CAREER MOTIVATION: Be proud of your scars

“These bruises make for better conversation.....” is a line from a song by Train (feat. Ashley Monroe). Hearing it recently got me thinking about my prior work experiences, including some that went well and others that still make me cringe.

As we’re navigating career transitions out in the real world, it is assumed we focus on the good stuff and brush over the less than ideal work experiences. But let’s face it, not every job is perfect. Deep down, we all know that.

Here’s the thing: bruises and scars generally come with an interesting story tied to trying something new. For example, determining if you can actually jump that ditch with your dirt bike. I’d like to think you will not be penalized for having tried something new, even if it ended differently than you’d expected. As most professionals can appreciate, the real story is in understanding what you did with the information you learned from the not-so-stellar work experience.

How a person overcame a difficult situation and knew when a situation wasn’t going to work is the juiciest part. It really does make for better conversation. When an interviewer asks you about your greatest weakness, they are not looking for the generic, non informative “I am too detail oriented” or the “I work too hard...” replies. It’s okay to be honest here! Let them know that you are a human being. Everyone has flaws, including the person you are interviewing with. Identifying your strengths and weakness is part of this process. Before you share your story in an interview, I recommend you embrace the cuts and bruises you experienced throughout your career. Be able to discuss them as a learning experience. Think about them as the hardest teacher you ever had, but the one you remember and still hold respect for.

Bruises make for good stories....think about growing up. You get hit by a ball once, and the next time, you know to duck. When you make a mistake a work, you know how to handle it the next time around. Someone who can learn from their mistakes is a very valuable asset. Especially if the learning process was embraced.

CAREER COUNSELING: Tell me about yourself....(continued)

As promised, I wanted to continue the discussion from my previous post on Wednesday, 6/12/2013.

Need specifics? More about how this works with a career overview?

If I am describing myself, I usually start with letting my audience know that I am a creative problem solver with a strange fascination for numerical puzzles. During my job as a waitress a few years out of college, I also learned that I have a strong interest for and a perception of understanding people’s interaction with the physical environment. I further honed my intellect of human behavior with a few years in corporate HR, focusing my career on finding the right people for the right jobs. My skills of spatial perception and human interaction were enhanced with some budgetary experience during my time in event planning while in an HR role as well. Now I am eager to further apply this knowledge base to this business.

Do you have a picture of who I am?

Our verbiage or self statements won’t be identical, but our goals are the same. I am focusing my audience on things that I am proud of and that are important to me. The aspects of my career that have brought me to my next career move today. Tip: Help the interviewer understand what motivates you -- the skills you have developed throughout your career will give them a clearer picture of how you may fit within their organization.

Moving forward, keep in mind:

• DO be prepared to answer questions about anything you put on your resume
• DON’T describe every little detail during your personal summary
• DO focus on what you are proud of and what is important to you
• DO let the interviewer move on from there and dig in with questions that are important to them and the position in question
• DON’T stress! You know YOU better than anyone.

CAREER COUNSELING: Tell me about yourself...

For recruiters, “Tell me about yourself” is a phrase that is as common as “paper or plastic” from your local grocer.  You know the question is coming, and yet many interviewees are still befuddled as how to best answer. On one hand, it may feel like a deceptively easy way to kick off a conversation. Are you as prepared as you could be to answer? More importantly, are you taking full advantage of this open opportunity to sell yourself to the person across the table?

From an interviewer’s perspective, this statement is a generally a good way to assess how a person presents themselves. As an interviewer, I can read the background and work history from a resume, but I really want to know the WHYs and HOWs of the decisions you have made in your career. Tip: Remember that how you answer this question will help guide an interviewer’s questions throughout the remainder of the interview.

So, as a candidate, what do you want to communicate? Given the copious amount of times I have asked this question, I have unfortunately seen and heard many candidates run through the chronological history of their employment. Remember, that is already available on the resume. Candidates who are nervous also have a tendency to ramble a bit and lose the attention of the interviewer. Tip: When you communicate, think of it as a summary and focus on your passions and transferable skills. Essentially, guide the interviewer to the things you are proud of and relevant to the job you are interviewing for.

Next point! As the candidate, how do you communicate the key aspects of yourself that are appropriate for the job?

I suggest thinking about a favorite place, either your grandmother’s living room, the lobby of your favorite museum or that great little coffee shop where you have been spending your time applying to jobs. You generally don’t describe a place in chronological order, it wouldn’t make sense. When people talk about space or place, they generally summarize with a few key words and elaborate on the specific details that enhance the space, right? For example, you would describe an area as warm, sunny, with a comfortable feel that makes you want to relax in the corner of a big sofa for hours. From there, you can focus on more specific information, such as floor to ceiling windows and muted yellow walls that focus your attention on the hardwood floors original to the building. Is there a picture in your head yet? Good. Now think about your career the same way and come up with a picture of your work experience using that analogy.

Don’t worry, this discussion point is not over yet. More specifics to come in the next post.