Title:Be Ready to Stand-Out in an Interview
Author:Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, MFRW, MMRW, MFCA-T and Lee Kelley
Date:August 2017
Source:www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com
Employers are looking for stand-out interview candidates in the interview process. Candidates who bring new ideas to the table and address problems with creativity and confidence. The individual who answers an interview question with a cliché fails on for originality and is classified by the interviewer as status quo. If asked what's your greatest weakness and your response is that you don't have any or you turn your weakness into strengths without provide a short story on "HOW" then you are considered as status quo. You cannot risk being status quo you must prepare for all interview questions and stand-out in this job market, you cannot risk throwing away any interview question.
Below are a few distinctive interview questions that are distinctive and allow you to really stand-out with a unique and power response.
1. Why do you think you fit within our company culture or federal agency?
This question is asked to see how well they have researched the interworking of a company. A good company culture is the second highest priority for most job seekers, second only to salary. Be sure to review the company's or federal agency's mission statement and review their current projects or goals.
A candidate may be surprised when you ask this question, but a valid answer shows they've done their research, and further that they are interested in your company for more than just a paycheck. They're interested in the lifestyle and culture of your workplace.
2. What did you learn from your most impactful professional failure?
Most interviewers ask candidates to expound upon their most impactful professional accomplishment. Hence; most job candidates are not prepared to respond to the crucial question regarding their failures. Most successful people turn their failures into lessons learned and don't repeat them. However, some may hedge around the question, or give an example of a minor slip-up. This question could be an excellent opportunity to provide a "Stand-Out" answer.
An honest candidate will not be afraid to tell you exactly what went wrong and the valuable lesson they took from it. Candidates should be very specific and tell a short story about the failure and how they turned this lesson around. Everyone makes mistakes, but those who learn from those mistakes experience professional and personal growth at an exponentially faster rate.
A candidate who demonstrates knowledge of the company and industry will be a stand-out. Hiring managers interview multiple candidates for a position, but the individual who demonstrates a level of expertise and passion and who stand-out are likely to be productive immediately without suffering from a learning curve — a rare quality!
What do you think? What are some ways to stand out from the crowd to land a great job?
