January is an exciting time if you are looking for a job. As the New Year gets underway, you will see many new openings becoming available, even in a slow economy. Every January finds people that are ready to leave their current jobs, and have simply waited through the end of the year in order to earn their year-end bonus, or retirement contribution. Once they receive it, they take that moment to give notice in order to move on to other things. This creates a great opportunity for someone looking for work.
Once you secure an interview, I’ve found that for professionals one of the hardest things to do in an interview is to talk about how good you are as a candidate and potential employee of a company. I hear candidates frequently come back from an interview with feedback that they weren’t able to really express their strengths and accomplishments without feeling like they were just bragging about themselves.
You want a potential employer to know about how good you are, but how do you do that without feeling and sounding like a braggart? Here are a few ways to boast about your accomplishments in an interview:
Know You Resume
Candidates mistakenly think that preparing for an interview only means researching the company, position, and hiring manager. This should be only half of your preparation- the other half of your preparation is to really know your own resume, and be able to speak about everything on your resume if asked about it. So, take a moment to really dig in to your own resume, and use a notepad to write out your notes about anything you’ve listed on your resume. If an interviewer would ask you about any particular sentence you’ve written, you should be able to describe exactly what it means, backed up by a story or example of how you put this into practice. Make sure you know the dates you were employed at certain companies, so you don’t find yourself stumbling when you describe your work history. If you list specific skills on your resume, be ready to expand on those skills if asked.
Tell a Good Story
One of the hardest things for an interviewer to do is to try and pull out a candidate’s key traits and behaviors when meeting them for the first time. They will ask a candidate’s questions like “describe your biggest strengths and weaknesses”, and other such questions but after an hour of meeting nothing memorable will be discussed. Set yourself apart from other candidates by being able to tell a good story about the work that you’ve done. That way you’re saying to someone “I am like this, and an example of when I showed it was when I did this.” Telling a story is much more memorable than just listing out your strengths and weaknesses as a list of attributes.
Remember Specificity and Brevity
When thinking about what stories you’d like to share in an interview, remember that a good interview story should be both specific, and brief. For example, if a hiring manager asks you for a time that were faced with a challenge, do not be vague in your answer! Give a specific instance where you were faced with a challenge, describe the circumstances in enough detail for it to be memorable, and use specific names if need be. You want to do all of this without taking up too much of your allotted interview time in describing your story, though. This is where it is important to prepare and practice- it is an art form to tell a specific, compelling story in a limited amount of time. Use your interview preparation time to perfect these examples. Remember the quote “If I had more time, I’d write a shorter letter”? Think about this while preparing your stories that you think you would want to share in an interview.
Don’t Hide your Hobbies
Many times it is the things I learn about a candidate’s hobbies that I remember most in an interview, so don’t discount any non-work related stories that might further illustrate they type of person that you are. I had a candidate that told me one of the things that they were most proud of was their expedition to climb Mt. Rainier, and I walked away impressed with their planning ability, follow-through on goals, and meticulous attention to detail with this specific story, even if it wasn’t connected to a past job. Do you have any noteworthy accomplishments that might be worth discussing in an interview? If you’re not sure, practice telling it to someone you trust. I’ve found that even if you don’t find a hobby interesting, a lot of times other people will be impressed with what you’ve done.
Be confident in yourself and your accomplishments, and when 2016 arrives, so too will new opportunities to land your dream job. By knowing your resume, telling a good story that is memorable, and sharing a little bit about your accomplishments, you will be able impress the hiring manager at this dream job, and put yourself in a favorable light.
