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.