Wojtek Dabrowski’s Post

Do you have a favorite question to ask the job interviewer? One that you always ask that allows you to decide if a company is right for you. As the hirer for our Chicago PR team, at the end of the interview, I always asked “What questions do you have for me?” This is a pretty standard and normal question, right? This is what I was hoping for in the answer: Someone who went a little above and beyond, researched our company, and asked a question like this: -I see that you work with <client x>. What do you do for them?  (a little research about our clients) Or like this: -I see you have both a content marketing and a PR team. How do you decide which department handles a particular piece of content? (a little research in our About Us section) Instead of this: -What does a typical day look like? (No research, generic question) What I was looking for was someone to be *proactive*. Being proactive was the #1 attribute I looked for in a team member. It was a category on the employee’s (& my) annual performance review. I couldn’t ask the question directly, ie “Are you proactive?” More than likely, they would have told me a well-rehearsed case study. I wanted them to *show me* they were proactive by asking me a question that took a little bit of proactivity, in this case — a little research into our company. This question helped me separate the contenders from the pretenders. Now your turn: Is there a key question that helps decide if the company is right for you?

A busy executive might see meeting the media as painful and frustrating. A process can alter your thinking. Consider Keith, a CEO in London. An industry magazine invited him to do a profile interview. Keith was defensive. He told his Head of Communications, “Tell them to send me the questions. And if they say no, I’ll refuse to do the interview.” Keith’s Head of Comms said: “This is a great opportunity. It will be a straightforward conversation about your background and vision for the company.” So, a time slot was fixed. A date agreed. The Head of Comms did her pre-interview prep. On the day Keith was due to give the interview, he “jumped on a plane to China!” Keith’s Head of Comms was livid! She blagged a “hard luck story about the CEO”. It didn’t work. When she spoke to Keith in China, he said: “I was afraid that I’d stuff up the interview and embarrass myself.” Impostor syndrome kicked in. Keith saw himself failing. He thought he wasn’t good enough to do the interview. And because of that, the CEO threw away a golden opportunity. Keith’s no-show handed free brand recognition to a competitor.  The moral of the story is: You don’t need to know all of the questions. You just need to know YOUR story. And then you can work out your most compelling comment. Choose it, and say it first! When you do that, you’ll take charge of an interview. P.S. What’s your brand story?

How can executives turn a media interview into a free advert? You need to know two things: 1 How to shift your mindset. 2 Questions are a launchpad for your story. Let's walk through the first issue together. You might think the media is out to screw you! You've watched Panorama. You've heard the Today Programme. And you've seen Channel 4 News squashing politicians. Here's the good news - you're not a politician! You're assuming the worst. Your mind is screaming - "What if I can't answer the questions?" Frustration leads to anguish: "I might embarrass myself or the company. If I screw up, will that affect my career?" How can you overcome this mental roadblock? What if you knew a Gold-Standard Solution? One with a pedigree of helping companies like B.P., The Lloyds Banking Group, Redrow Homes, Veolia and many other household names. It's one process You'll slam-dunk any question Use three steps Instantly, You'll know what to say. You'll ooze confidence and belief. You'll talk like the assertive, commanding leader you are. The Solution is called The Liberator. A - The Three Things YOU MUST NOT DO! Answer every question. It's like opening a trap door! Avoid questions - you'll look untrustworthy. Argue - you'll fail to tell your story. Great for the media, rubbish for you! If you commit those cardinal sins, you're toast. The audience will dislike you. The media won't trust you. And your investors will interrogate you. Now, let's focus on three actions you MUST do. Refute questions Tell the truth Assert your story Amplifying your story is your #1 priority. You'll discover how to be direct, expressive, yet blunt. How? By using conversational phrases.   I call them control phrases. I learned this technique from my media mentor. John Brand was a genius. He was an actor and a news reader. He taught me this method in 1996. Let's say a reporter asks you a simple question, such as: "Is it true that your CEO is about to be sacked for gross misconduct?" Your answer: "I am not aware of any such issue. What I can talk about is…" If the reporter interjects and says: "Oh, now come on, you're a senior executive. Are you saying you have no idea what's happening in your business?" Answer; "That's not what I said. I don't know of any issue relating to our CEO. What I know and what I can discuss with you is…" A - Your role is to reject the question. B - State a fact/critical message. C - Then add a point of view. There are five types of control phrases. You'll learn how to use them when you're ready for training. Using this method will transform your performance. And best of all, you can learn the technique in just sixty minutes. Mastering questions is one of five fundamentals to winning free publicity. Alford Your story matters. P.S. How could free publicity help your business?

I was recently interviewed by Raconteur on why CEOs need to know how to speak to the press. I advise that executives should respond naturally in written Q&As, more akin to how they would actually speak, to avoid coming across as contrived - and this is where PR professionals can be a help or a hindrance. I also highlight the fine balance C-Suite professionals should try and strike when engaging in verbal interviews, “being human while staying on-message” but “not letting it stray into over-familiarity and too far away from what you are there to actually talk about.” This is something myself and the team at O'Hear & Co work really hard on when supporting startup founders and C-Suite or other spokespeople. Leaning on my ex-TechCrunch experience, I also share tips on the best way for journalists to gain access to busy executives, such as considering whether a quick quote is needed, or a genuine dialogue to inform a long-form article. The piece also features comment from our client Cleo. Thanks for the interview and such an informative article, Rohan Banerjee! Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eVnKT5zV

If there is a golden opportunity in PR, it's the final question every reporter asks to conclude an interview: "Is there anything else you'd like to add?" For the uninitiated, let us spell it out for you - that question is a carte blanche pass to shove all of your talking points, promotional or otherwise, into a neat and tidy soundbite. If the interview focused pretty specifically on an industry trend at large but you want to talk about how your company is dealing with the change, this is your moment. Have the questions you've answered all skirted any mention of your product? Take this opportunity to (tastefully) self-promote. Whatever you do or say, be sure to say SOMETHING. This is not the question to pass on or the opening to squander. Be sure that any media prep you go through covers what you say when this moment arrives, and put your best foot forward when it does.

Mastering the art of the interview is crucial. Here’s how you can make a lasting impression and set yourself apart from the competition: ✅ Craft a Strong Opener: Start with a concise summary of your experience to make a memorable first impression. Example: "I’m a seasoned digital marketer with over 7 years of experience creating impactful campaigns that drive growth." ✅ Be Prepared: Have key anecdotes ready to showcase your achievements and handle any challenges positively. Example: "When leading a product launch, despite tight deadlines, my team and I exceeded our target by 30% through adaptive strategies and strong collaboration." ✅ Slow Down: Use techniques like note-taking to manage anxiety and maintain control over the conversation. Example: If faced with a tough question, say, "Let me take a moment to think about that," while jotting down key points for a thoughtful response. ✅ Breathe and Stay Comfortable: Set up a comfortable interview space and use relaxation techniques to stay calm. Example: Prepare a relaxing environment at home and practice deep breathing before your interview to boost confidence. Implement these strategies to boost your confidence and make your interviews more enjoyable. Good luck! #JobInterviewTips #CareerAdvice #Staffing #StaffHire

🚀 Facing the press can be intimidating, whether you're a Fortune 500 CEO or a startup founder. I've found that the biggest fear is often misquoting or saying the wrong thing. In today’s fast-paced media landscape, one slip can escalate quickly. Here’s how to ace your next interview: KNOW THE INTERVIEW FORMAT 🎤 Understand if it’s a backgrounder or an expert interview and prepare accordingly. RESEARCH THE REPORTER 📰 Know their recent stories and social media tone. Be ready for tough questions, especially if there’s a history of negative coverage. PLAN YOUR MESSAGES 📝 Identify your key points. Keep them simple, memorable, and free of jargon. PRACTICE 🎯 Just like athletes, practice your responses. Rehearse with potential questions and prepare for sensitive topics. Ideally, prep the day before to avoid last-minute stress. FOLLOW UP WITH THANKS 🙏 Send a thank-you note post-interview and share the story once it’s live to show your support. THE BOTTOM LINE: A media misstep can have big consequences, but with thorough preparation and practice, you can turn interviews into reputation-boosting opportunities. 🌟 #MediaTraining #PRTips #ReputationManagement #InterviewPrep #CEO #PublicRelations

You won't believe what I learned. Took me about eight years of professional baseball to learn this, and I'm gonna teach it to you in about one minute. Okay, I give the same exact advice for people who are looking to interview for a job. That is, when you leave the room, all that stuff you just talked about will be summarized into one word when someone goes, "What'd you think of that guy?" They're not gonna say like, "What you think of that guy who was so well-spoken and had such a great background?" They're gonna go, "What'd you think of that blonde guy? What'd you think about that tactical dude? What'd you think about that really VP kind of guy?" So, you want to be in control of what is that word. And keep reiterating that, so if your thing is like tactical, all your answers should be like, "Yeah, I want to take a real tactical approach. That's here. So I do that here." "Hey, you know, so what I do is I want to be really organized. So I did one, two, and three is exactly how I did it." So, whatever it is, you want to have that same theme peppered throughout your whole thing. So they're like, "Okay cool, He's a tactical dude. I want tactical. Let's go with him," or "He's the VP like high-level strategy, dude. Let's go with that." Control the narrative to ace your interviews. Want to dive deeper into crafting your unique selling point? Comment "strategy" below! For scripts, templates, and more, check out my bio. #officialsalestips

Your interview content doesn’t have to be so dry. Just put a little more effort into the questions. Stop sending lists of boring questions to people and publishing their boring responses. If you work in the B2B space, you likely have partnerships with other companies. These partners can be great sources of interview content. 1. Your partner's audience is usually the same as yours or significantly overlaps. 2. The ask is easier because the relationship already exists. 3. You can make it repeatable for a steady source of content. ► But beware! Partnership content can quickly become sucky. It can easily become sales pitchy, boring, existing only to check a marketing box. ► To create partnership interviews that don't suck, do the following: 1. Find someone within your partner company who's used to being interviewed. Do your research before you approach your partner, and have a specific person in mind. 2. Brainstorm controversial opinions with that person. You're looking for: → Best practices they don't recommend following → Big mistakes they've made in their careers → Things they believe that many of your customers might be doing wrong → Ways they'd change the industry, that make sense, and that you haven't heard anyone else say before 3. Have an in-person conversation and record it. Don't post the raw footage. Instead, rewatch the candid conversation and look for moments where you: → Both laughed → Agreed strongly → Someone looks surprised Then, develop interview questions on those points and ask them to go deeper. 4. Offer them an incentive. Tell them it's because you want more than an hour of their time in preparation so you can produce something very high quality. 5. Don't have them talk too much about their company or product. Obviously, they'll want to plug it, but save it for the end. When people start making big macro statements about how their companies and products fit into the industry, legal and PR teams start nixing stuff. Keep it high-level and valuable. 6. If you've got a good working relationship with a partner, you can create a repeatable process that includes exposure to their relevant audience. This can become another organic channel. ► What's your recommendation for great interviews with partners? #Interviews #InterviewContent #ContentMarketing #B2BInterviews #PartnerInterviews #OrganicContent

For years my father would repeat the story of how I nailed a big job interview in a single sentence. One that instantly set me apart from the other candidate. It holds an important lesson for anyone — especially PR and communication professionals — about understanding, embracing and communicating your true value. Here’s the story, excerpted from my latest column for PR Tactics (attached here): “I was interviewing for a communication position with an association of state-elected officials. In my third meeting with the executive director, it was clear she was struggling with the decision. She told me it was down to me and one other candidate. That person, the favorite of one of her members, had the desired political experience. But I was the better writer, she said. I thought for a moment and, to my eternal surprise, replied, ‘I can always learn the politics, but you’re going to have a much harder time teaching someone to write.’ I got the job.” I honestly don’t know where this came from, but I think it had something to do with recognizing and believing in my value. If you’re a PR or communication professional, I guarantee you’ve got a great story to tell. One that will set you apart in the job marketplace and help you win over hiring managers. Even if you don’t check all the boxes (and job candidates rarely do) your hard-won skills are versatile, portable, unique and valuable. If you need convincing, read the whole piece — it may remind you of all the critical experience and expertise you bring to the table.