Getting to Know You

The interview is a professional, one-on-one meeting designed for a prospective employer to see, first-hand, the value and talents applicants bring to the table.

Make sure you’re prepared for your next interview.

How?

Start by taking out your pencil and making a list of your top 15 characteristics, AS THEY APPLY TO THE JOB IN QUESTION. Are you reliable? Articulate? A finance wizard? A customer-service genius?

Then add those characteristics to your list.

Let it stew a day or two and see if anything else comes up. When you’re satisfied with your list, return to it. Now write down specific examples of how you consistently displayed the characteristics in your previous experience.Try to answer how, what, when, why for every characteristic.

When were you reliable?

When were you recognized for your communication abilities?

Specifically when did your finance capabilities save or make your company money?

How did your customer service skills save the day, what was the situation, and what was the result?

Doing this exercise will allow you to brainstorm and recall your talents and the specific ways you applied your talents to benefit your former or current employers. Furthermore, taking a few moments to list your strengths will give you the confidence necessary to communicate to your prospective hiring manager why you’re the best applicant for the job when the question arises, as it surely will in one form or another, in the interview process.