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Becoming A Battle Hardened Real Estate Veteran Without All The Scars:
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Generate More Sales in ANY Affiliate Program – Part Four
VISUALIZE, STRATEGIZE, ENERGIZE, REALIZE reprogramming is the subject today.
Every single successful person in the cyber and real world practice these principals, this is what sets them apart from everyone else and this is what will set you...
How To Find New Ideas For Your Business
New ideas are the lifeblood of any business so it is important to encourage creativity and to be truly innovative. But creativity and innovation are not the same. Creativity is all about coming up with new ideas, whereas innovation involves...
LOW UNEMPLOYMENT: CATALYST FOR EXCELLENCE OR EXCUSE FOR FAILURE?
“Wise is the man who fixes his roof while the sun is shining.” – Ben Franklin During low unemployment, companies that plan to grow by simply adding employees will find that shallow labor pools won’t readily support them. Companies that plan to...
Personal Training: 6 Secrets of Award Winning Customer Service
Would you believe that your ability to provide quality customer service to your clients is at least as important as your ability to get them results from their training program? Did you even know that customer service was going to be part of your...
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So, Why Don't You Tell Me About Yourself
"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" is the most frequently asked
interview question. It's a question that most interviewees expect and the
one they have the most difficulty answering. Though one could answer this
open-ended question in a myriad of ways, the key to answering this
question or any other interview question is to offer a response that
supports your career objective. This means that you shouldn't respond with
comments about your hobbies, spouse, or extra curricular activities. Trust
me, interviewers aren't interested.
Interviewers use the interview process as a vehicle to eliminate your
candidacy. Every question they ask is used to differentiate your skills,
experience, and personality with that of other candidates. They want to
determine if what you have to offer will mesh with the organization's
mission and goals.
If answered with care, your response to the question, "So, why don't you
tell me about yourself?" could compliment the interviewers needs as well
as support your agenda. This is a question you should be prepared to
answer as opposed to attempting to "wing it".
Follow the four easy steps outlined below to ensure your response will
grab the interviewers attention.
1. Provide a brief introduction. Introduce attributes that are key to
the open position.
Sample introduction: During my 10 years' of experience as a sales manager,
I have mastered the ability to coach, train, and motivate sales teams into
reaching corporate goals.
2. Provide a career summary of your most recent work history. Your
career summary is the "meat" of your response, so it must support your job
objective and it must be compelling. Keep your response limited to your
current experience. Don't go back more than 10 years.
Sample career summary: Most recently, at The Widget Corporation, I was
challenged with turning around a stagnant territory that ranked last in
sales in the Northeastern
region. Using strategies that have worked in the
past, I developed an aggressive sales campaign that focused on cultivating
new accounts and nurturing the existing client base. The results were
tremendous. Within six months my sales team and I were able to revitalize
the territory and boost sales by 65%.
3. Tie your response to the needs of the hiring organization. Don't
assume that the interviewer will be able to connect all the dots. It is
your job as the interviewee to make sure the interviewer understands how
your experiences are transferable to the position they are seeking to
fill.
Sample tie-in: Because of my proven experience in leading sales teams,
Craig Brown suggested I contact you regarding your need for a sales
manager. Craig filled me in on the challenges your sales department is
facing.
4. Ask an insightful question. By asking a question you gain control
of the interview. Don't ask a question for the sake of asking. Be sure
that the question will engage the interviewer in a conversation. Doing so
will alleviate the stress you may feel to perform.
Sample question: What strategies are currently underway to increase sales
and morale within the sales department?
There you have it - a response that meets the needs of the interviewer AND
supports your agenda.
When broken down into manageable pieces, the question, "So, tell me about
yourself?" isn't overwhelming. In fact, answering the question effectively
gives you the opportunity to talk about your strengths, achievements, and
qualifications for the position. So take this golden opportunity and run
with it!
About the Author
Linda Matias is an Internationally Certified Job and Career Transition Coach and a Certified Employment Interview Professional. She specializes in career coaching, resume development, and interview and job search training. Visit her website at www.careerstrides.com or email her at careerstrides@bigfoot.com.
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