Interviewing is a difficult thing, and many candidates miss out on exciting job positions merely because they’ve not yet mastered it. Luckily, there’s plenty of help to be had for people who have a tough time interviewing. Here, we’ll discuss the top five interviewing tips from the world of professional headhunting.
5 Interview Tips from the Professional Headhunting Industry
1. Tailor your responses
One of the biggest questions that would-be candidates trip over is “tell me about yourself.” For recruiters, this is a targeted question. The recruiter wants to see how articulate and confident a candidate is. For candidates, though, this can feel like an impossible question to answer. Luckily, it’s not hopeless.
To answer this question correctly, it’s important for candidates to remember two things: focus on the aspects of the story that interest the employer. Secondly, concentrate on the most relevant accomplishments.
2. Don’t be self-conscious about job hopping
During an interview, it’s not at all uncommon for an interviewer to ask how long you stayed at your most recent position and why you left. In these cases, many candidates feel uncomfortable about what they perceive as job-hopping. In previous iterations of hiring, job-hopping was viewed as an apparent lack of commitment. Today, though, it’s common for people to stay at jobs for three years or less.
Because of this, many recruiters are feeling less reticent about hiring individuals who have held multiple positions in the last several years. If you’re asked about your most recent jobs, and you find yourself stumped for an answer, focus on playing up the knowledge and achievement you’ve taken from each of your past positions.
In addition to showcasing yourself as a well-rounded, competent employee, this also proves that you understand what is needed to adapt to and learn from a fast-paced professional environment.
3. Be honest
One thing recruiters hate hearing is an answer that’s obviously meant to impress or please them. For example, recruiters who ask about your biggest weakness don’t want to hear that you’re just “too driven” and recruiters who ask about times when you’ve disagreed with an employer don’t want to hear that it’s never happened.
While these are tough questions to answer, they’re critical ones and answering them honestly can serve to help you stand out from the crowd during the interview process. As goes with every tough question, focus on playing up the assets rather than the drawbacks of the experience and keep it short, succinct, and to-the-point.
4. Consider the failures you’re most willing to talk about
When discussed properly, failure can be a powerful interview topic. Recruiters understand that candidates are only human, and candidates who have failed and learned from it are ultimately more valuable than candidates who have failed and become resentful or filled with blame.
5. Prepare responses about your greatest strengths
All recruiters want to understand what you define as your greatest strengths. With this in mind, prepare responses and consider the experiences you’re most willing to talk about. The experiences you discuss should always be relevant to the job at hand and should, if at all possible, showcase the skills and experiences you have that are most applicable to the position you’re interviewing for.
Great Interviewing Skills Start Here
While interviewing is certainly a learned skill, these top five tips from the professional recruiting industry can help candidates handle the most difficult aspects of interviewing gracefully.