Thursday, May 17, 2012

Job Interview Anecdotes

There's nothing like a good story to enhance your qualifications for a job. When told effectively, these anecdotes can be a real difference-maker for you during a job interview.

One of the big misconceptions about these stories is that they have to come from your career experiences. While those are certainly the easiest to present, you can actually use stories from any point in your personal life. You just have to make sure it shows off a side of you that makes you attractive for the job. Now that you know this, it's time to determine what you want to present to the hiring manager.

The first thing you should do when selecting an anecdote is to figure out what skills you want to highlight. A good way to speed up this decision is to look at the job description the organization posted. Employers will often sprinkle key words throughout their descriptions that describe the type of abilities for which they are looking. You should keep a close eye for words like "management," "analytical skills," etc.

If you are unable to find any of these words in the description, consider contacting the hiring manager asking what particular skills they are looking for in candidates.

Remember that the story you tell serves only to illustrate the points you made in your resume and cover letter. This means it should be short and to the point, so cut out any irrelevant aspects. If you are able to trim your anecdote down to the main essentials, you will find that it will be a very successful way to prove your worth.

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