You’ve got an amazing resume. Your interview strategy is top-notch. But what happens when a recruiter or hiring manager calls you and gets your voicemail? Do you have an outgoing message like “Yo, dog, leave a message” or a “cute” message featuring your two-year old? If someone is answering the phone for you in your absence, do they have a strong command of the English language and are they capable of taking a detailed phone message? Paying attention to these details is just as important as making sure your resume has no typos or your interview suit is pressed. Audit your voicemail and phone procedures today to make sure you get that interview tomorrow!
Archive for Interviewing
Always Send a Thank You Letter After a Job Interview
Thank you letters are more than just a simply courtesy. They help remind the interviewer of your unique capabilities and value add and they allow you to reconnect with the hiring manager and deepen the relationship. If you interview with several people at one company, send each person a thank you letter and be sure to write something different in each one. You will quickly lose credibility with a hiring manager if you send the same letter to multiple recipients. A strong thank you letter can help you get to the next level in the interview process. so make sure to extend your appreciation to everyone you interview with.
Tell Me About Yourself and Other Tough Interview Questions
Over on the Good Recruits blog there’s an excellent post with 25 of the most difficult job interview questions. The top question on the list is “Can you tell me about yourself?” The open-ended nature of the question leaves a great deal of room for interpretation and some of the biggest mistakes that job seekers make when answering that question is talking for too long, offering answers that focus on personal attributes over accomplishments, and diluting the value of their core message by including too much extraneous information.
Focus on current competencies and link those competency statements with strong examples of how you have successfully managed those competencies within the context of a current or previous job. Keep your answer to under 90 seconds. Give your audience a teaser of information that encourages conversation and additional questions. With this question, less can be more. Craft a succinct and memorable message and you will quickly captivate your audience.
