dated December 22, 2004
How do you answer questions like, `Why do you feel we should hire you for this position?'
Sadia
Lucknow
Before you submit a résumé or draft a cover letter, and certainly before you go to attend an interview, you should do 2 things:
Research the job and the organisation. What do they need? What are the requirements for the position? What role does this job play in the overall goal of the organisation?
Assess your strengths. What skills, experiences and interests can you offer? How will you add value to the organisation? How can you prove that you have the required skills and experience needed for executing the job? Do a skill matching exercise.
What you have to do to answer this questionin the interview is to be aware of the employer's needs, assess what you have to offer that will fulfil those needs, and to give an example of how you have met similar needs in the past.
The worst answer you can give to this question is, "You should hire me because I am a hard worker with excellent skills and experience.'' So what? Anyone can say that.
You have to zero in on the two or three qualifications the employer cares the most, and the one or two problems that need to be solved. Then deliver a powerful reply,such as this:"I have priorexperiencesof such situations which I have accomplished successfully and would like to implement a similar strategy in this job to get the work streamlined."
Be certain to have specific examples of how you have added value in the past and be enthusiastic on how you can add value to this organisation.
"What is it like to work in a group? What qualities do you require to work in a team?" These were the questions that baffled me in a recent interview. What's the best answer to such questions?
Nanjappa
Bidar
Working in a group requires one to possess or acquire good interpersonal and communication skills. Working within a team requires one to stretch oneself beyond one's limitations and make a conscious choice to be a part of the work group. One must be willing to share information, be communicative and an active participant in all the organisational activities. Cooperation and coordination are also necessary to help the team evolve as a complete unit.
But, in relation to answering the question when asked during a job interview, you must consider and devise a suitable situational response. If the position you are applying for requires you to spend lots of time alone, then of course, you should state that you like to work alone. Never go to the extremes. Don't say that you hate people and would "die if you had to work with others" and don't state that you "will go crazy if you're left alone for five minutes". A healthy balance between the two is always the best choice. If you have previous experience illustrating the fact that you can work alone or with others, then offer it. Quote examples explaining how your previous job taught you to spend a significant amount of time on your own, or that you have learned how to get along well with people in the workplace by working on numerous team projects.
It is always good to have a combination of both roles as a part of the team as well as an individual to handle crisis.
Many résumé experts advise you to include information on your résumé to prove to the potential employer that you can do the work for which they're hiring you. But, what if you're an entry-level candidate and don't have any experience?
If you have no actual job experience, you need to think in terms of what else you've done that will prove to a prospective employer that you can do the work for which they are employing you. Part of convincing an employer that you're worth hiring is to show creativity, confidence and initiative. Determine the skills needed for the job you seek (usually by studying an ad or job description for the job) and identify everything you've done to demonstrate those skills.
The skills you've used that match the skills the employer seeks are called transferable or applicable skills, and you don't have to have work experience to possess these skills. Experience counts; it doesn't matter if it's unpaid experience.
If you have never done any paid work and haven't any experience in the field you're trying to enter, think twice about what kinds of life experience you've had, and play those up. A functional résumé where you show skill sets instead of specific job duties will work best for you.
The skills most valued by employers include the ability to learn quickly, teamwork skills, problem-solving talent, leadership, drive, initiative, ambition and communication skills. Recollect, how you demonstrated these skills during your college days.
Think about all those skills that might relate, if only peripherally, to the job duties you might be taking on. If you can't find out what your own strengths are, who will?
Purna Chandra
Karimnagar
Employment gaps are always a challenge when writing a résumé. Small gaps are no longer unusual, as the employment landscape has changed over the last decade or so. If you have a large gap -- or multiple gaps -- however, you need to be a bit creative in dealing with the issue.
The ideal situation is when you can show you were doing something productive during your employment gap -- getting additional training, education, certifications or working part-time, freelancing, consulting, or volunteering.
If you were ill or dealing with a family emergency, or simply out of the workforce by choice, your best bet may be to develop a functional résumé. A functional résumé is organised around three or four skill areas (such as communications, leadership, customer service, project management, etc.). You then list key accomplishments from all your experiences within each skill cluster (such as, directed marketing campaign that doubled annual sales over a three-year period while industry growth remained stagnant).
Be forewarned; employers and recruiters look suspiciously at functional résumés. However, for some job seekers, a functional résumé is really the only choice; thus, the key is then developing a superior résumé that wins over even the most diehard sceptic.
What are the career prospects for ecologists and environmental scientists?
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Opportunities
