Can This Candidate Do the Job?
For many people the most challenging part of a job interview is being able to “brag”—to let the interviewer know what they have accomplished in the past. This is unfortunate because unless the interviewer gets to know you and what you are capable of doing, he or she won’t be able to know whether you are the right person for the job.
There needs to be a change in thinking here. First of all, talking about yourself in a job interview is not bragging; it’s informing. Unfortunately, when you are unwilling to talk about your accomplishments, you are putting the burden on the interviewer to dig through your résumé to find this information. And, guess what? Interviewers either won’t do that or, if they do, they won’t like doing it. So, you are really making the interviewer’s life a lot easier if you do the job of telling him or her about you and what you have to offer in this position. This chapter will focus on how you are qualified to do the job. The focus of this section will be about your knowledge-based skills; your transferable skills; and your personal traits and how to determine if you are a good match for the job.
By dividing your skills inventory into three categories, you will be able to assess and organize your presentation.
The three categories of skills, abilities, and traits are important in your preparation of differentiating yourself from the other candidates. When you look beyond the skills you have acquired through education and experience, you will see that you have other qualities and traits that make you a stronger contender to go up against other candidates, but more about those qualities and traits will be discussed in the following sections.
If you have submitted your résumé and have received a phone call, a phone screening, or an invitation to come for an in-person interview, the screeners have probably been impressed enough to find out more about you. The interviewer or screener wants to know if you can back up your résumé, or the statements or claims you have made on it, by providing examples and facts. It is likely that the interviewer(s) will ask questions to see if what you wrote—or had written by a professional résumé writer—can be verified as true statements. They will do this by asking questions to see if you are who you say you are. Can you really do the job? Have you embellished your résumé to the point where you aren’t able to stand behind what you have claimed? What background experience can you tell about to substantiate what you’ve said? In other words, they will be looking at your examples of past behavior, successes and failures, as indicators of what you have done in the past. They are seeking your successes as examples of behavior that you can repeat—for them. If you did it before you can do it again.
It’s now time to see if what you have to offer is a good match with the job descriptions for the jobs you are seeking. A job description usually starts with a list of “knowledge-based” requirements of the job. Here are some examples of knowledge-based requirements:
• Requires a B S degree in Health Sciences
• Bachelor’s degree required, and an MBA preferred
• Minimum of two to four years of work-related experience is needed
• Approximately three to four years of relevant work experience desired
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in project management
• Proficiency in PC applications, including Microsoft Word and Excel
Many of the requirements listed will be firmer, or less flexible, than others. It would be difficult to apply for a job that required computer program knowledge if you weren’t familiar with computers or programs. But, if you take the time to read carefully, reading between the lines, you can see that there is some leeway for some of the requirements.
For example, the word “preferred” indicates that it would be great, but if you don’t have the requirement you could still be considered. Of course, if you have the preferred skill you just moved closer to the desirable candidates list. The terms “preferred,” desired,” and “needed” may mean different things in companies. The word “approximately” leaves the door open to people with less or more years of experience. “At least five years of progressively …” is a little more firm but still leaves some wiggle room when it comes to what constitutes the level of a “project.” The word “proficiency” is open to interpretation because the definition of the word ranges from “expert” to “ability.” If the description reads “or related area,” this would widen the possibilities of you qualifying. When you read between the lines, you may feel more open to moving forward and taking a chance even though it might not be a perfect match.
Reading between the lines becomes more difficult when the job description uses words like “required,” “must have,” “certified,” “licensed,” “advanced degree,” and “proven ability.” There are some fields in which specific knowledge will be required, and you will not be able to work around these types of requirements. But there are as many jobs in which the requirements are softer than you may have thought previously.
This step will help you identify your knowledge-based skills, the skills you learned from experience and education.
Examples: analyzing; estimating; coordinating; negotiating; organizing; public speaking; mechanically adept; leadership; counseling; artistic; computer skills; entrepreneurial; design; budgeting; training; project management.
If you have a solid résumé, this part of the preparation should come directly from your résumé. A résumé often begins with a summary, which is useful to sum up what you have to offer. If you don’t have a summary on your résumé, then you will have some organizing to do. But think of it as work that will help the interviewer understand your background. Some résumés are confusing because they do not follow a pattern. It is important that you can succinctly tell the interviewer about your education, years of experience, and the responsibilities you’ve had. The following work is preparation needed for the exercises in the following chapters, where we will organize the factors, skills, and abilities that make you unique.
Some people have a real problem “blowing their own horn.” If that is your problem, try using other people’s words to boast about your accomplishments. When you use someone else’s words to “brag” about you, it is called “third-party endorsement.” In addition to being a great marketing tool, third-party endorsements are worth collecting because they provide a safe way of saying good things about yourself through others’ words.
For example, if you say, “I did a great job on my project,” it might sound like you’re blowing your own horn, at least to you. But, if you say, “My boss was overwhelmed by the amount of money we were able to save using my idea, and he gave me a bonus to show his appreciation,” it not only becomes a stronger and more powerful statement, but your boss is the one who made the statement. How great is that?
During the course of your education or work experience, perhaps you’ve received reviews or performance appraisals. These assessments are usually full of valuable information that you can share. Or, perhaps the feedback came through an informal remark or feedback from someone you worked with. However the information was conveyed, it is a valuable tool to use, especially if you are reluctant to say these things yourself.
It will be worth your time and effort to prepare statements that tell the interviewer about your background and education. Begin to think about yourself and what others have observed or experienced while working with you. What are the positive skills, abilities, and traits that you are known for? Maybe you’ve been told that you have an outstanding ability to build rapport with others. Or, you may have received an award or a commendation for doing something that was above and beyond what a job or situation required. It is very important to remember these events and comments so that you can write your examples and stories.
Interviewer’s question: “If I were to ask your coworkers to tell me three positive things about you, what would they say?”
This may be an “OMG” question for you, but one that may be asked in one form or another in an interview. By writing a list of comments others have made about you, you may begin to see a pattern of skills and traits that others see in you. You will benefit from this preparation when you sit face-to-face with an interviewer. Interviewers are very interested in how you work and relate with others. What kind of a team player would you be? To give a good answer, begin to think back over your school and work history. Have you heard the same things said several times? Is there a pattern to the things that you’ve heard about yourself more than once?
Example
Factor: initiative
Your answer: “I improved a system and saved hundreds of man-hours as a result.”
Answer with third-party endorsement: “My boss made a department announcement to acknowledge my significant contribution by coming up with a new system and gave me a gift card to a nice restaurant.”
It is obvious that the third-party endorsement is much stronger and more memorable than your answer without the endorsement. The interviewer is now interested in hearing more about these significant accomplishments that impressed your boss so much. The endorsement does not always have to come from your boss. And, it does not have to be super significant. It’s your accomplishment, whatever it was.
Was there a time when someone gave you credit or feedback about something you did? If you cannot come up with any, try reverting back to your reviews or performance appraisals, if you have them, and see if you can come up with some times when you were praised for something.
Knowledge-based skills may account for as much as 50 percent or more of the essential job function. Often these skills are the main focus of the job description, and some hiring decisions are made solely on the candidate’s fulfillment of these requirements. While these decisions often turn out to be the wrong decisions because of the other traits that are essential to fitting into the culture or department of a company, it is something that you cannot control. Your job is to present yourself as qualified to do the job, and to tell the interviewer why you are the best person for the job.
When reading through the job description, you should be aware of the language of the requirements. There will be some words that indicate that these are “critical skills” and are absolutely required in order to succeed in this particular job. Some examples:
• Experience using Internet protocols
• International experience
• Program development experience
• Special training required
• License needed
• Business acumen
• Very specific degree or experience such as law, technology, or engineering
• Security clearance
• U. S. citizenship required
If you fall short in these requirements, it will be unlikely that you will make it through the screening process. Perhaps you are looking in the wrong job category and need to rethink your goals. Try searching for other jobs in your field, or other fields in which some of the key factors and job requirements are a better match for you and what you have to offer. Simply sending out “blind” résumés to any job opening is not only a waste of time for you, but also frustrating when you don’t get the response you want.
Starting with knowledge-based skills, what education, experience, special training, certificates, and licenses do you have that you want the employer to know about? You may be thinking, They have all that information on my résumé. The problem is that the interviewer may not have read your résumé. There is always the chance that he or she simply breezed through your résumé and now has only a vague picture of who you are and what you have to offer. A clue that the interviewer needs more information from you is when you are “asked”: “ Walk me through your résumé.” In other words, “Read me your résumé and give me lots of details along the way because I haven’t really read your résumé thoroughly.”
When you begin to assemble information about your knowledge-based experience, it will be necessary to think about what to tell, and what will probably not be of interest to the interviewer for this particular job. For instance, the college where you received your degree may not be important. The details are more important to some positions than they are to others. Depending on the company, your degrees and where you earned them may be of major importance. And, some interviewers will be more impressed with big company experience such as Fortune 500 companies. Other companies will prefer experience in smaller settings, where you were able to be involved in a wider range of duties and responsibilities. It will be necessary for you to communicate your knowledge-based skills from your résumé, but to use judgment about how much detail to include. If this is a phone screening, this may be the only opportunity you will have to try for an invitation to an in-person interview, and you want to be sure the interviewer has a good picture of who you are and what you have to offer. Whenever you are interviewing, it is best to give the interviewer as much detailed information as possible about your background. Never assume anyone has the entire picture.
There are key skills that go hand in hand with knowledge-based skills. These are the skills you learned from experience and education.
Examples: analyzing; estimating; coordinating; negotiating; organizing; public speaking; mechanically adept; leadership; counseling; computer skills; entrepreneurial thinking; design; budgeting; training; project management.
Having the perfect match for the “knowledge-based” requirements area of the job may not be essential to your survival of the screening process, but the closer the match, the better your chances are of you hearing from the employer. When there is an influx of résumés and several well-qualified candidates for the employer to choose from, your chances thin out and this could be a problem. The words “could be” indicates that you may still have a chance if there is a good fit in other areas or you could bring added value to the position for one reason or another.
When all candidates appear equal in some of the essential requirements of knowledge and experience, it is sometimes an added value that will be the tiebreaker and determine which candidates to interview or even hire. Added-value skills or abilities are the skills and knowledge you have above and beyond what is essential for the job. These are skills, traits, or experiences that would be a plus in any position. An example would be a person with a foreign language skill that is pertinent to the job, perhaps a customer service job. Or, an ability to use sign language if you would be working with customers who would benefit from this service. These skills may not be essential to the job, but they may be something that you would bring to the job that would add value and be of interest to the employer.
Another significant reason to read the job description or posting several times is to carefully pick up on words that are ambiguous, such as “preferred.” These are some examples of words on job descriptions that indicate there may be some leeway:
• Financial services industry experience a plus.
• Call center experience preferred.
• Excel and MS Project experience an added value.
• Passion for assisting disadvantaged persons would be a great asset.
• Second language skills and international business experience are desired.
The highlighted words indicate that it would be great, but not essential. Carefully reading the job description will provide you with information that indicates you are not only qualified, but you have added value to offer.
Below are examples of statements you can use to present your education and experience (beginning with your education).
I had a double major and earned a BA degree in economics and Spanish. I spent a semester in Spain living with a Spanish-speaking family and became quite fluent. For the past five years, I have been working in the mortgage industry, where I use my Spanish skills as needed.
I have recently completed my MBA and have been working in the finance area for four years. I also have an undergrad degree in business administration.
I have a BS in justice administration and am in the process of obtaining an MS in justice administration to be completed this fall. I have worked in sales for nine years, and also have a side business as a real estate investor.
I have a BA in accounting with a concentration in auditing. I also am studying to obtain my CPA license. I have worked for seven years in accounting, both in public and private accounting firms.
I have a BS in biology, cum laude. I completed an internship at a Fortune 500 company. I have worked in the biotech field for the past five years as a micro-biologist.
You will write your own statement in Chapter 5, “Tell Me About Yourself.”