This article is for readers who are desperately searching for information with ready-to-implement strategies on job search. It is common knowledge that job search is getting tougher. Breakthroughs come from going "outside the box" and bringing in new proven strategies back in.
An informative job search article should give the reader a complete control over the job search process regardless of the economy or any other market condition and put an end to the endless waiting for that interview call.
It should replace all old-fashioned job finding strategies and inform the reader about:
- What Hiring Managers are looking for in a resume;
- How they select a resume among hundreds of resumes;
- What attracts them and what pushes them away from a resume;
- What transferable skills to include in your resume;
- What to do and how to conduct yourself during interviews.
And most importantly it should provide interview response tips for job seekers including the following:
Practicing Active Listening Skills
Interviews can make us focus too much on having to answer that we may forget that we are also supposed to be listening. Without active listening, we might make the mistake of jumping the gun, being too eager to respond to the question that we may have missed the meaning of the question altogether. Therefore once a question is posted to you, evaluate it carefully before you answer.
If you are confused or you wish to be certain if you had understood the question correctly there is nothing wrong in giving your interviewer feedback with regards to how you understood him. Contrary to what most people are thinking, asking a clarificatory question does not express weakness but rather strength. It sends the message that you sincerely want to understand the question and that you are confident enough to ask for what you need.
For example the interviewer asked you: 'How do you feel about starting on a practicumer?' You may be confused as to what he meant by practicumer. If this is the case there is nothing wrong in asking "are you inquiring if I would be willing to get accepted as an on-the-job trainee?" You can also just ask for more data. "I don't understand what you meant by practicumer. Could you kindly elaborate on what that means?"
Remember that not all that the interviewer will say is in need of a response. There are times when the interviewer takes the session as an opportunity to tell you what the company and the job is like to check with you if this is your cup of tea. If so, take the opportunity to carefully think about what they are saying and offer an appropriate response afterwards.
Give effective and appropriate responses.
Have the objectives of responding clearly in your mind before you answer. They are, but are not limited to, the following:
a. Emphasize what you can offer.
b. Emphasize your edge over competition.
c. Show how you really want the job.
d. Address possible objections to hiring you and
e. Get to know the company and job better.
Aside from the tips mentioned before, the following are also some advice worth taking:
Keep your sentences short, concise and to the point.
There is nothing that is much more beautiful than brevity: the ability to express yourself simply but clearly. You do not need to use complicated sentences and highfalutin words to impress. In fact too much technical jargon may confuse rather than impress your interviewer. The important thing is that you get your point across. Brevity is strategic in many ways. For one you have to remember that your interviewer has limited time and might not be able to spend a lot on you.
With this in mind, it is best to cover as much ground as possible without sacrificing the quality of your response. Second, a far too complicated answer is difficult to process and you might lose attention that should be on you. Third, a short but impactful answer is easier to recall and leads a more lasting impression. If your interviewer is seeing more than one applicant a day, you do not want to fade in all the words you used. Lastly, the human mind can only retain a limited amount of information at a time. If you overload it with too much junk you might not be memorable.
Answers positively or at least end positively.
There are times when interviewers ask leading questions in order to elicit answers they normally wouldn't get. These questions, if not evaluated carefully, appear to be asking for a negative response. An example of this question is: "Give me a situation in your life when you neglected responsibility" or "What is the biggest mistake that you've done?" Do not fall into the trap of answering negatively. For example in the first question you may say that you cannot recall a time when you've neglected responsibility. If this is your honest response then you have to be authentic rather than make up a story that didn't happen.
It may be more effective however if you approach questions like these with a certain reasonableness. After all it is not unreasonable to think that we've neglected a bit of the responsibility on our shoulders from time to time. There may have been one or two (or more!) situations when we failed at it. Relate this story of failure then but use it to illustrate a virtue or a skill. For example you may say: "Yes, I do recall a time like that, although neglect may be a strong word. I may have had to delegate a responsibility to someone else after a more urgent priority came up. You see..... "
Focus also on the lessons that you learned. For example in answering what was the biggest mistake you ever made you can expound on something where you learned a valuable lesson. Emphasize the lesson you learned and not the mistake. Illustrate your points with examples and substantiation when applicable. Remember that just because you say it, doesn't mean that you've already proven it. To add impact to your answers, it might help if you can illustrate it using concrete examples. For instance you were asked "what do you think is your greatest strength?"
A response of "I am a resourceful person" is clearly not enough, even if you try to quantify it like, say, you give yourself 9 out of 10. Anyone can claim they are resourceful. It would be better if you provide concrete examples of this resourcefulness.
You can say:
"I make it a point to explore all possible options that are available to me and I can be relied on to think outside the box. For instance, when the venue for a fundraising concert that we had organized became unusable at the last possible minute, I came up with the idea to transform an abandoned church lot in our community into a suitable venue for a gathering of 500 people. I called on my closest friends and we built a makeshift stage just in time for the event. It went on successfully."
Make your examples relevant to the job at hand as much as you can. In the same vein, be careful not to use too many generic and vague adjectives like friendly, kind, and industrious. Remember that these adjectives can mean differently to different people. To better hit the nail in the head, use specific terms and action words, the way you do in your resume. Thus instead of saying 'friendly' say that 'People who know me say that I am approachable and easy to work with.'
Focus on the observable and preferably verifiable. "My teammates have told me that I have strong leadership skills." is better than "People look to me as a leader" or "I think I have leadership qualities." In the same way, saying that "my internship supervisor gave me top marks for diligence" is better than "I believe I am responsible." Substantiation and proof need not be verbal. You can also bring documents that can help you prove your competence such as certificates and work samples, as long as these are not bulky or overly complicated. Ideally, these things should be attached with your resume. You may direct your interviewer to these documents when appropriate e.g. "Yes, I've written press releases before. Kindly see the attached document." or "Yes, I've written press releases before. I've brought a sample. Would you like to see it?" Use words that denote conviction and personal responsibility.
Sometimes we use terms that are intended to account for a margin of error in our promises. These words do not give the impression that you are taking full responsibility for what you utter and thus can compromise your credibility. When answering, be direct, excellence-centered and concrete. For example, if asked "can you do something like this?" the common response is "I'd try." But if you are reasonably confident that you can do the job, why not say bluntly "Yes, I can"? You may be worried that it will come across as too arrogant but remember that assertiveness is different from arrogance.
Use I-sentences too to illustrate that you are a self-driven individual. Thus instead of saying that "my college professor taught me well" it is better to say "I paid a lot of attention to my excellent college professor on this subject." After all, you are building your credibility, not your professor's! Answering this way is actually empowering personally. You get to commit yourself to do the best that you can. You also get to emphasize that you are in charge of yourself.
If you are indeed hesitant in answering in a direct affirmative then "I would do my best" is better than "I'd try." It is more effective however to just state in your response what you need to get that job done. If you are worried because it is a task you are unfamiliar with, then state the need for guidance: "With guidance, yes, I can definitely accomplish this task." Silence is okay.
Here is a weird advice: there is nothing wrong with silence in an interview. Do not rush to fill in the lull unless needed. Silence could mean that the interviewer is thinking or reflecting, processing something that you said. Silence need not be negative appraisal.
If the worst occurred and you blanked out, be genuine. Obviously it is not recommended that you blank out or have a mental block. But in the occasion that you do, it is helpful to just be genuine and admit what happened. "I seem to have difficulty processing the question. Let me try again..."
