How to Answer “Tell Me About Yourself” in Interviews – Recruiter vs. Hiring Manager

May 7, 2025

Two people shaking hands over a laptop and a coffee.

The “Tell me about yourself” question is a classic interview opener and a powerful opportunity to set the tone for your conversation. While it sounds simple, your answer can make a powerful first impression and establish your credibility from the start. Did you know your answer should change depending on whether you’re speaking to a recruiter or a hiring manager? Let’s explain why this matters and how to adapt your response for maximum impact.

Why Interviewers Ask This Question

This open-ended prompt helps interviewers:

Assess your communication skills and confidence
Understand your professional background
See how you connect your experience to the role

But not all interviewers are looking for the same details. The key is knowing your audience.

Recruiter Screening: Focus on Fit and Fundamentals

What Recruiters Want:
Recruiters are gatekeepers. They aim to determine if you meet the basic qualifications quickly and your experience aligns with the job description. They tend to be less interested in technical details and more focused on your overall fit, relevant skills, and career trajectory.

How to Answer:

Give a high-level overview of your career path
Highlight your most relevant skills and experience
Mention key achievements that match the job’s requirements
Keep it concise and jargon-free

Example:

“I have five years of experience in digital marketing, specializing in content strategy and SEO. I’ve worked with both startups and established brands, helping to increase organic traffic and lead generation. I’m excited about this opportunity because it aligns with my background and my passion for data-driven marketing.”

Hiring Manager Interview: Dive Deeper, Show Impact

What Hiring Managers Want:
Hiring managers want to know if you can solve their specific problems. They’re interested in your technical expertise, how you approach challenges, and what you can contribute to their team.

How to Answer:

Start with your current role and most relevant accomplishments
Highlight specific projects, results, or technical skills
Connect your experience directly to the team’s needs and goals
Show enthusiasm for the role and company

Example:

“Currently, I’m a digital marketing strategist at XYZ Corp, where I led a team to launch a content campaign that increased organic traffic by 40% in six months. My background in SEO and analytics has helped me identify growth opportunities and optimize conversion funnels. I’m excited about your team’s focus on innovative content, and I’d love to bring my expertise in data-driven strategy to help you expand your reach.”

Pro Tips for Both Audiences

Keep it concise: one to three minutes is ideal.
Practice, but don’t memorize: Aim for a natural, conversational tone.
Tailor your answer: Adjust your focus based on who you’re speaking with.
Sell yourself: This question is your opportunity to tell the hiring manager why you are the best candidate for this role
End with a connection: Briefly explain why you’re interested in this specific role or company.

Final Thoughts

The “Tell me about yourself” question is your chance to shine, but only if you tailor your response to your audience. Whether you’re speaking with a recruiter or a hiring manager, a thoughtful, targeted answer will help you stand out and set the stage for a successful interview.

Need help crafting your perfect answer?
Check out our interview coaching services at SoundInterview.com/interview-coaching for personalized feedback and practice sessions!

October 1, 2020September 5, 2020

Write an Awesome Interview Thank You Note

Interview Thank You Note

A well-crafted interview thank you note could be the tie-breaker that sets you apart from your competition and helps you get the job. If you’re even remotely interested in the position, I strongly recommend sending a note. While it’s standard interview advice, most applicants still skip this step for some reason. Here are a few things to keep in mind while you’re crafting a note to the interview team.

Keep it Professional

When you are crafting a thank you note, it might feel like you’ve made a great connection with the hiring manager and it’s okay to let down your guard a little bit. Keep in mind that this person isn’t your friend, and they aren’t even your boss yet, so maintain the tone professional and make sure you do everything possible to eliminate spelling and grammar errors. One of my favorite tools to check myself is Grammarly. They offer both a free and a paid version, and they tend to catch a lot more errors than traditional spell check does. Take the time to read it over before you send it, and make sure you’ve spelled the person’s name right. Using too casual of a tone and errors are both turn off’s for a potential employer.

Personalize it

Personalized Interview Thank You notes — Sending a personalized note will help you stand out to the interview panel.

You can find form thank you note templates all over the internet, but some of the most memorable letters I have received from candidates were personalized. They spoke directly to me and mentioned specifics that I either did or discussed that they appreciated it. These thank you notes showed me that the candidate was paying close attention to what was happening in the interview and they felt much more genuine.

Granted, individualized thank you notes to everyone on an interview panel can be tricky. Getting everyone’s email addresses from the team can be hard. First, try asking for their business cards at the end of the interview. It’s okay to tell them that you want to follow-up with a thank-you note, provided you be sure to do so.

If you can’t get the emails of everyone on the panel to send them each a personalized thank you note, send one overall thank you to the team. It’s okay to include brief messages to each panel member and ask you contact, either the recruiter or hiring manager to pass the note along.

Send it within 24 hours

In my experience, 95% of the thank you notes I have received from candidates were via email. While email is a bit less informal than a handwritten note, it is much faster than sending it through the mail.

When you’re sending a thank you note, speed is important. Make every effort to send the email within 24 hours of the conversation. Once managers are at the interview stage in the hiring process, they’re looking to move quickly. They’ll make a decision soon after the last candidate, leaving a short window to influence their decision.

To make things easier on yourself, start writing the thank-you note before your interview. By having it written ahead of time, you’re not starting with a blank slate. You can fill in the specific details afterward and send it off quickly. Just make sure to proofread it very carefully before you send it off.

Ask for Feedback

If you don’t take the time to ask for feedback on the interview thank you note, you’re missing a tremendous opportunity. First of all, when you ask for feedback, it shows the hiring manager that not only are you open to constructive feedback, but you seek it out. Know that in a lot of cases employers have pretty explicit policies about providing feedback, but that shouldn’t stop you from asking. Without asking, you won’t have any information on improvement.

The Sample Interview Thank You Note

Subject: Thank you

Hello [manager name]

Thank you for taking the time to interview me for [position]. I appreciate the chance to learn more about [your company/this job etc.], and I’m excited about the opportunity to join the team. Thank you for taking the time to [insert specifics here] It helped [provide more clarity/put me at ease/etc.]

You mentioned that one of the challenges for this role was XYZ. I am confident that with my previous experience in ABC, I’d be able to [develop a strategy/work towards a solution/etc.].

Regardless of the outcome of the interview, I would appreciate any feedback you would be willing to provide so I can continue to improve my skills. Thank you again for your time and please let me know if you have any other questions or need any more information from me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best Regards
[your name]

How to Prepare for Virtual Interviews

August 12, 2020

These days, more and more interviews are happening over Zoom and Google Meet. Virtual interviews are unchartered territory for many job seekers, and the etiquette is still mostly undefined. One of the most common questions we’re seeing from clients right now is how to get ready for these virtual interviews. So, we’ve gathered up some of our best tips to help you make the best (virtual) first impression possible.

Tip 1: Choosing your equipment

Ideally, you’ll be able to take the meeting from a computer and not your phone. The hierarchy is as follows: computer, tablet, phone. If possible, avoid taking the interview on your phone, because it’s too easy to shift angles or present issues. The other benefit of using a computer is that you can plug directly into the internet and avoid WIFI. Having a hardwired connection will help reduce lag and give a clearer video. Too much lag, and you can miss essential questions, non-verbal cues, or worse, they might miss parts of your answers. If you’re using a computer, be sure to close your other programs, including email, messenger, slack, etc. so notifications don’t pop up and distract you. Headphones reduce background noise and make it easier to be heard.

Tip 2: Set the scene

Try to take the call in a quiet, distraction-free zone. Your lighting and background are essential. You want the light to come from in front of you so the hiring manager can see your face. Be aware of the things around you that the camera can see, and keep it neutral. It’s best to take the meeting in front of a plain or nicely decorated wall. Try to avoid using your bedroom if possible. If you’re tight on space, you can opt for a virtual background on Zoom, but stay away from the animated ones, and keep it professional.

Tip 3: Dress for the part

Office with a computer monitor and thumbs up on the screen from a man in a suit.

If you’ve been working from home for several months you may have gotten pretty casual with your clothes. For a virtual interview, you’ll want to dust off your professional wardrobe and dress for the job. Hiring managers have been reporting that interview candidates are dressing a bit too casually for these video interviews. Dressing up is an easy way to help you stand out amongst the competition. It’s best to wear solid colors because some patterns can be distorted by the camera and be distracting. While it seems obvious, don’t neglect the bottom half of your outfit. Be prepared because you never know when you will have to jump up and run across the room for something.

Tip 4: Test everything

The day before the interview, make sure you have the software downloaded, and you know how to use it. Technical difficulties can lead to anxiety and throw you off-kilter. For Zoom meetings, you can create a free account to practice using the tools, and even record yourself. Record a dry run the day before in the same way you plan to have the interview. Go through all the motions, including your chosen interview outfit, hair, makeup, and accessories. Spend a few minutes talking to the screen and practicing your responses to “Tell me about yourself.” This way, you can see how you’ll appear on the camera, make adjustments, and feel more confident on the big day.

Before your interview, make sure to have the phone number of someone on the hiring panel. That way, if you do encounter technical difficulties, you can reach out and let them know. This contact information will also help you follow up after the interview if you haven’t heard any news.

Tip 5: Bring your tools

woman working on a computer with paper, tea and cell phone nearby.

There are some things to keep within reach for a video interview that will help you stay comfortable and focused. I always recommend clients bring water to in-person interviews, and a virtual interview is no different. Water is a helpful tool to give you a pause if you’re feeling flustered or if you start coughing. The second thing you want is a blank paper to take notes, organize your thoughts, or jot down questions that you would like to ask.

One benefit of a virtual interview is the ability to use notes. I don’t recommend keeping them on your computer, because the scrolling/reading can be noticeable to the hiring manager, and it can create technical problems. Instead, go old-school and use handwritten or typed notes. Post them on the wall behind your computer or put sticky notes on the edges of your screen. If you are using notes, they should be a couple of keywords or phrases to jog your memory, not paragraphs. The purpose is to glance over and get a quick reminder, not read a script to the hiring manager.

Tip 6: Rapport

The downside of virtual interviews is that it is more challenging to build a strong rapport with the hiring manager. At the interview, the hiring manager already believes you can do the job, or they wouldn’t be meeting with you. The interview serves two purposes for a hiring manager. First, to assess the skills from your resume, and second, to evaluate how you’ll fit into the organization. Look for opportunities before or after the interview to make small talk and learn more about the hiring manager. Be an active listener and try to find common interests to discuss. These conversations can help put you at ease and allows a bit of your personality to show through.

Are virtual interviews here to stay?

My prediction is that these types of interviews are going to be used for a long time. Virtual interviews are a cost-effective way to consider candidates further away and gather an interview panel across multiple sites. The pandemic has caused a massive shift in how people work, and many positions may never return to an office fulltime.

If you’re ready to start practicing for your next virtual interview, we can help. Our coaches are experienced at conducting virtual sessions and can often provide recordings of the sessions. To learn more, email me at amie@soundinterview.com.

Answering Strengths and Weaknesses

June 5, 2019

What is your biggest strength? Tell me your greatest weakness? Answering the strengths and weaknesses questions in an interview can be difficult, especially when they catch you off guard. I am not convinced about the value of these questions in job interviews, but since my responsibility is to help people prepare for interviews, this is often one of the areas we’ll spend time on.

Unfortunately, these types of questions still exist, and applicants come across them. For whatever reason, hiring managers like to put candidates on the spot with these. The good news is that these questions are easy to predict, and with practice, you can have reliable answers.

How to answer Strengths and weaknesses at an interview

What is your biggest strength?

First- listen to the question. How many strengths does the hiring manager want? If they ask, “What is your greatest strength,” you only want to provide ONE. Please don’t talk about 15 talents if the hiring manager only asked for one. Rambling about your multiple skills will come across as overly confident and is a huge turn off for hiring managers.

The best strategy is to pick a strength that relates to the job posting and then provide a brief story that shows those behaviors in a positive light. The more you can demonstrate the strength, the more believable it becomes to the hiring manager.

What is your greatest weakness? How does it manifest at work?

How to answer what is your greatest weakness question

The weakness question is a bit trickier. For years the advice has been to pick a weakness that is actually a strength, like “I take on too much work,” or “I can’t say no.” Bad news, hiring managers are on to this trick, and they’ll keep asking for weaknesses until they’ve gotten you to cop to a deep dark secret, or they’ve written you off as a candidate.

I tell my clients to choose a real weakness, not one that is career-damaging, like an accountant with poor attention to detail, and go with it. Hiring managers are looking for a couple of things: first, can you acknowledge your weaknesses? What have you done to help mitigate them in the workplace? To help clients find this weakness, I’ll often ask them what they’d tell a friend over coffee. They tend to think that these weaknesses are too personal for an interview (hint, rarely they can be), but more often than not, they are the best ones for this type of question. A word of caution, however, don’t disclose any protected information (relationship status, religion, sexual preference, children, political beliefs, etc.) in the interview. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but generally, you want to avoid triggering any unconscious or conscience bias with the interviewing panel.

answer strengths and weaknesses during job interview

Finally, practice your answers. Anticipate Strengths and weaknesses questions at every interview and know what you’re going to tell the hiring manager. That way, you’re far more prepared and equipped to be successful. As always, please reach out with any questions to amie@soundinteview.com.

November 5, 2018November 4, 2018

Summer Internships

Dear college students welcome back to class. Hopefully, you’re finally unpacked, getting into a rhythm and hitting the books. Oh, and by the way, have you started thinking about your summer internships yet? I know, it feels like you just got back and finally settled in. You might not even be sure which classes you’re taking next quarter, let alone when you’re going to start applying for an internship.

Boeing, Hershey, Expedia, and Google all have internships posted for this summer internships already, and there’s more to come. All of my college recruiter friends are on the road through November trying to fill their positions. We all know that college internships carry a lot of weight on a resume and can lead to future job offers. Get started now, so you will be able to relax this spring during the second round of recruiting.

Campus Visits

A lot of prominent organizations send recruiters on campus to meet students. It helps to make friends with the people who coordinate these visits. Visit the career center often. Ask them to help you update your resume and write a cover letter. Get to know the people who work there, because they can have a lot of pull. They’re the people who companies tend to work with when scheduling the on-site visits. If you build a relationship with them, they can and sometimes do put in a good word for you with the companies coming to visit.

Companies tend to do two types of campus recruiting. The first approach is info sessions and the second is the On-site Interviews. With the info sessions, recruiters come on campus and give a presentation about life at their office, what their internship program looks like and sometimes even offer free food. At these events, they might take resumes and spend a bit of time networking with students. They might have a job posting(s) for you to apply. Attend these! First of all, what college student doesn’t want free food? Second, you get face to face time with the people who are influencing hiring decisions, why wouldn’t you go!

On-Site Interviews

On-site interviews are usually combined with an info session and or career fair. This type of event is fast and furious for the recruiters. They’re reviewing resumes, filling interview slots and interacting with students all in a brief period. Sometimes they’ll work with the college directly to fill some select particular spots before they show up with students that come highly recommended or through pre-selects. Once they’re on campus, the businesses spots fill up quickly. Stay on top who’s coming to town by checking in with the career center weekly.

Occasionally, a company will do on-site interviews at a target school without being associated with a career fair or info session. These tend to be much less publicized, and the schedules are set before they visit the school. They may leave one or two slots open for recommended students upon their arrival, but mostly the candidates have already applied online.

Internship Applications

Don’t fret if your dream company isn’t coming to your school. There’s a ton of colleges out there, and an excellent way to can’t make it to each one. Applying for the internship is a step that everyone has to take, regardless. Again, set up your notifications early for the companies you are interested in. If your school doesn’t have a lot of on-campus visits, you might have to cast a broader net to land an internship. When you are applying, attention to detail is one of the best skills you can demonstrate. Avoid spelling and grammar errors by enlisting a friend to proofread. If the application allows for a cover letter, don’t skip it, and be sure to customize it for the particular internship.

If recruiters aren’t coming to your school, use LinkedIn to find them and let them know you’re interested. I ran this post past an experienced college recruiter for a large company, and she added:

“Reaching out to recruiters directly on LinkedIn is a great way to let a company know you are interested in internships with them. So if a company you are interested in is not coming to your campus, apply online and find a recruiter from that company on LinkedIn and reach out directly, expressing your interest. You only need to do this once, and they will follow-up if they are interested.”

How to Prepare

Head back over to the career center to get started. Find out which companies typically come on campus each year and do some research. Figure out if you want to stay close to home for an internship, or spend the summer in another state. Once you’ve narrowed it down, pick 5-10 companies offering summer internships that you’d love to work for and set up job notifications on their websites. Then, follow them on Social Media – Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn. Some of them have targeted college recruiting accounts, so keep an eye out. They’ll post events for the schools that you’re visiting.

When the jobs come up, customize your resume to match the position. Write a cover letter that demonstrates you know what the company does and highlighting how your skills match their needs. You can use the career center for help with your resume and cover letter. Look for opportunities to get feedback on your interview skills too. Do some research on behavioral interview questions or technical coding questions and practice as much as you can.

If you see their events on Facebook, be sure to RSVP and don’t flake for Taco Tuesday. Dress as if you are going to an interview. Depending on the company, this could look different, but it still should be professional (clean, wrinkle-free and no sweats). For Banking and Finance wear formal business attire. At high-tech & startup companies wear nice slacks and a button up or blouse. This lets the recruiters know that you’re serious, and you aren’t just there for the free food

Was this helpful? Feel free to pass it along. I wish you all the best of luck in finding summer internships. Leave a comment or send me a note if you have questions. amie@soundinterview.com

September 27, 2018

The Worst Interview Questions to Ask

Imagine you’re on a first date, and things are going pretty well. You feel the chemistry and are getting excited about a second date. Your partner stares deep into your eyes and asks, “Do you have any concerns about me that I can address?” or better yet, “How do I measure up against the other people you’ve met?” Lately, I’ve had several clients come to me asking if I recommend asking this question. My honest answer: It’s one of the worst interview questions to ask.

Interview questions to ask

The logic behind the question is that by asking it, you show the hiring manager that you’re open to feedback and it allows you to address any concerns that they have. Unfortunately, there’s a lot wrong here. First, asking a hiring manager if they have any concerns about you as a candidate, will more often than not, call attention to red flags that they may not have come to mind. You are literally asking them to think of your flaws, in an interview.

Your shortcomings are the last thing you want a hiring manager to focus on, especially at the end of an interview. Remember, once the conversation is over, they’re going to compare you to all of the other candidates, and if you leave them thinking about your concerns, that’s what is going to be freshest in their mind.

I’ve been in interviews where this question has been asked and it’s rarely gone well for the candidate. Most of those candidates didn’t end up getting the job. Putting the interviewer on the spot like that can make them uncomfortable and puts them in an awkward position. Often they are interviewing other candidates and still aren’t sure about who they’re going to hire. In an interview setting, hiring managers tend to be conflict-averse. They have a candidate slate of 5-6 people for this position, and rather than engage in an uncomfortable dialogue; it’s much easier for them to give a candidate a non-answer than provide critical or potentially negative feedback.

Interview Questions to Ask

Here’s my go-to list of interview questions to ask the hiring manager.

What are the next steps in the process? If they’ve already answered this during the interview, go ahead and skip this question.
What are the biggest challenges for this position? Show the hiring manager that you’re not afraid of a challenge, and ask about the problems early on in the question series.
What would success look like for me?/What would you like to see me accomplish in the first <time-period>? Helps the hiring manager visualize you being successful in the position
What do you enjoy the most about <the company/job/team/etc.>? End your question series on a high note. Remember, once you walk out of the room, they’re going to rate you. Keep it positive.

How to Get Interview Feedback:

Getting constructive feedback on your performance during an interview can be invaluable, and I completely understand that it’s hard to come by. While you might be tempted to ask the hiring manager in the interview, it’s not the time or the place. Instead, ask for feedback in your thank you note. By asking in a thank you note, you’re showing the hiring manager that you are open to feedback, but not putting them in an uncomfortable position.

Alternatively, if you are seeking honest, unbiased opinions on your interview performance, consider hiring an interview coach. We’ll partner with you and give you direct and immediate interview feedback you can use to improve your interviewing skills.

June 1, 2019July 17, 2018

The Seven Most Common Interview Questions

Most Common Interview Questions

How nice would it be to go into an interview already knowing all of the questions you were going to be asked? Unfortunately, most employers won’t give you the interview questions in advance. Today we’re going to break down seven of the most common interview questions that hiring managers ask.

Now, here’s the deal, we don’t recommend memorizing canned answers to these questions. The hiring manager can tell when you’re giving them a script and it comes across as insincere. Instead, use these interview questions as prompts to help you prepare. Keep notes on the topics you’d like to cover and practice talking about your accomplishments. Today we’re focusing on traditional interview questions, and next week we’ll concentrate on behavioral interview questions.

Tell me about yourself (Why should we hire you for this job)

notepad-691250_1920 There are a lot of ways hiring managers can ask this question. It’s a great first question because it gives you the chance to focus the interview on the areas you want to highlight. Think about this question like your executive summary. Focus your answer on work history, education, and training or certifications. Assume that the hiring manager or interview panel hasn’t had a lot of time to review your resume, so give them the rundown on who you are. Keep your responses professional and avoid providing a lot of personal details.

I got a Bachelors of Science in Accounting and Finance from UCLA and then went on to finish my MBA there as well. Once I graduated, I started my career working in accounts payable at GE. While I was there, I was recruited to participate in an accelerated employee development rotation program where I had the opportunity to rotate through four different organizations as a finance specialist. After the program finished, I was placed as a manager and received extensive leadership training. I worked at GE for two more years before I moved to Deloitte. I’ve worked at Deloitte for four years and had the opportunity to work in various leadership roles.

Why do you want to work here?

Here’s where doing your research on the company will pay off. Try to avoid the canned responses that applicants tend to give and come up with something creative. It’s an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your passion and talk about how you connect to the brand or company values.

I want to work here because I’m passionate about the outdoors and the environment. I’m an avid cyclist, and I’ve been skiing since I was six years old. Working at this company will allow me to use my technical skills as a developer while also supporting an industry that I love. Additionally one of the things that I appreciate most about this company is their approach to environmental stewardship and sustainability. I’m an active volunteer for the Nature Conservancy, and I want to work at an organization that aligns with my values.

What is your biggest strength?

Interview Questions: Your Greatest Strength I’ve seen this question go south for a lot of candidates who weren’t prepared. If you haven’t thought about a response to this question, it can catch you off guard. When you’re talking about your strengths, be sure to tailor it to the position you’re interviewing. Hiring managers don’t want to hear that you’re an excellent baker unless it’s connected to the skills you need to do the job.

Another pitfall is balancing humbleness and confidence. You want to avoid coming across as overly confident or arrogant, but still, give yourself enough credit to recognize the places you excel. To tackle this question, I recommend focusing on one or two specific strength and selling them well. Provide a brief example that demonstrates your strength as it applies to the position.

I am analytical and enjoy digging into data. Several months ago our team was trying to identify ways to improve our customer satisfaction results. I took the data from our customer surveys and cross-referenced it with the data from our vendors and noticed that the results were lower when customers had opted for a specific component in their product. When I looked deeper, it appeared that this product had a higher number of warranty claims when it came with this component. I took this information to leadership with the recommendation that we switch suppliers for this component. Since making the switch, our customer satisfaction results have increased by 15%.

What is your biggest weakness?

Ok, let’s admit it, everyone hates this interview question. Hiring managers ask it because they’re looking for people who can acknowledge their shortcomings, and find ways to make up for them. Prepare for this question, so you don’t just blurt out the first weakness that comes to mind. Don’t choose a flaw that’s completely unrelated to work, like “I’m a terrible cook.” The other one hiring managers are sick of hearing is the “I’m a perfectionist” weakness. Find a real fault that isn’t detrimental to the job and talk about what you do to mitigate it.

Coming from a technical background, I tend to get caught up in the details of a project. As a manager, I am aware that I need to trust my team and keep focused on the big picture, so I do a couple of different things to help me from getting too caught up in the small details. First, I’m very open about this with my team, and I ask to bring it to my attention when I get too deep. Second, Anytime I start working on a project I do my best to remind myself to stay out of the weeds. It’s something I am continuously reflecting on and trying to improve.

Why are you looking to leave your current position?

Regardless of how you answer this question do not badmouth your current or past employers. When a candidate badmouths an employer, it’s a huge red flag for hiring managers. Even if you’re in the worst possible job and you’re utterly miserable, think of a different approach. You also don’t want to lie to the hiring manager either. If you don’t have anything nice to say about your previous employer, you can focus the attention on how great the new position is

I’ve been in my current role for just about two years now, and I’ve had the chance to learn a lot about the industry. Since my current company is a small organization, my scope has been broad. Your position offers the opportunity to focus on a specialty within the industry that I find exciting.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Hiring managers aren’t expecting you to predict the future here, I promise. This question helps them know that you’re thinking ahead and you have long-term goals. Again, be sure to focus on your professional life and avoid personal details like starting a family or getting married. It’s illegal for companies to use this information in their selection process, so they’d rather not know. Instead, tell them what kind of work you’d like to be doing, what problems you would like to have solved and whether you see yourself moving toward a path towards a technical expert or management.

Five years from now I see myself further developing my career as a subject matter expert. I enjoy the working with people. I want to build more skills as a to grow into a Senior Project Manager role. By then, I plan to have my Project Manager Certificate, and I would like to have completed the Six Sigma Black Belt certification as well. I feel like I have a strong grasp on project management and I would like to lead some large cross-functional projects. Finally, I trust my team and acknowledge that mistakes are a part of the process. By letting go of some of the control, they learn and become stronger employees.

Do you have any questions for us?

hands-460865_1920 At this point, the interview is almost over! It’s your turn to ask the questions of the panel. This the most important and most common interview question asked, so don’t get caught empty-handed. Here is where you get to learn about the organizational culture, day-to-day work and most importantly, build rapport with the hiring managers.

Stay away from questions about money and benefits of the position; the interview isn’t the place to discuss those topics. When you show up for an interview asking about salary, it tells me you’re only interested in compensation. Asking how you did in the interview is another awkward question that makes interviewers uncomfortable. Instead, ask the hiring manager open-ended questions to get them talking. A few of those might be:

What do you like the most about the company/job/role?
What do you see as the biggest challenges for this position?
How do you define success?
What would you like to see accomplished in the first 90 days?

Thanks for taking the time to read through our tips! If you found this information helpful, we’d love for you to share it with your network. As always, let us know if you have any questions or thoughts. If you’re interested in learning more about our customized resume and interview coaching services, please reach out. Stay tuned for next week’s post about the behavioral and situational interview questions as well.

June 8, 2018June 7, 2018

How To: Answering Salary History Questions

The hardest questions for applicants are around salary history and expectations. More often, this question is coming up early in the screening process. At this point in the process, recruiters are checking that your expectations are within the range that they’re able to pay. Give a number too high, and you disqualify yourself, but give a number too low, and you lack experience for the position.

The Argument against Salary History

Several states and cities have passed legislation to improve pay equity and eliminate bias. New York City passed an ordinance preventing employers from asking salary history. In Washington, a similar bill went into effect that states previous wage history is not a defense against pay discrimination, and employers are actively discouraged from asking wage history information. There’s a lot of concern that asking applicants these types of questions can have a disparate impact and further propagate the wage gap for women and minority candidates. One of the biggest arguments that supporters of these bills make is that an individual’s past salary shouldn’t have any bearing on what a new company offers.

Salary History versus Salary Expectations

If given a choice between these two, you always want to provide your salary expectations instead of your salary history. There are a lot of reasons why you might not want to provide your current salary. Providing salary expectations is more forward thinking and doesn’t take into account any previous biases that may have played into your comp structure. Alternatively, if you’ve moved from a city with a high cost of living like Manhattan to somewhere much less expensive, you don’t want to be above the range simply because the cost of living is different.

Be Prepared

Most importantly, don’t let this question surprise you. Expect this question and be ready. Chances are you’re applying for similar types of positions across multiple companies in your area. As soon as you apply to a new job, have an idea of what you’d like to be paid. Use sites like Glassdoor and Payscale to research for your local market, company size and experience level. Salary History

Once you have an idea of what is fair, establish a range. The bottom of the range should be the minimum that you’d be willing to accept the position. The top of the range should be around 10 to 15 percent or thousand dollars higher than the minimum, provided it’s still within a reasonable range. Remember not every company can pay market-leading wages like Amazon or Facebook. Keep the company size and industry in mind when setting your range and take into account your experience as well.

Offer Salary Expectations

You’re in the middle of the day, and your phone rings out of the blue. Surprise, it’s a recruiter for the job you applied for last week. He wants to talk to you about the job, and one of the first questions he asks out of the blue is what you’re currently making. Don’t let this catch you off guard. Instead of giving them your current or most recent salary, respond with something along the lines of: “For this position, I’d like to make somewhere between XX and YY.” This is a nice way of sidestepping the question while still helping the recruiter understand what you’re looking to make.

Don’t Lie

Ultimately if you can’t avoid the question, or it’s a mandatory part of a job application, be honest. It is always a bad idea to inflate your salary history. Lying on a job application is grounds for termination in most organizations. Some companies check salary history as part of the background screening process and having a significant difference can lead them to pull a job offer. If you’re providing your salary to a recruiter, be sure to include bonuses and other perks in the conversation.

Stick to the Range

Once you make it to the salary negotiation phase after the job interview, stick to the range that you provided. Few things are more frustrating to a hiring manager or recruiter than a candidate who changes their expectations in the middle of the process. They’ll be making a good faith effort to meet your range, and it will reflect poorly on you as a candidate to change midway through. Beyond salary, there are other things that you can negotiate like vacation or time off, schedule preferences and other perks.

Enlist Help

If you’re still unsure how to approach a salary negotiation, you can always ask for help. It’s better to be proactive and know your general approach before the negotiations even begin. If you’re job searching and looking for general guidance, interview practice, or help to work through the hiring and onboarding process, we can assist. Visit our services page to learn more or contact us at info@soundinterview.com

January 30, 2018January 30, 2018

Behavioral Interview Examples

Behavioral interview questions are prevalent in large organizations. Employers use them because there is a belief that past behaviors are strongly related to how people behave in the future. So if you were able to drive results in your last job, chances are you’ll do the same in the new position.

Today we’re looking at some of the top behavioral interview questions and how to answer them. These questions are all about storytelling using the STAR model. In all of your examples, it’s important to stay positive. Sometimes the questions can be tricky and occasionally phrased in a way that seems to encourage complaints. Don’t fall into the trap. When you talk poorly about your people in an interview, it’s a HUGE RED FLAG for the hiring managers.

Remember that behavioral interview questions are driving towards specific attributes and behaviors that the organization wants. If you could peek into the hiring manager’s interview packet, you’d usually see a rating scale and maybe even some descriptors on the targeted behaviors they want.

For example, If the hiring manager asks a question about teamwork the book might contain something like this:

1: Did not demonstrate the ability to work as a member of a team. Hostile, negative or unengaged. The employee did not complete the task.
3: Worked cooperatively as a team member. The task was completed and met expectations.
5: Went out-of-the-way to help ensure team success. Put the needs of the team before personal agendas. Exceeded business goals.

Tell me about a disagreement with a co-worker?

This question is used to gauge how well you can deal with other people. Ultimately, hiring managers are trying to make sure you’re not going to be toxic in the workplace. When you think about situations for these questions, try to come up with times where you were able to work out a conflict amicably, and you weren’t the one responsible for creating the conflict or issue.

In my last position, I was a part of a team working toward a significant, high visibility deliverable. There were four team members including myself, and we all had different responsibilities on the project. One of my jobs was to complete our weekly scorecard and report status to upper management. One member of my team was consistently late providing updates, and it was reflecting poorly on the entire team.

I took him aside and talked to him about the problem. Initially, he was upset that I approached him. First I explained to him my concerns about his work and how his delay impacted the deadline. Then, I asked him if he needed any help and if there was anything I could do. He said he had a lot of work on his plate and it was overloading him. We talked about different options and finally settled on one that would help us meet our deadlines and allow him to feel under less pressure. Ultimately, we were able to meet the deadlines, and the leadership was satisfied with the work the team completed. I also built a healthy working relationship with him.

Tell me about a time you were spread too thin?

Call it multi-tasking or juggling; most employers want to hear about how you can manage your time. These questions are looking for prioritization skills, knowing when to ask for help and being able to deliver on critical projects. One of the most common answers I hear in these examples is, “I worked a lot of overtime and got everything done.” While sometimes that’s the truth, it’s not the answer an employer wants to hear.

I was working on two special projects for different business partners in my last role when my boss stopped by my desk with an important assignment. The Director of our group needed some reports and analysis completed for a high-profile customer meeting scheduled for next week. I sat down with my manager to make sure I had a solid understanding of the new project requirements and estimated that the project was going to take about 20 hours of my time. Unfortunately, between the other two projects and my regular statement of work, it quickly became apparent that something was going to have to give. I reviewed the timelines of the projects

I went over the schedules of the projects and spoke to my business partners about their plans. We found about a week of flexibility in one of the projects, and I was able to adjust that schedule. The other big project was time sensitive and needed my attention. I proposed to my manager that this could be an opportunity for a junior employee to take over my daily duties so I could focus on the two big projects. She was supportive of the plan. I was able to bring the junior employee up to speed on the daily processes and remained available for questions during the week.

In the end, I finished the reports, my business partners were taken care of, and both the director and customer were thrilled with the analytics. The company was able to book $150,000 in additional revenue with the client.

Tell me about a time you had to deal with an upset client?

In any job where you’ll be dealing with customers, you can expect to get a behavioral question around customer satisfaction. If you come across this question and can’t think of a particular client example, take a broader view of what a customer is. Maybe you’re in a role that has internal customers. You can use that as the basis for a story too. Do your best to avoid stories where you weren’t able to resolve the concern or the client wasn’t happy.

I was an account manager for a business selling B2B services, and I had just taken over some new accounts. One day I received a call from an upset customer. He had made several requests to the previous account manager for changes to her account and had yet to see the updates take effect. I was still trying to build strong relationships with this client as the new account manager, but I wasn’t familiar with his concerns. First, I apologized to him for the oversight and told them I would look into it and get back to them later that day.

I put my other work aside for the day so that I could focus on this issue. When I started looking into it, I saw that the requests had been made, but weren’t input correctly. I spoke with engineering and asked if they could make these changes a priority. Fortunately, the changes were pretty simple, and engineering was able to implement the change that day. We worked together to re-run the reports for the customer and later that day when I called the customer back, I provided the updated data. In the end, the client was very satisfied with the results and how quickly I fixed the problem. The next month the client called me to add additional services to their account, generating more revenue for the organization.

Describe a complex issue you solved with a single solution?

In every job, you’re going to have to do some form of problem-solving. This question looks at your ability to think outside of the box to solve problems uniquely. One of the common pitfalls is when you don’t explain the why the problem was so complicated.

One of my first roles outside of college was to collect and input transactions from a team of 15 people. I was working with one other person, and 80% of our job was getting them into the system. The transactions came via email from all 15 people, and they usually didn’t have the information we needed. We were spending an enormous amount of time going back and forth and searching to find the information we needed. Since we both received the emails, we also ran the risk of duplicating the inputs in the system

After doing this for about two months, I realized that there had to be a better way to streamline these transactions. I met with my partner and our manager to propose a process improvement. I suggested that we develop a file which we could use to input and track the transactions. After I had received buy-in, I developed an Excel spreadsheet and programmed macros to automate some of the functions. The partners would input the info into the database and could check the status of their requests. Initially, I had some pushback from the team. A few team members were resistant, but once they saw how much more efficient it was, they came on board. This initiative reduced our time spent tracking down data so much that we were able to focus on different work. The organization similarly adopted the process as a best practice.

Behavioral Interview Questions: Summary

All of the questions you encounter on a behavioral interview drive towards a particular competency or behavior. If you pay close attention to the job descriptions and the company values, you can anticipate the subjects that they’ll ask you about during the interview and prepare examples for those areas. Provide specific examples and be clear about what role you took on in each story. Stay positive, even if it was a challenging situation and address issues diplomatically. Finally, practice your stories as much as you can!

If you found this information helpful, please share it! We’d love to hear from you, so please tell us what you think and or are any topics you’d like us to cover in future blog posts.

What to Bring to an Interview

January 30, 2018January 28, 2018

What to bring to an interview?

Do you ever wonder what to bring to an interview? It’s always pretty amazing to see what people show up with. I’ve had ringing cellphones, family photo albums, and even other people. Most HR and hiring managers have seen some rather odd things. Our interview coaching clients often ask us what to bring to their interviews.

Water: You’re going to do a lot of talking, and you will probably be thirsty. It’s nice to have a bottle on hand in case you get a dry cough and need to take a quick drink. Water is also a useful tool to help buy you a few extra seconds to think about a question before diving into an answer.

Resume: The hiring manager may not have printed it, or it could be a panel of interviewers who may or may not have seen a copy. I recommend bringing five copies with you to hand out if needed. Using a heavier weight neutral resume paper is a good idea, but not a deal breaker.

What to bring to an interview

Notepad and two pens: Write down the interviewer’s names or questions that come to mind. We recommend taking notes on complicated interview questions too so you can make sure you hit all of the sub-questions they might be asking. Bring two pens, because one might stop working, and try to avoid the ‘click’ pens if you tend to fidget.

Questions: Don’t get caught at the end of the interview without having questions ready to ask at the end of the interview. By asking well thought out questions, you can gain more insight into the job and build rapport with the interview panel. Research the company and prepare a few open-ended questions ahead of time.

Mints: Just to be on the safe side. Pop a mint while you wait in the lobby and then put them away. In case you’re wondering, it’s not a good idea to pull them out during the interview and offer them to the interviewers, no matter how much they might need one.

What not to bring to an interview

Almost more important than what to bring to an interview is what NOT to bring. The last list focused on being prepared for success while this is the list to avoid disasters.

What to bring to an interview

Cellphone: Please, just leave it behind. If you absolutely must have it with you, power it down as soon as you step into the lobby. Yes, turn it all the way off, not just airplane mode. The interview starts as soon as you walk in the door. Spend the time observing the office or reviewing your notes. Your body language directly impacts your confidence, so sit up straight instead of curling over a cellphone.

Other people: I’ve seen parents, boyfriends, and children at job interviews. While there have been circumstances where it’s okay, those are few and far between. If you need any accommodations to participate in the interview, let the hiring manager know before the interview. Otherwise, ask your friends and family to wait away from the office.

Chewing gum: I get it, you want your breath to be fresh, and you promise that you’ll spit it out before the interview starts. It’s still a bad idea, even in the lobby. The chewing, snapping, and popping can be distracting, and worse, you have to remember to find a place to get rid of it discreetly before the interview starts. Spit it out before you walk in the door.

Food: It is a terrible idea to bring your lunch with you and ask the interviewer if they are okay with you eating because you’re “starving!”. This one might hit a little close to home for me. Eating at an interview or in the lobby is a bad idea.

Perfume/Cologne/Scented lotion: There are a lot of people who have allergies to fragrances, and causing an allergic reaction during an interview does not lend to a positive first impression! Some workplaces are fragrance-free, especially in medical, office and retail environments. Scents can be too strong, and you want the hiring manager to focus on your skills, not smell.