Congratulations! You’ve been invited for an interview and granted the opportunity to supplement your candidacy with some real conversation. It is important to make the most of this 30-60 minutes a potential employer has carved out just for you – but how?
You caught the employer’s attention with your cover letter and resume. During the interview, you need to continue to impress them. Take this opportunity to express where you’ve been and what you’ve done in a way that demonstrates the value you can provide to this interviewer and the team.
The best way to exhibit your value is to quantify your accomplishments and skills. Show what you know and what you can do by answering these numerical questions:
How Many …
- People, clients, or accounts have you managed?
- Awards or certifications do you have under your belt?
- Products or projects have you created or completed?
- Products or packages have you sold?
- Affiliates or partnerships have you forged?
- Customers have you earned or retained?
- People have you hired?
- Years have you been doing a particular activity?
Questions like this demonstrate not only the capacity in which you work, but also the endurance of your craft. By answering these questions, you show a prospective employer that with you at the helm, there is no upper limit.
How Much …
- Have you reduced costs or budget spend in a particular area?
- Budget allotment have you been given to manage?
- Have you increased market share or profitability for your department or company?
- Have you lifted shareholder value?
- Have you improved efficiency?
- Have you exceeded a deadline or expectation?
- Have you improved upon a particular, quantifiable skill?
- Have you topped the charts?
These questions demonstrate the improvements your talents bring to the table. Though quantitative, this type of measure really best exemplifies the quality of your work through numbers.
How Often …
- Have you operated successfully under a designated budget?
- Have you won the contracts you’ve bid for?
- Have you been selected as a team lead or project coordinator?
- Have you been published or quoted publicly?
- Have you successfully won the grants you have applied for?
- Have you exceeded an industry average for a given task?
Use these questions to form a timeline for your successes. This will show your you’re not just a one-hit wonder, but your talents and the results you yield are a consistent part of your work ethic. This metric builds trust.
By quantifying your interview answers, you can begin to sculpt the ideal image of yourself in the eyes of the interviewing company. This will quell concerns that your experiences could be thin, or that your soft skills are, well, soft. To secure more interviews and find your just-right fit by the numbers, begin your job search with an expert ally – Management Registry, Inc.