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September 18, 2005

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Michelle Reese
Scottsdale Tribune

Speak up during your job interview

The time to shine and brag about your accomplishments is when you're face-to-face with a potential employer. During a job interview, it is key that a candidate show why he or she should be added to the company's team, career experts say.

Pamela Roe Ehlers, vice president of American Career Executives, a Phoenix-based management firm, said job seekers should show the interviewer value they can bring to the workplace through highlighting their accomplishments.

"While being enthusiastic in an interview is important, promoting or selling yourself in the interview is less effective than educating the interviewer about the value you bring to the job. Confidently tell what you have accomplished for previous employers," she said. "We tell our clients, 'The best predictor of future success is past performance that has quantified results.'"

Career coach Dave Lindbeck agrees: Too many people just sit and answer questions.

"They think that's enough. They assume the person asking the questions knows exactly what it is they want to know about them," he said. Lindbeck owns and operates InStep Coaching, which offers business and career coaching.

Lindbeck said job candidates need to take it a step further, directing the interviews toward their abilities.

"Take some liberty to expand upon the point of the question for the information the person is looking for.

Instead of answering questions, "Yes," or "No," Lindbeck said the job candidate should offer examples, If someone is asked about sales, a job candidate may respond: "As a matter of fact, these are the things I did," and then offer accomplishments.

"Relate it to that particular questions," he said.

Another way to bring up accomplishments is when the interviewer asks, "Do you have any questions for me?" Then, a job candidate may go into it by asking "What are the weak links in the system, or what problems are you looking for someone like me to solve?"

Those questions may lead to an opportunity to expose a skills set or offer solutions, Lindbeck said.

Ehlers said the job candidate should be prepared to ask a number of questions during the interview based on research of the company and the job.

"A wise man once said,'You will be remembered more by the questions you ask than the answers you give.' In your interview, be prepared to ask intelligent questions about the business, the industry, the department, and even the individual who is interviewing you! Listen carefully to identify the employer's true needs in hiring for this position," Ehlers said.

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