Sharing your potential contributions during the interview – Remember…it’s all about THEM!

At Key Corporate Services, we tailor the executive search and recruitment process to the specific needs of our clients. Through research and sourcing, we locate the best qualified candidates based on qualifications and personal suitability. Only then, do we proceed with setting up interviews.

Even though the selection process is meant to identify the top candidates, it is critical during the interview that the applicant adequately expresses the potential contributions they can bring to the company.

To do this, any candidate would be well-served to prepare for an interview from the interviewer’s perspective. Realize that any interview question will be evaluated through the prism of potential contributions the candidate can bring to the company. Preparing for those “standard” interview questions with answers that highlight contributions made in prior jobs will show the candidate as someone who can add tangible value from day one on the job

“Tell me about yourself?”

You KNOW you will be asked this question.

So, think about the position and respond in a way that showcases potential contributions. If the position describes a particularly important skill, i.e. Project management, explain how you contributed as a project manager in a past job. The secret here is to tie in a description about yourself to a past contribution that is directly aligned to a skill for the position.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

This involves some prior research to understand the company’s future goals and present challenges they face in the marketplace. Knowing this, fashion an answer that aligns your goals to where the company is headed as well.

“Why do you want to work for us?”

What a perfect place to expound on your potential contributions to the company! Having already researched the challenges facing the company, respond by sharing prior contributions that can benefit the company. Perhaps you have streamlined or improved processes in past jobs and you see this job as representing similar opportunities.

Candidates should customize answers to the most common interview questions to include specific contributions made in prior jobs. By doing this, they will be putting themselves in the interviewer’s shoes. And, they will be answering the most basic question on the mind of any interviewer – “What can this candidate contribute to my company?”