a good plan.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And it could be perceived as pushy and your judgment is likely to be questioned.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: All reasons for you to be shown the door.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: So now let's take a look at what to consider when creating your first 90-day plans for interview.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just to note, I will cover the essentials as during the interview process you simply don't have enough information for detailed plans.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the first area to consider is to match your plan to the situation.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us, and just as importantly, the hiring manager in the interview, want to deliver value to the company as quickly as possible.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Some areas of your 30, 60, 90 day plans will be common to all companies, such as building relationships with colleagues.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Other areas will be specific to the company and your role within that company.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure your plan is tailored to the situation that you're going to be joining.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Some areas for you to think about to tailor your plan include, firstly, what is the strategy of the company?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, what part does my team play in delivering this strategy?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Third, is the company in a steady-state situation, a high growth situation, or in a crisis?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: And how will this impact my priorities?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, what projects are the team involved in delivering now?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, what sort of resources would I need?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And sixth, what external pressures do I need to consider from clients, competitors or the trading environment?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: You should also think carefully about how quickly you need to make an impact.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: In situations like startups or turnarounds, you need to construct new ways of doing things and quickly.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: When the business is in a steadier state situation, you have more time and incremental improvement is needed, not wholesale change.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: The second key area is to think about the relationships that you'll need to build.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Any person asking about your 30, 60, 90-day plans for interviews will be expecting you to include how you'll go about building relationships.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Think who you'll need to build relationships with when you start your new role.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: For instance, your team, your line manager and their peer group, your peer group.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, any other internal stakeholders of your team's output.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, you know, those that supply your team with information or do work in the process before your team takes over.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, you know, clients you or your team will be looking after.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Seventh, any suppliers that you rely on to deliver your products or services which include key advisors or consultants to the business.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: As you're new into the company, building relationships should be one of your first priorities.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: After all, you're going to rely on these relationships to help you do a great job yourself, and it is very important to start off on the right foot.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: The third area to think about is what do I need to achieve in a new role to deliver value quickly?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, what will you need to learn about the company and the situation in enough detail to understand what could be changed or improved?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot add much value until you understand the nitty-gritty of a situation.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Your first 30 days should be mainly focused on building relationships and finding out as much as possible to enable you to do your role well.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Find and focus on the team's pain points and try to build and implement a solution to some of the minor ones as early as possible.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Your next 30 days will be a continuation of the learning process.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Your progress to solve pain points will hopefully have more minor wins and be progressing creating solutions to some of the larger problems.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, your team will know what is wrong and you will need their help to fix it.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Your next 30 days should be about starting to deliver against the larger pain points.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: You might be able to start implementing solutions, or you may still be planning on how to do this.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is critical that you use your judgment and experience to plan what is realistic and possible based on what you know.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Working out how you're going to create value for the company, the team, and your line manager is very important to answer any question about 30-60-90 day plans well at interview.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: And the fourth area to think about is how will you measure your progress?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Within your first 90 days plan, set out how you're going to measure your progress against each aspect of the plan.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: How will you know if you're making good, okay, or poor progress?
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you have enough information to suggest a numerical target, do so.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: But you might want to caveate it with something like you know, typical results I would expect R, and then go on to describe your target.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, you have not started the job yet and you will not know enough to be very specific, so give a range.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't have enough information to hazard an estimate, then talk about what metrics you might use and say what you've achieved in the past.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to ask your manager for their input into your first 90-day plan.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is a great opportunity to get their guidance, get your relationship off to a good start, and gives you a better chance of delivering.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Telling your plans with the information that you've been told is very important.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Do not use generic plans that could be applied to this role in any company.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: You must make your plans specific enough to show that you've listened, understood, and thought about this specific situation, role, and company.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Good luck in putting together your 30, 60, 90 day plans for interview.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Our How to Get Hire program provides online courses to make winning a new professional or manager level job quicker and easier.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: If of interest, please go to enhance.training and take a look.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.