PROUDLY PRESENTS

Edward Hamell
Resident of The USA and 3-DNET® VIP member
Email contact : edward.hamell@exec.org

      

 

INTERVIEW WITH 3-DNET®

Listen to sample sound "bites" from the interview:  

Question 1 : Tell me about yourself

Life is about making a positive difference in the world. This is a value that I learned in my family, growing up in the New York suburbs during the 1950s and ‘60s. As the eldest of three children, I learned the importance of getting involved, taking responsibility, trying to have a beneficial impact in everything that I do. I am dedicated to my thirteen year-old daughter. As a divorced father, I have worked hard to build excellent relations with my ex-wife, and to give my daughter two loving, actively involved parents. Family and friends are very important to me. Throughout my life, I have been actively involved in my community organizations, in politics, and in my religious community. I am a thoughtful, spirited, and capable of deep commitment, both personally and professionally. My diverse interests include baseball, politics, psychology, acting, music and hiking.

Question:  "Tell me about yourself....?"  

Question 2 : What can you offer to your next employer ?

I bring to my work an attitude of service. It is vitally important to me to make a positive difference in others’ lives. I approach my work with honesty, energy and dedication, humor, kindness and compassion. As a leader, I have a talent for collaborative goal setting, raising standards, supporting and energizing a workforce. I don’t shirk the hard tasks; I am able at the painful tasks of management today, such as employee discipline, budget cutting, and layoffs, as well as its joys. Leadership, for me, is a marriage of imagination, insight, interaction and unfiltered realism.

Question:  "What can you offer....?"  

Question 3 : What are your strengths ?

I am intelligent, intuitive, and pragmatic. Challenges that demand creativity attract and inspire me. I have talents for motivating others and for facilitating change. My communication skills are strong; I love to write and have co-authored a book on organizational change, have hosted radio programs and been interviewed on Dateline – NBC, radio programs, and for newspaper articles, and am an amateur actor. Throughout my life, I have been engaged in community service and the political process and am an effective advocate for positive change. I love always to learn, to grow, and to expand my repertoire.

Question:  "What are your strengths?"  

Question 4 : What are your accomplishments ?

Most importantly, I am a good father to my incredibly delightful 13-year old daughter and strive to be a good, kind, and caring man. I have helped relieve pain and suffering, given many people and organizations tools to survive and to lead better, more fulfilled lives. My history of spearheading the creation of new programs and organizations is something that I am proud of. This began with my starting a literary magazine and county-wide student organization during high school, and includes building a program evaluation function in a hospital, a quality improvement department at another hospital, creating a model day center program for homeless, severely mentally ill people, and transforming a comprehensive residential/treatment program for clients with both serious mental illnesses and addictions. I have also served in leadership positions on boards and committees of various community organizations.

Question:  "What are your accomplishments?"  

Question 5 : What are your limitations ?

Maturity, to me, involves the willingness to be honestly realistic with both oneself and others about one’s capabilities and one’s limitations. Like all people, I am limited by the abilities God as given me and by my human needs. Much to my disappointment, I will never become either a Major League Baseball player or a Broadway star. Neither will I be a physicist, nor win a Nobel Prize in higher mathematics (although I am competent with college level math and graduate level statistics and can quickly grasp the story behind an organization’s financial statements). My long-term health and day-to-day productivity requires me to lead a balanced life, get good nutrition, exercise, get adequate rest, and conscientiously attend to my spiritual and emotional needs. .

Question:  "What are your limitations ?"  

Question 6 : How much are you worth ?

I am an unusually versatile and capable professional. My skills include line management, guiding start-ups and financial turn-arounds, organizational change consulting, organizational assessment and quality improvement, community building, advocacy, and performing psychotherapy. My two master’s degrees are in management and in clinical social work. I am a creative thinker with a talent for systems thinking, seeing the “big picture” and a capacity to energize an organization to meet its goals. I look to be compensated for a combination of what I bring to an organization and the beneficial results of my work, although financial remuneration is not the most important thing that I seek when selecting an employer.

Question:  "How much are you worth ?"  

Question 7 : What are your ambitions for the future ?

Currently, I am at a crossroads in my professional life. In order to meet my current and future responsibilities, I am moving out of the fields of mental health and social services provision to enable me to expand my financial security. I will build upon my strong, broad skills set and fine education to make an adjustment in career direction. Now I seek a position that involves some combination of management, consulting, policy development, advocacy, writing, public speaking, and marketing or community building efforts. I also would be excited to take a position that requires me to develop new skills. I look forward to writing again for publication, and would love to eventually return to school to earn a Ph.D.

Question:  "What are your ambitions for the future ?"  

Question 8 : How long would it take you start contributing to the firm? 

I would begin to contribute to the firm immediately. I am a quick study, motivated, and love to “hit the ground running”. With my history of strong achievement, wide-ranging skills, extensive professional experience, commitment to lifelong learning, I will arrive on your doorstep ready to serve.

Question:  "How long would it take ... ?"  

Question 9: What is your management style?

My management style promotes responsibility and trust, honesty and respect, teamwork, adaptation, and open communication. Throughout my life, I have worked to acquire a wide repertoire of interpersonal and work-related tools. I assess situations both intuitively and analytically, and then choose the approach that will be most effective. I embrace opposite traits in my management style, strongly favoring a collaborative, team-oriented approach, but do not shirk from being the authority figure when this is necessary. I know that quite often the lower-level employees responsible for a business function have the truest understanding of that function and also the best ideas for improving it. I routinely seek out these employees to involve them in problem-solving and goal-setting. With my team, I set a direction for the organization that meets the requirements of the corporate governing entity. Then I work to gain employee buy-in to gain the necessary support to achieve those goals. Ultimately, I do require that all employees work hard in support of the plan. I credit the team with their successes and conspicuously reward the achievement of employees. My work stands on its own merits, and I earn loyalty through success and treating my employees well.

Question:  "What is your management style .... ?"  

Question 10: Why do you think you have a good potential to be a manager?

I believe that I am a good manager and that my work history bears this out. I achieve positive results and earn the loyalty and respect of my employees.

Question:  "Why do you think you..... ?"  

Question 11: What would you look for in hiring people?

First, I look for high levels of integrity, intelligence, and motivation. Is the person an honest and keen worker? I investigate whether the person has the skills and credentials to do the job, and assess how much training will be required to bring the person up to speed. I look for demonstrated ability and willingness to commit to an organization and congruence between my organization’s needs and the goals of the person whom I am interviewing. I ask myself how well the person will fit in with my organization’s culture, whether the person will contribute positively to that culture, and whether he or she has the potential to be groomed for an eventual leadership role.

Question:  "What would you look for hiring .... ?"  

Question 12: As a manager, have you ever had to fire someone?

Yes, many times, unfortunately. I have had to fire people both because of poor performance and downsizing. First, I must say that I, whenever possible, try to reserve termination as a last resort. It is important to me to try to help every employee to succeed. I use education, counseling, and progressive disciplinary measures to try to improve poor performance. If these fail, or if the employee commits an egregious act that in and of itself requires termination, it becomes necessary to resort to termination. I have learned to communicate with employees about their performance issues, to inform them clearly of my expectations, and to document my efforts to work with them to improve their performance. Usually, the person has had several opportunities to improve before termination becomes an issue, and when I move to terminate them, I do so with a clear conscience. Part of my immediate role when I began my last position was to upgrade standards of professionalism and to shift the culture to emphasize customer service and achieving positive financial and clinical outcomes. Several employees could not, or would not, make that shift, and it became necessary to let them go. The most painful terminations occur when I have to lay people off for non-performance based reasons.

Question:  "As a manager, have you ever..... ?"  

Question 13: What do you see as the most difficult task of being a manager?

My most difficult (and most important) task as a manager is to discern, to mediate, and ultimately to balance the needs of my organization, its customers, its employees, and of the larger society in which we operate.

Question:  "What do you see as...... ?"  

Question 14: Describe what you feel is the best work environment?

The best work environment is one that breeds creativity and success. I believe in the “learning organization” principles developed by Peter Senge, worked with (and was taught by) individuals trained by him, and assisted in the writing of a book that he co-authored. A positive work environment, to me, is based upon honesty, caring, learning, creativity, adaptation and, consequentially, achievement.

Question:  "Describe what you feel..... ?"  

Question 15: Looking back how do you describe your past employer?

My last employer worked hard to provide quality mental health services to low-income, underserved consumers in a challenging social and political environment. They provided me with the backing that I needed to upgrade programs and administrative services, achieve financial success, and a reputation for caring and innovation in the community. However, they were forced to cut back severely when, during February 2004, the state reduced reimbursement rates by 30%. After curtailing services laying off much of our staff in their effort to survive, I was laid off in July. The company, committed to continue to provide services to as many of our clients as possible, is now managing the operation directly from the corporate office.

Question:  "Looking back how do you ..... ?"  

Question 16: What have you done to increase productivity, performance, efficiency, etc..?

These goals are achieved when an organization does many things right. In my last position, I turned around an organization that had been losing money to enable it to show a profit for eleven consecutive months. Among the many tools that I have utilized, are managing organizational culture, tightening financial management, designing and implementing both quality improvement and outcome measurement mechanisms, computerization, eliminating wasteful spending, program/product development, downsizing, increasing or upgrading personnel, training and motivating staff.

Question:  "What have you done to .... ?"  

Question 17: Whether you are a "computer wizard", how do you respond to the financial side of your responsibilities?

I love managing the financial side of my responsibilities. Monthly financial reports are an important management tool for me, delivering critical feedback on how well my initiatives have been implemented and how effective they are in achieving desired results. I communicate regularly (several times per week) with our financial staff, review their reports with them, and involve them in helping me to improve our financial performance. I am also a very creative budgeter, good at finding ways to pay for new initiatives and for improvements that we need to make. Although I am neither a “computer geek” nor an accountant, I am very able to speak their languages and to make good use of their services.

Question:  "Whether you are a "computer wizard".... ?"  

Question 18: How many people have you supervised in your recent job?

I supervised a maximum of 80 people in my last position at Psychotherapeutic Services, Inc. This included professional, non-professional, and administrative personnel. We were a $4 million per year operation. After streamlining services to gain efficiency, layoffs and closing programs, our staff was reduced to approximately 35 people.

Question:  "How many people have you .... ?"  

Question 19: What do you like more, working with figures or words?

Although I do both well, I love to work with words. Writing, speaking, and reading are joyful activities for me. I delight in expressing myself well.

Question:  "What do you like more ..... ?"  

Question 20: How do you think that your subordinates receive you?

I believe that subordinates receive me well. They appreciate being included in decision-making and my approaching them to garner their feedback, ideas and suggestions. Organizations that I have managed have experienced less turnover than other components of the same organization.

Question:  "How do you think .... ?"  

Question 21: What do you think of your previous boss?

I learned a lot from her and I appreciate her support and her friendship. I also admire her energy, her ability to inspire others, and her capacity to get new projects successfully off the ground.

Question:  "What do you think .... ?"  

Question 22: Describe a situation in which your work was criticized?

I always welcome constructive criticism, as this is an important source of learning. I was once criticized in my clinical work for becoming overly emotionally invested in a client. This turned into one of the most important lessons of my life, as I then learned to have healthier emotional boundaries. This benefited me not only in my clinical therapeutic work, but also as a manager working with employees, and in my personal life also.

Question:  "Describe a situation .... ?"  

Question 23: If I spoke with your boss what he would say about your greatest strength and weaknesses?

She would say that my greatest strength was either my creativity or my positive relationships with others throughout the company. She would also say that my greatest weakness is my tendency to become bored after awhile in “caretaker” situations that do not allow for much creative development. I would agree with that assessment.

Question:  "If I spoke with your boss.... ?"  

Question 24: How can you handle life under pressure and with tough deadlines?

Pressure and deadlines mobilize me to work harder to get the job done. One year ago the State of Maryland moved to reduce the funding for the programs that I managed by 30%. I wrote letters to legislator, initiated a letter writing campaign among my staff and clients, attended statewide meetings and became active in our providers’ association to combat the funding reductions before they became law. Once the state approved the cuts, I worked hard within my organization to position ourselves to survive. I lead a balanced, healthy life, and this enables me to increase my intensity at work when necessary and to handle stressful situations and deadlines.

Question:  "How can you handle .... ?"  

Question 25: What do you think you do better: staff work or line work?

I have done both effectively, enjoy them both, and am prepared to do either.

Question:  "What do you think.... ?"  

Question 26: In your current position, what problem have you identified that was previously overlooked?

When I arrived in the position, I discovered that employees were stealing and/or wasting supplies at an alarming rate. To resolve this, I designed and instituted both systematic and supervisory controls over employees ordering, storing, and issuing supplies. This introduced accountability into the system and quickly resolved the problem.

Question:  "In your current position .... ?"  

Question 27: If you had a choice of job and a company what would you choose?

I would choose to help an organization that I respect and admire to grow or change in a positive direction.

Question:  "If you had a choice of job.... ?"  

Question 28:Do you have any objection to take a psychological test?

No, none whatsoever. I am also agreeable to participate in drug testing, as I use neither drugs nor alcohol.

Question:  "Do you have any objection.... ?"

Question 29: Do you consider yourself as a creative person?

Creativity is one of my most important strengths. I am extremely intuitive, a natural systems thinker, and an excellent strategizer. It is important to me to work in an organization that values these traits and supports people who “think outside the box”.

Question:  "Do you consider yourself.... ?"

Question 30: How do you describe your personality?

I am honest, bright, spirited, resourceful, loyal, kind, respectful, supportive, and inventive. I am energetic and determined when set on a goal. I am an excellent listener and people feel comfortable opening up to me because they know that I will respond seriously and can be trusted. I am also good at communicating with and motivating others. Fresh approaches to problems excite me, whether they were generated by me or by others. Quiet time for reflecting, thinking and imagining is essential for me.

Question:  "How do you describe.... ?"  

Question 31: What is your outside reading you do?

I love to read! I read a lot of quality fiction as well as mysteries, biographies, history, books about baseball, and fantasy novels that my daughter loans to me. I also read The Washington Post and articles from the international press that I find on the Internet. I sometimes also read magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Washingtonian and Esquire.

Question:  "What is your outside.... ?"  

Question 32: What are some of your outside activities?

Spending time with my daughter is my favorite activity of all. Although divorced, I am with her a lot of the time and take considerable responsibility for parenting. I love to spend time with family and friends, am a lifelong and fanatical baseball fan, volunteer on political campaigns, act in amateur theatrical productions, read, go to movies, concerts and plays, play the drums and the accordion, and love to go to restaurants to eat.

Question:  "What are some of.... ?"  

Question 33: Are you continuing your education?

I love to attend trainings and workshops. I thrive on learning and being in an academic environment, and hope eventually to return to school to earn a Ph.D. At this point, my intent is to complete the degree in either non-violent conflict resolution or in organizational change, but that could shift, depending on my interests and career needs. As I am now concentrating on my career, I have no immediate plans to enter a degree program.

Question:  "Are you continuing your.... ?"

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