You’ve made it through the heap of
resumes and got a call back for an interview. You have all the technical
skills and experience, but still, it doesn’t mean you’re a shoe in for the
job.
Hiring mangers look beyond skills and experience when
choosing the right candidate for their company. They have a list of ‘must have’
personality traits that transcend all jobs, whether it’s a secretary or CEO.
Here’s a look at four character traits you want to have to
help you land the job:
1. Hard Work Ethic
It’s no secret recruiters want to hire people that aren’t
afraid to work hard, but they also want to see that you are willing to
sacrifice in order to get the job done. According to Tom Gimbel, founder and
Chief Executive of LaSalle Network, a staffing and recruiting company, that’s
why it’s important to get across during the interview instances where you sacrificed personal things for
your job. For instance, maybe you postponed a vacation to complete a huge
project or perhaps you didn’t blink when you had to work ninety hours in one
week. Whatever it was, as long as you are sincere it should resonate with the
interviewee.
“The fact of the matter is most people that don’t work a
million hours are usually talking about the work/life balance on the
interview,” says Gimbel. “The hiring manager wants to hear that your career is
your priority.”
2. Playing Well With Others
It’s easy for an employer to teach someone a new skill, but
it’s not so easy to teach them how to get along well with others. That’s
something that’s either in you or isn’t and the hiring manager wants to bring
on the candidate that has it. “A lot of people aren’t team players,” says
Gimbel. “Companies want people who can interact with other departments and
communicate well.”
According to Terry Pile, Principal Consultant of Career
Advisors, the best way to demonstrate you’re a team player is to tell the recruiter
stories about how you stayed after work to help employees that weren’t on your
team or how you trained co-workers on a new system. Giving real examples of how
you are a team player should go a long way come decision time.
3. Showing Initiative
It’s easy to show initiative when you are on the job, but
hiring managers also want to see that on the interview. The best way to
demonstrate that: do you homework. Learn everything there is to know about the
company, industry and if at all possible the person you’ll be working for
and/or the one doing the interview. By doing that you’ll demonstrate you care
enough about the job to educate yourself about the company and the cultural
parts about it.
“Take something you read about the company and connect it to
your own experience and abilities,” says Marjorie Terry, VP of client services
at career advisory company Great on the Job.
Researching the company will also put you in a position to
ask insightful questions during the interview, which is what hiring managers
want to see. “Showing you are interested and have some knowledge about the
company and industry is impressive,” says Pile. Know the challenges the company
faces, its competitors and how the industry is performing and address it during
the interview, she says.
4. Strong Communications Skills
You may be a top programmer or great at what you do, but if
you can’t communicate on the interview it will be lost on the recruiter.
According to career experts, hiring managers want job candidates that can speak
clearly and concisely. So if you were the one to give presentations for your
team or was in charge of training new hires, make that known in the interview.
If your strong suit is writing, let the hiring manager know you were in charge
of writing the company manual.
“Being a strong communicator is key to getting hired and
being successful once you land the job,” says Terry.
No comments:
Post a Comment