POWER STRATEGIES FOR EXECUTIVE JOB SEARCH

 

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POWER STRATEGIES FOR EXECUTIVE JOB SEARCH

Powerful Answers To The Dreaded "Tell Me About Yourself" Question

      How many times have you walked into an interview and been immediately bombarded with the dreaded "Tell me about yourself" question? It’s such a tough place to start. What exactly does the interviewer want to know about you? Should your answer be a quick overview of your career, or does the interviewer want a lengthy dissertation of your entire "professional" life? How do you know which is the "right" strategy to use when answering this question … the strategy that will immediately capture your interviewer’s attention and position you as a truly viable candidate.

      Unfortunately, the "Tell me about yourself" question is a classic that you will inevitably need to answer time and time again. Therefore, it is essential that you be aware of the two vastly differing schools of thought on how best to respond.

     Tradition tells us that what someone is asking for is a brief summation of your career. As succinctly as possible, yet with substance, lead your interviewer through your career history with a brief mention of some of your most notable achievements. Here’s how a typical job seeker using this traditional approach might answer that question.    

     "I began my career with Lessman Software in 1990, was selected for the executive leadership development program after just two years, and earned eight other promotions during my tenure with the company. My earliest experiences were in field sales, marketing and key account management. In each position, I delivered strong revenue results, including double-digit increases in market share ratings in both Dallas and Atlanta.

     "I was then promoted to the senior management team of a troubled business unit, working with two other executives to facilitate a successful turnaround. Once profitable, I left that organization and spent the next several years developing new ventures as our industry exploded. My final assignment was as General Manager of a $200 million Asian business unit where I delivered a 25% improvement in profitability in just nine months.

   "Currently, I am the Executive Director of New Product Development/Marketing with Sulley Solutions LLC. I joined the company in 1999 after a careful review of their technology, marketing strategy, and in-house talent. My responsibilities focus on providing strategic direction, operating leadership and P&L management for both technology development and the entire marketing organization. To date, my team and I have closed over $145 million in sales prior to full product roll-out."

    Not such a bad answer, is it? It quickly explains the job seeker’s career path, rapid promotion, and most notable achievements. Simply put, it’s an historical overview of where, when, and what, most of which was on this candidate’s resume. However, telling the story in the manner above gave it a nice polish and presentation.

    However, modern thought has changed the strategy for answering this question. Instead of giving a career history, use the opportunity to your advantage by "selling" what it is that you have achieved that supports your current career objectives. Briefly, and with powerful words, summarize "who you are today" and the value you bring to that particular organization. Your answer can incorporate results and experiences from your past, but should not simply repeat what is on your federal job resume. Take your accomplishments, look at them critically, determine which are most related to the type of position you are currently seeking, and move them to the forefront of your presentation.

    If that same job seeker were to answer the same question using this strategic approach, he would state:

    "I am a well-qualified, senior-level management executive who has met the unique challenges of start-up, turnaround, and high-growth companies with operations both in the US and abroad. Never working in what one would consider a status quo organization, I have continually been challenged to deliver results that required creative, strategic, and tactical leadership. Most significantly, in each and every one of these situations, I have delivered measurable financial gains in revenue, market share, and bottom-line profitability.

    "A few specific examples that best exemplify my performance include my current leadership of an early-stage technology venture for which I generated $145 million in new revenues within one year. In my previous position as the General Manager of the Asian Division of Lessman Software, my team and I improved profitability 25% and positioned the company as #1 in the market. My earlier career achievements were equally notable as I increased sales revenues, introduced new products, doubled market share ratings and captured 12 Fortune 500 accounts.

     "In summary, I consider myself a strong leader and business manager, confident in my ability to tackle virtually any challenge by assembling the right personnel, forging a realistic strategic plan, acquiring the best resources, and leading my team to success. Of paramount importance has been my ability to build relationships throughout all levels of an organization, defining common goals, implementing incentives, and challenging my workforce to deliver their best. And, they have."

       When you use a more modern approach to answer the "Tell me about yourself" question, you are taking a more proactive stance, giving your interviewer a much clearer sense of the value that you bring to their organization and the results that they can expect. Your answer is energetic and your presentation is sharp, assertive, and on the "executive" level. When you answer this way, your interviewer can immediately grasp "who you are" and the qualifications and expertise you will bring to their organization.

     Always remember that interviewing, just like any other component of job search, is marketing, pure and simple. You have a great product to sell – YOURSELF – and you must approach all aspects of your campaign with a strategic commitment to marketing your product, for if you don’t sell it, no one else will.    

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