A client called from a cellular phone just before entering an interview. He quickly queried, “What are they looking for if they ask me what are my career plans?”
The time to think through and determine how you will present your qualifications is well before you plan to walk through the employer’s door. Job interviews are the crucial last step in the job search process and it is where both you and the organization learn whether you are both a good fit for each other.
Practice these strategic steps days before your next job interview:
- Identify the position you are interviewing for and learn the job requirements.
- Assess your employment and educational history and establish how your qualifications match the job requirements.
- Learn as much as you can about the organization, its mission, and objectives.
- Assess your five-year job and career goals and how they might mesh with this organization
- Draft a list of potential interview questions.
- Make notes on how you would respond to the questions.
- Speak out loud your answers to the questions.
- Evaluate how well you fit the job requirements.
- Draft some questions for the employer to determine if the organizational objectives match your job and career goals.
- Go to your interview well-rehearsed for a lively discussion based on your research and preparation.
Good luck!
Robbie Miller Kaplan, author of "How to Say It When You Don't Know What to Say: The Right Words for Difficult Times" and "How to Say It In Your Job Search" (Prentice Hall Press). For more information, see www.wordsthatcomfort.com.
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