Interview Tips For Success at Every Career Stage

So many resolutions we make in the New Year — we want to lose weight, get fit, save money and move on from our jobs and elevate to something greater. You might be fortunate enough to get that tap on the shoulder and be offered a job without applying. Or…you may have to do a little work for that offer. Either way, the exercise (pun intended) below is great for not only job searching but to refresh your resume and reflect on your skillset. Even without a new job, there may be opportunities for you to learn something new in your current role. It’s important to be aware of your skillset to really get that clarity.

Here are some steps to take to land your ideal role — not just one with a check (which is important) but one that is actually aligned to what you’re looking for. One that meets most of your career needs so you don’t find yourself back in the job market 6 months later.

Most people start this process backwards. They go online to job sites and search keywords for jobs and just apply to whatever title sounds good. DON’T. DO. THIS. Instead — start with you, not with a company or a job description.

1. Do some soul searching and write down what it is you want in your next job. Be specific and ask yourself these questions: What responsibilities do I want? What is my ideal work environment? What kind of company (size, industry, type, location) do I want to work for?
2. Identify companies that fit your ideal employer. Blind posting to online jobs is not a good idea for a couple of reasons. First — the recruiting world is smaller than you think. A recruiter may see you’ve applied for multiple jobs in a short time and that raises red flags like, why the desperation? Why is this person just posting to everything they see? What are they running from in their current job?
3. Now we’re jumping into your experience. This is a continuation of the first step. You have to do a SWOT analysis of yourself. SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. What areas are you good in? What do you need to work on? What opportunities exist for you to improve or learn something new? Lastly threats — in this case, think of that as hindrances to accomplishing your career goals. What’s holding you back?

If it helps, use your resume as a guide. Take your resume and slice & dice it. Look at the bullet points that talked about what you’ve done in your jobs. Go back and put some “meat” around those bullet points. When it comes to the resume I’m all about numbers — like one of my mentors told me, quantify what you did. For example, when I interview accounting professionals saying you “worked on month-end close” is one thing but saying you “recorded 150 journal entries and reconciled the fixed assets, payables and intercompany accounts during close” gives me, as the hiring manager, much more information around what it is you’re actually doing. So….you worked on month-end close, what exactly did you do? will be the question I’ll ask in the interview. You have limited time to make an impression so make every minute count. Instead let the interviewer ask you about what you enjoyed or something beyond what did you do. The other thing with being specific about what you do is maybe this job isn’t the right one for you…but there may be a situation 3 months from now where the hiring manager is like, “I need somebody who knows fixed assets and….oh I remember Nicole did fixed assets in her job — let me reach out and see if she’s still available.”

Think about your soft skills. These are harder to articulate on a resume because most people tend to stick to the technical skills. Soft skills are those that don’t require special education. For example, being a master in Excel is a technical skill, but soft skills are those that can’t be taught. Think about your work ethic, interpersonal skills, being reliable, meeting deadlines. These are usually great talking points for the interview — which we’ll get to later.

Now you are crystal clear on what you bring to the table and you are ready to start finding the right jobs. Of course the job boards are there but finding your next opportunity could be a phone call away. Think about who in your network is working for an employer you want to work for. If you volunteer or belong to professional organization, this is also a good starting point.

Thinking ahead: As you think about down the road, what role you want to be in, your ideal job title. Do some research. Find job descriptions that match your ideal next role. Look at what those responsibilities are but also look at the skillset they seek. Figure out what skills you need to improve or develop and start working on those NOW. Look at your current employer and see if there are opportunities for you to jump on projects on other things that will help develop these skillsets. Doing so sets you up for success in landing that next big job.

~N