A blog I read recently asked the employment question, "Have hiring practices changed?" The article is amusing: You can read it here. It reminded me that folks who are unemployed often work with recruiters because they're told we have relationships with hiring managers and even HR and that's true enough. That can be a real benefit to the job candidate who feels that submitting their resume through a website is the same as tossing it into a black hole.
Unfortunately, we don't always get feedback about why our candidates weren't chosen for an interview or, if they interviewed, why they weren't chosen for the job. It's frustrating for everyone.
Sometimes you think you did very well in the interview. Sometimes the job seemed as though it was created just for you. Sometimes you just need a job so badly you would have taken what they offered. Sometimes the promotion slips away. Hiring managers make mistakes, bad decisions are made, pay offers are too low, expectations are too high. The reasons are legion.
But sometimes, just sometimes, it's a blessing in disguise.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Discuss the skills listed on your resume
One of my candidates interviewed at a client recently and didn't answer questions very well. Has this ever happened to you?
When I first met with this person, he impressed me with quick thinking and sharp answers. By sharp, I mean that he quickly understood what was being asked and answered appropriately. Sometimes in interviews, candidates don't listen closely to the question and end up providing an answer that doesn't address what was asked. A simple example is, "Tell me about yourself," which is a question that sometimes brings an avalanche of information that isn't relevant to the discussion.
The questions that didn't go well in this recent interview were drawn straight from the candidate's resume. A skill was mentioned in the resume summary, but when asked about the skill, the candidate said he really didn't have much experience with it. Another question came from a bullet point listed under a job from a few years ago. When asked how he had used that skill, the candidate said he didn't remember anything he did with it.
Be prepared to discuss the skills listed on your resume. You don't have to discuss a skill at length, but you should be able to say at least one thing.
When I first met with this person, he impressed me with quick thinking and sharp answers. By sharp, I mean that he quickly understood what was being asked and answered appropriately. Sometimes in interviews, candidates don't listen closely to the question and end up providing an answer that doesn't address what was asked. A simple example is, "Tell me about yourself," which is a question that sometimes brings an avalanche of information that isn't relevant to the discussion.
The questions that didn't go well in this recent interview were drawn straight from the candidate's resume. A skill was mentioned in the resume summary, but when asked about the skill, the candidate said he really didn't have much experience with it. Another question came from a bullet point listed under a job from a few years ago. When asked how he had used that skill, the candidate said he didn't remember anything he did with it.
Be prepared to discuss the skills listed on your resume. You don't have to discuss a skill at length, but you should be able to say at least one thing.
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