You are calmly seated in the interview room and the first question the interviewer asks is; “Can you briefly walk me through your resume?”
In your head you are like; “Well, sure, that’s not that hard, is it?”
So you start going through your entire CV, point by point. Reading through the whole 3 page document. And you can see the recruiter trying really hard to stay engaged looking puzzled as well. You are a nervous wreck.
You’re doing exactly what they asked you, right? Literally? Yes. But unfortunately that’s not what they wanted to hear.
Avoid this nightmare and learn how to answer the “walk me through your resume” interview question that will have the employer all ears.
First things first, why is this question asked and what are they expecting to hear from your answer?
It may seem straightforward but it’s not about reading through your CV word for word, top to bottom.
Hiring managers ask this to get a general sense of how you view your career and qualifications, and also whether you’re organized and prepared for the conversation.
You are probably wondering, can’t they read it themselves? Didn’t they get to go through it when I sent the application?
Your concerns are valid but at the same time, they also want to hear from you. They want to know which experiences you feel are important, what you did in each role, and how your previous roles prepared you for the job you’re pursuing now. This will help form the impression they will have of you, during and after the interview.
Now that we have put this in perspective, here are simple tips to help you form a well-structured answer;
1. Be brief
Don’t read through your whole CV like a book. Be concise and relevant. Lay out a foundation that highlights your achievements and skills. A good way to do this is to start in chronological order. Start with your education or the beginning of your current career path. Then share the key career moves you’ve made, accomplishments, promotions, changes, and end with your current situation and what you’re hoping to do next. Allocate 2 or 3 minutes for each section.
2. Tailor your answer
This is the golden rule for answering any type of interview question. Before any interview, take some time to carefully read the job description. Ask yourself, which of the experiences and skills that you bring to the table are most important for this position and this company. But also think about how you can emphasize your enthusiasm and excitement for the company or role.
3. Go beyond the bullets
When you’re walking your interviewer through your resume, you shouldn’t just name your job titles or recite your entries. Do not just read through the bullet points. Instead you can connect each job to a skill or experience directly needed for the role. You could say, “While at Company X I really honed my problem resolutions skills…” and share an example, or, “After only 6 months, I was promoted to assistant manager…”
4. Share Relevant Information
Start by mentioning roles from your past and explain how they contributed to your qualifications for this role. Talk about your current role and highlight key accomplishments from the job in a way that makes it clear how they’re relevant to the role you’re interviewing for. Lastly, highlight what you’re looking to do next, what you hope to achieve and why you’re a great fit for this job.
5. Address any employment gaps
If you have a significant employment gap in your resume that might raise questions or red flags for your interviewer, you should acknowledge it in your answer. If you skip it, the interviewer might assume you’re hiding something. The story around your gap could be what makes you unique and memorable.
6. Practice your answer
Practice multiple times at home with your CV in front of you. Ideally, read the job description thoroughly so you can focus on discussing the most relevant points, too.
So what does all this advice look like in a simple example? Here’s one:
“I started my career as a professional writer, first for a local newspaper and then an online news publication. In that second role, I was promoted to Managing Editor in my third year, when I took over managing a team of seven writers. I’ve been on this same career path since then, managing teams of between five and twenty staff for a couple of different online publications, all with millions of readers per year. I’m now interviewing for director-level positions as I look for the next challenge in my career. I’m still employed by my most recent employer on my resume and the job is going well; I simply feel it’s nearing the time to make a change in order to keep challenging myself and growing. We also had an investor back out recently which is putting our expansion plans to a halt and limiting my budget to hire and grow my team as well as the website. I’d like to take on a new challenge, and the Editorial Director position that you posted seemed highly relevant.”
Do you have an upcoming interview? Book a one on one interview coaching session here
https://jobcenterkenya.com/interview-qa-walk-me-through-your-cv/
0 Comments