So you've written an excellent resume and you've landed a job interview. What should you look out for at the interview?
Among other things, the interviewer asks questions based on your resume. Resume-related interview questions are the most common type of questions asked in an interview. It is mainly:
- To get more information on your background
- To get an idea about how suitable you are for the job opening
- To check if you have provided accurate information on your resume, or whether you have lied/exaggerated
- To clarify hazy areas in the resume – like why you have a gap in work history, or why you have been let go from a previous company.
Before you attend the interview, do read your resume from end to end – one, it boosts your confidence, and two, it pays to be familiar with every detail, and know what exactly you have written, and where. You must be able to justify every statement, and have a supporting statement/story for any point that might be raised.
If you've read this blog so far, you must know your resume must be tailored for the job opening you have applied for, and that your statements and objectives have to be related to the job and company in question. The same applies for an interview. Read up on the company, its performance, and the job opening before the interview, so your answers at the interview can be tailored to present yourself as an asset to the company.
Here are some frequently asked questions that are based on your resume:
- Tell me about yourself – This question is one of the most commonly asked questions in job interviews. Avoid giving your life history – keep your answer related to your profession, and most importantly, don't deviate from the information you've given in your resume.
- What did you do in X job? - Be sure to know what you have written under what job, especially if you've worked in many similar jobs or have held similar profiles in different companies. Even if it was a small role, be sure to mention how it benefited you, and how it added to your skills.
- What are your career goals? - Remember what you have written as your job objective, and weave your answer in with what you want to do in this company. Don't sound too hifalutin, and make sure you don't talk about wanting to be the director in five years – be modest, but confident.
- There seems to be a gap of about a year between these two jobs... - Be honest. It is easy to explain if you had taken the break to recover from a sickness, to nurse a sick person, or for maternity/paternity leave. If you had been doing voluntary work, or had taken a break to travel – even that is fairly easy to explain. But it might not be so easy if you had just not felt like working, or you were finding it difficult to get a job. In such cases, instead of saying what you had not been doing, say what you had been doing. If you can include how you benefited by that break, both in personal or professional terms, that is excellent. Basically, you mustn't give the impression that you had been sitting around in your pyjamas watching television!
- Why were you let go from this company? - The rules here are – One, be honest. Two, do not badmouth the company that let you go. If there had been a problem, accept it, but do say that the problem doesn't exist any more. Also say how you are now better equipped to handle professional relationship/work issues as a result of that incident.
- Why did you change the industry/role at this point in your career? -- You must be careful to avoid coming across as a directionless person who's been jumping around aimlessly. Explain your choices, and say how it has been beneficial to you, and how happy/successful you are now after you've made that switch, and once again, describe how your new skills and abilities make you suitable for the job on hand.
Be confident in your interview, and make sure that in your nervousness, you don't contradict your resume. That should help you through the tricky parts of the interview!
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