It is standard practice for interviewers to open up the discussion with a question like “tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume.” I like starting an interview this way because it typically puts the candidate at ease while giving me an idea of what he/she is looking for. While there are certain key points you want to make when answering these introductory questions, it is important to know what not to say in a job interview.
While this seems like a benign topic, we just had a very seasoned contract CRA who faceplanted during what should have been a simple interview. Why? Because she talked about experiences that weren’t on her resume.
The very experienced CRA may be thinking – “there is no way I can include everything on my resume”. We agree. So how do you know what should be included on your resume (and thus be prepared to discuss during the interview)? When you are updating your resume, what other aspects of your brand should you also consider tweaking? And the most important question - how do you know what not to say in a job interview?
You may think my questions are pedestrian. But the answers will make or break your results.
It is standard practice for interviewers to open up the discussion with a question like “tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume.” I like starting an interview this way because it typically puts the candidate at ease while giving me an idea of what he/she is looking for. While there are certain key points you want to make when answering these introductory questions, it is important to know what not to say in a job interview.
While this seems like a benign topic, we just had a very seasoned contract CRA who faceplanted during what should have been a simple interview. Why? Because she talked about experiences that weren’t on her resume.
The very experienced CRA may be thinking – “there is no way I can include everything on my resume”. We agree. So how do you know what should be included on your resume (and thus be prepared to discuss during the interview)? When you are updating your resume, what other aspects of your brand should you also consider tweaking? And the most important question - how do you know what not to say in a job interview?
You may think my questions are pedestrian. But the answers will make or break your results.