Interviewing for a CAD Manager Job

I first ran this article in the February 2007 issue of AUGI Hot News. With the current downturn in economic prospects, I figured I would post this up again.

Start off with a bang. A good, solid, firm handshake makes the best impression. Man or women – it does not matter. A firm handshake is a must. Look the interviewer in the eye. Sure, you may be nervous, but don’t get shy. Be confident in your abilities and strengths. Don’t worry about your weaknesses. Make sure you smile. Sit up straight. Think before you respond. Speak clearly. You have about 15 minutes to impress and the first few minutes are critical.

Polish the Resume. Get it down to one page. The whole point in a resume is to get an interview. Make sure you have results with any statement you make. “Developed custom programs the increased productivity by 25%” “Presented lunch and learn sessions on software tools that reduced trouble tickets by 10%.” Be ready to back these statements up with facts. “One LISP routine I wrote reduced 10 steps down to 4. This allowed all 38 users to reduce plotting time and speed up submittals.”

Make one or two open ended statements in your resume that others may want to know more about. “Created a positive environment for productivity using several proven methods that inspired users to follow the standard”. Don’t make them up. You need to follow them up with clarification. See my discussion below about this topic.

Be a Manager. Talk in terms of people, process and production. These are management terms. Remember that cost counts. When given the chance, frame your answers in these areas. “I was able to create a positive environment for productivity by passing out $5 fast food gift cards to the project team that got the least amount of violation when we ran the CAD Standards tools on their files. It cost a few bucks but the firm was behind it and it improved compliance. Standards compliance increased to almost 98% on one project alone”.

Be prepared for cliché questions. “What is the least rewarding part of your job?” Turn this into a positive. Frame the answer around something that the interview would agree with. “Obviously every position has its areas that are not as rewarding as others. In the overall job focus, I try to blend them all together so I keep a positive attitude. CAD Managers often have to do tedious work. Not many people like tedious work, so I focus on the outcome of these areas.” The concept is to not mention a negative unless you having a solution.

Ask for the Job. Make sure that you don’t leave without somehow asking for the job. I don’t mean actually saying “will you hire me?” I mean that you should state that you really want this position and why. “I really look forward to working in an environment like you have created here” or “It will be refreshing to work for someone like you. I am very interesting in come to work for you”. You would be surprised how many candidates fail to communicate that they really think it is a good fit.

Above all – be real.  Be who you are. Don’t blow smoke, lie about your past, over inflate or undervalue your talents. Sell “yourself”, not some cleverly created personality that you think you need to portray to get the job. If you are not showing the interviewer your real self, then “if” they offer you the job they will expect to see you perform like you “advertised”. Nothing is more wrong than impersonating a CAD Manager.