Career Cube Blog

Many of you who have been on my list for quite a while know that I really harp on being prepared for a job interview. You cannot rely on just “winging it” and waiting to see what you’ll be asked. However, I talked to a candidate today who did just that.

This person couldn’t give me an example of a difficult client she soothed, a challenging problem that she figured out, or even an example of a time when she had a dispute with another company. I wanted to hear some examples from her. I wanted her to talk me through step-by-step a situation she was in so I could see how she reacted. Anything.

She spoke in vague terms about customers who came into her bank branch and asked if they could resolve their credit card issues. She talked about being patient and confident when talking to customers. She said all the right buzz words, but didn’t give me any interesting examples to illustrate what set her apart from others.

The oddest thing was that she said she’d been going on other interviews. What were those people asking her? She should have come in prepared to give examples of things that she’d done. Instead she talked more about concepts and ideas.

You need to come up with your best examples. Tell me how you solved a problem at work? Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a conflict between 2 co-workers, or even between you and your boss. Describe your proudest achievement.

Set the stage. Tell me some background about the situation. How did it start? What were the circumstances in place before the problem started. Spend about :30 on this part.

Tell me exactly what you did. Don’t tell me what other people on your team did, just what you specifically did. What was your thought process? How did you approach the problem? What was your main concern?

How did it resolve? Were you successful? It’s OK if you weren’t, just talk about what you learned. Did you get the result you hoped for? Did you get any recognition for your work? Would you do anything differently next time?

Come prepared and ready to WOW! them. Everyone likes listening to people talk about themselves when they’ve got something to say. Employers like to be entertained as well, and everyone’s got great examples of their achievements. That’s exactly what an employer wants to hear. So come prepared to give it to ‘em.

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