Analyzing Results of Interview with Andrea Lim - Case Study Example

 Analyzing Results of Interview with Andrea Lim An Interview for the Brand Communications Manager Position at Shell Philippines I. Introduction October 2, 2011 – Shell Philippines opened a brand communications manager position at the Fuels department. It was open to all marketing and business graduates with preferred work experience of at least two years. The application process was held at the main office of Shell Philippines, from October 2 to October 6, 2011. The screening process was divided into three parts. The first part is the online submission of resume at the official website of Shell Philippines. The second part is a one-on-one interview with the director of the Human Resources department. And the last part is a panel interview with the Fuels marketing team. As a background, the Fuels department of Shell Philippines recognized the need to hire a brand communications manager to better implement its promotional activities and marketing campaigns for the coming year, 2012. Apart from this, the department also realized the importance of improving its communications tactics to better serve its respective markets and to remain as the market leader in the Philippine petroleum industry. The primary objective of the interview was to look for the right individual who possesses both the creativeness of a marketing professional and the strategic-mindedness of a business leader. As such, the following qualities were regarded as key determinants in choosing the right applicant for the position. Firstly, the applicant must have strong leadership skills. These pertain to knowing how to manage people well; being able to come up with sound decisions to solve key issues at hand; and having a strong vision in contributing to the growth of the business. In this sense, the applicant is expected to have a rich experience in handling team projects and in coordinating with external individuals on various partnership agreements and negotiations. Also, the applicant is expected to be a team player who knows how to effectively share his or her knowledge to help further the projects of his or her team. Lastly, and most importantly, the applicant is expected to have a good character. He or she must know how to think of the well-being of others and on how every team activity can optimize the potentials of each member. Secondly, the applicant must be a creative thinker. Creativity pertains to being able to deliver highly effective solutions to current business problems by ‘thinking outside the box’. In this sense, the applicant is expected to be updated with the current societal trends and happenings which will equip him or her with relevant insights and perspectives. Also, he or she is expected to be a rational risk-taker when faced with a test. Lastly, the applicant must have a firm business mindset. Since the ultimate goal of marketing is to assist the business in attaining financial growth, the applicant must know how to direct his team in lowering its marketing costs and in uplifting its revenues. Also, the applicant must have a keen eye for detail to serve as guide when making crucial decisions in the implementation of marketing projects. The determination of these qualities was primarily aided by the interview guide questions, which can be seen in Appendix A. In principle, the questions were divided into three parts. The first part involved the primary information about the applicant. In this regard, the questions about family background, school background, and work experience were included in the first set. Aside from this, questions about personal interests and hobbies were also added in order to get to know the applicant on a personal level. The second part assessed the qualities of the applicant which were relevant to the position being offered. In this regard, situational questions were raised in order to evaluate the decision-making abilities of the applicant in relation to people administration, stress management, and proactive thinking. The last part emphasized on the aspirations and dreams of the applicant. This part is crucial since it understands the key motivations of the applicant in his or her life. Idealistically, the interviewer hopes to find an applicant with an interesting story that reflects his other-centeredness and resiliency. Since the brand communications manager position is open to pressures from the other departments, the right individual must know how to maintain inner piece amidst a ‘chaotic’ environment and be able to strategically craft solutions to problems. II. Interview with Andrea Lim The interview with Andrea Lim, which lasted for 45 minutes, happened last October 6, 2011. Human Resources Director Anne Crawford facilitated the interview, which was the second part of the three-part application process for the brand communications manager position. As stated by Miss Anne Crawford, Andrea Lim passed the first part of the application, which was the submission of the resume, primarily because of her interesting personality and solid academic background. As a review, Andrea Lim is a fresh graduate from the University of the Philippines (UP). She took up Bachelor of Arts Major in Communication Arts. As a student, Andrea Lim has been active in school organizations and inter-university competitions. As for the school organizations, Andrea Lim has been part of the following student groups: (1) Tambuli, the official organization of the School of Communication Arts, where she was elected as the Student President for two consecutive years—during her junior and senior years; (2) UP Group of Theatrical Arts, the renowned theatrical club in the University, where she assumed the role of Logistics Head for dramatic plays and orchestral concerts; and (3) UP Student Executive Board, where she was nominated as the Vice President for External Affairs. In this light, Andrea helped in the crafting and implementation of various projects relevant to the organization where she belonged. As an example, for Tambuli, Andrea spearheaded the launch of the first student magazine of the School of Communication Arts entitled UP Microphone. Also, for UP Theatrical Arts, Andrea managed the logistical preparations for a university play, which was intended to celebrate the 100 years of UP existence. Regarded as the biggest and grandest play in UP history, Andrea helped in bringing the event to success. These activities highlight Andrea’s experience in planning and executing projects; liaising with team members in dividing work assignments and ensuring timely delivery of respective project tasks; and making relevant decisions to fast-track certain procedures in project implementation. In this light, it is evident how Andrea was able to effectively balance her various extra-curricular activities with her academic life. As such, Andrea has been a consistent Dean’s Lister due to her exemplary grades. Her high grades helped her get 100% merit scholarship in the University. Indeed, Andrea is regarded as part of the ‘Stellar Scholars’. Her solid academic reputation secured her a spot in inter-university competitions, representing the University of the Philippines in numerous competitions on marketing and advertising. As examples, Andrea took part in a marketing competition organized by Kraft Philippines, a reputable foods company. Aside from this, she also participated in management trainee workshops of multi-national companies in the industry of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) like Unilever Philippines and Proctor and Gamble. Indeed, through her hands-on experience in creating and implementing marketing and advertising campaigns of different brands, she was able to meld her theoretical learning with actual business practices, which makes her truly competent. At this point, it is now essential to evaluate the results of the interview with Andrea Lim. To reiterate, the interview questions were clustered into three groups. The first group highlights Andrea’s familial and scholastic background, as well as other related information. The second group tests Andrea’s knowledge in people management and firm decision-making skills. The last group provides a deeper understanding of Andrea as a person by underscoring her inner motivations and aspirations in life. Firstly, since Andrea’s school and work background were already tackled in the resume, the interviewer focused most of her questions on Andrea’s hobbies and personal interests. As expected, Andrea likes reading philosophical books and watching artsy films. In terms of philosophical books, Andrea is mostly interested in modern and post-modern philosophy. She finds solace reading the works of Immanuel Kant and Martin Heidegger. By reading the works of these famous philosophers, Andrea is able to widen and deepen her appreciation of life and God. In terms of arty films, Andrea’s favorites extend from the works of Stanley Kubrick to Christopher Nolan—her favorites being A Clockwork Orange and Memento. Generally, Andrea likes unconventional story-telling and complex presentation of characters. Through the given information, it can be claimed that Andrea is fond of intellectually-stimulating activities. Contrary to most university students who enjoy going to parties, Andrea is more comfortable spending time with good books and movies. It is important to note, however, that her hobbies do not make her an outright introvert. As a matter of fact, Andrea likes sharing her interests with her friends or joining passion groups that display same interests as her. Known as the ‘instigator’ of movie night-outs at her dormitory, Andrea is able to mark her sociable side without relegating her intellectual side. The second set of questions revolved around specific situations which demanded Andrea’s qualitative inputs. Firstly, when asked about what she deems as her greatest achievement so far, Andrea answered and explained: “Last October 22, 2010 our team won First Runner Up in Kraft’s I-Taste (I Take A Step Towards Excellence), which is a marketing competition among the top universities in the country. I regard this as my proudest achievement due to three reasons. Firstly, I-Taste allowed us to work efficiently as a team. Through the Tiger Biscuit case, we were able to properly manage our time, to equitably designate our tasks, and to effectively communicate with each one to arrive at customer-centric marketing campaign for Tiger. Secondly, I-Taste further honed my inter-personal skills. Through the Kusinang Kraft Cooking Challenge, I was able to mingle and befriend students from other universities like the Ateneo de Manila University, University of Asia and the Pacific, and the University of Sto. Tomas.” Lastly, and most importantly, I was able to appreciate marketing more. By being able to thoroughly apply marketing theories to real brands, I was able to strengthen my belief that I can be the greatest marketer through the help of others and of God.” Through her answer, it is apparent how Andrea is able to enhance not only her intellectual skills but also her social abilities whenever she attends various student organizations. This learning underscores Andrea’s sense of responsibility and strategic thinking. Secondly, when asked about why she thinks she is worthy of the position at Shell, her primary response banked on her solid leadership experience in both planning and implementing important university projects. Furthermore, through joining inter-university competitions, which were mostly organized by top multinational companies, she was able to gather significant insights into the unique business practices done by such companies. This learning curve becomes an advantage for a fresh graduate like Andrea since it bolsters her understanding of the business she becomes part of. Lastly, when asked about how she thinks she can contribute in growing the Fuels business as the brand communications manager, she explained that with her thorough understanding of the principles of integrated marketing communications (IMC), she would be able to redefine the building and managing of the Fuels department from a multi-disciplinary perspective that draws areas of Business Management, Marketing, Market Research and Marketing Communications. As she explained, her breadth and depth of marketing and communications knowledge, which were majorly formed by her exposure to a wide range of communication disciplines, will help her in crafting marketing programs that are customer-centric, industry-relevant, and channel-focused. The last set of questions focused on Andrea’s motivations and aspirations in life. As she claimed, she draws her strength from her family. Similar to most hard-working university scholars, her long-term goal is to uplift the socio-economic status of her family by being able to find a stable career and a medium-scale business. Furthermore, she keeps a close relationship with God by going regularly to Sunday mass and attending spiritual meditations. As a Catholic, she firmly believes that she has a responsibility to glorify God in whatever way she can. When asked about her definition of success, she views it as a state of excellence in four specific quadrants. As connected to the definition of Covey (2010), she regards success as the enhancement of: (1) intellectual skills or abilities which is linked to one’s chosen career; (2) social skills which pertains to one’s ability to foster, maintain, and enrich inter-personal relationships; (3) emotional maturity which is grounded on good character and solid human values; and (4) relationship with God. III. Conclusion As reported by Human Resources Director Anne Crawford, Andrea Lim passed the interview phase of the application due to her rich experience in planning and implementing marketing projects for her University. Along with this, she displayed great inter-personal skills which are highly needed for the position. Indeed, her good character and work discipline have helped her pass this phase. Source: Covey, Franklin (2010). 4 Quadrants of Success! Retrieved 4 November 2011 from http://www.tipsoftimemanagement.com/franklin-coveys-4-quadrants-of-success/ Appendix A. Resume of Andrea Lim Andrea Lim 1234 Maria St. SuarezVille Caniogan, Pasig City, Philippines 1602 +63907-334-3322 Employment Objective Seeking a position as the brand communications manager. Summary of Qualifications Solid marketing experience through school organizations and inter-university competitions. Excellent communication skills and leadership skills. Academic Achievements Kraft Foods iTASTE Program, Business Competition for Top University Students | October 2010 Second Place – Team UA&P Asian Media Congress: Media and Communication Research Grand Prix, Research Competition | February 2010 Fourth Place – Team UA&P University of the Philippines | 2008 – 2011 School of Communication Arts Academic Excellence Award Award given to students who accumulated the highest general weighted average in all communication and marketing communication subjects Senior Year and Junior Year Student Awardee Integrated Marketing Communications: Principles and Practice Create an IMC Plan for Mary Grace Foods Best Pitch Contact Management and Channels Planning Create a Media Plan for San Miguel Fruit Flavored Beer Best Pitch   Special Skills and Abilities Able to speak, read and write Spanish References Available upon request. Read More