Job Interview Action Tip - Know Your Resume!

Job Interview Action Tips are short, quick and actionable tips that you can use right away in your next job interview.

Imagine yourself… calmly answering every question about your work experience going back to your the first job on your resume.  You can not only give answers about what you did, but the benefits and other positive effects that you brought to each position.  Even better, you’re confident in your own past which speaks volumes about how you feel about your future.

Knowing your resume is a key to a successful job interview.  Here’s why…

Resume Structure

Before you get started, it’s important to be sure that your resume has a “Responsibilities and Achievements” structure.  This simply means that, for each position on your resume, you would list your responsibilities in a short paragraph and your achievements as a series of bullet points.  Responsibilities define the job.  Achievements detail how you executed and exceeded them.

example:

Big Mega Corp   -  August 2000 to March 2004
Technical Support Engineer

As a Technical Support Engineer, I was a member of a team of 10 engineers  responsible for answering incoming support calls from our customers and internal employees for all computer-related problems.  I routinely fielded calls related to Windows NT, 2000, XP and the entire suite of Microsoft desktop software.  Engineers were required to maintain careful notes for each support call and report on delayed or unresolved issues in a weekly meeting with the Technical Support Manager.

• I won the Top Engineer award for 2002 and 2004 by fielding the most support calls with the lowest re-open rate.
• I wrote and maintained the Standard Operation Procedure handbook used by all engineers as well as upper-level management to make hiring decisions.
• I was designated trainer for new engineers and acted in a mentor role for all junior-level staff.

Resume as a Story

When you use this structure, your resume can be used to tell the story of your past.  You can simply recall your responsibilities and drive it home with how you went above and beyond them to demonstrate why you’re an exceptional employee.  This gives you a mental structure that you can use to study your work history and recall it in an ordered and engaging way.

Who doesn’t want to give engaging answers?

Practice Out Loud

In the days leading up to the interview, you should be taking the time to practice talking about each position in terms of responsibilities and achievements.  By practicing out loud, you’re increasing your confidence in recalling your own work history.  That confidence will come through in your interview.

Practicing out loud also aids recall when asked more specific questions about a particular position.  You’ll have a solid mental map of your experience and you’ll be able to delve deeper into more detail as necessary.  This will come through to the interviewer as a reflection of a relaxed, organized mind.

Without the practice, you might seem like you’re mind is just all over the place or, even worse, that you’re trying to mentally dance around something.  That is never a good thing!

In Closing…

A well organized mental map of your work history and achievements will increase your confidence and give you a great base from which to answer a variety of experience-based questions.  If you take the time to practice and really know your resume, you’ll come off as an effective person with a work history to be proud of.