Hello esteemed readers. We understand the hustle you may have gone through to land your job interview. It is finally here, and you have to make it perfect to get the job you have always wanted. Getting a job can be hectic with the high numbers of unemployment experienced in the world today. It is essential to be very keen and give a great answer to all questions correctly and concisely.
Interviews can be very overwhelming to anyone. If it is your first interview, you will have the jitters and anxiety that can make you fail if you don’t have the right motivation to go through the process smoothly. Furthermore, interviews can be stressful even after attending them for several years. The nervousness facing the panel and sometime finding a great answer to questions you have never anticipated can be very daunting.
Getting into the interview, you have your cover letter and resume ready and prepared all the tactics ready to answer your questions. The most common question for any occupation is ‘walk me through your resume.’ As simple as it sounds, it has a lot of impact on selling yourself as an individual and getting the job of your dreams. We have researched and collected the following 4 simple steps to help you answer the question correctly and leave the potential employer dying to have you in their team.
Resume Walkthrough Process
The hiring manager wants to know who you are, and you should walk them through your professional resume precisely and note the key points to earn you marks. It is not recommended you explain your entire resume point by point but use the significant parts related to the job you are interviewing for. Your response can be organized into the essentials, as we show here. Your hiring manager wants to know about your qualifications, accomplishments, skill, work experience, and career goal.
Ensure your communication skills are perfect, and you will get them glued to your narration. Never let any of them wander. If the potential employer is not interested in the way you describe your skill section or professional experience, they will not want to hire you and your career trajectory will be thrown off. Be audible and ensure everyone in the room can hear you. Articulate words correctly and always check on their facial expressions to check if they follow through with your story. Better answers to this common interview question will get you better jobs than your current role, so if you practice with a mock interview you can do better when you get to the real job interview question. A poor answer about your technical skills or relevant experience will not work well on a potential employer, so preparing for this question can make a big difference in whether you secure the job or internship that you want.
Why Ask the Walk Me Through Your Resume Question?
The hiring manager wants to know your story and role in your previous jobs. The paper you have written as your resume is a simple summary of what you have been doing and may not exhaust all your skills and the professional story you have had so far. The resume is full of your accomplishments, but some parts will add up your value that is not included in it. How you talk about these parts reveals a lot about yourself and will land you the job.
A short interview answer may not be able to sum up the life work story of an individual. Therefore, your response must feature the main parts of your life that are relevant, and you are competent enough. It would help if you talked without reference since it is your life and nobody knows it better than you. The impressive attributes you have should guide you into getting the most appropriate chronological answer to this interview question.
The Process of Answering ‘Walk Me Through Your Resume’
The response to this common question depends on your experiences. However, some tips hold for everyone. These tips elevate your response and will keep the interviewer interested in knowing more about you. The goal is to make them curious and satisfied with your skills and previous experiences.
Start with Your Educational Background
Life is usually equated to a journey and not a destination. Here, it would help if you walked the interviewer through your resume by explaining your educational background. You need to focus on the relevant courses and certificates you have earned related to the job at hand. It would be best if you saw how much you had gained skills through education and training.
You need to highlight parts where it makes you the perfect candidate for the job. You may need to avoid talking about your early childhood education. These are irrelevant and will waste your precious time that you need to talk about your considerable skills. The part should be short, clear, and precise. Don’t mention every class you have ever attended if they don’t relate to your work skills.
Describe Your Previous Jobs
Your work history is the most significant part of your response to this interview question. You can major in it and have your value increase if you have worked for several years before the interview. It makes the bulk of your response, and you should use it well to make the interviews feel your position as a skilled worker.
Start by explaining in brief how you entered into your career. The journey into your career should bring you up to the point where you have applied for a new job. Talk about your progress from your career entry up to where you are at this point. Your accomplishments should come out clearly at this part. You can also talk about promotions and how you have helped in your previous job.
Your job history should have the following key points:
• Please show what you have done and an example that makes it feel like you have passion for your job.
• Never forget to mention all your accomplishments that have led to success in your career.
• Research the company before the interview to have the right words to make your experiences relevant to their positions.
Equally important, don’t talk about every job you have ever done if it doesn’t relate to your interviewing task. You also need to be vigilant and never mention anything negative about your previous job.
Emphasize Your Career Goals
The panel wants to know what interests you in the job you are interviewing for. It would be best to connect it with your long-term career goals and make it feel like it is your dream job and you have the passion for doing it perfectly. Your goals should be directed to benefit the company and not necessarily yourself.
Also, direct your skills into how you will enhance the company’s production through your experiences. Your skills should be worth investing in since they are aligned with what the company wants. You can convince them that you are strong and ready to work with no supervision. Your tenure is long-term, and you will benefit the company through hard work, determination, and diligence to succeed.
Mistakes You Can Avoid When Answering the ‘Walk Me through Your Resume’ Question
• Don’t prolong your response: your response should be short and precise. Keep it brief to avoid wasting time on irrelevant information that will not add you any value. Focus on answering the question in a minute or two, then move to the next bit. Interviews can also be short or long depending on the job, and you can prolong your interview when the panel allows you to.
• Keep off irrelevant experiences: extraneous issues only prolong the interview with no value-addition. Keep off such experience and only talk about what relates to the job at hand.
• Never be negative: your previous job is a stepping stone to where you are now. Always be positive and don’t mention anything negative regarding your former employers, work colleagues, or anything. It will only show that you don’t appreciate the chance you have had before.
• Never go to an interview unprepared: it would be best to answer all your questions without referencing anywhere. It shows preparedness and that you are knowledgeable about what you do. Do a thorough interview prep and go to the room ready.
Conclusion
You now have the right idea of responding to the question; walk me through your resume. Follow it keenly, and you will amaze any interviewer. From our team, we wish you luck and hope you get the job you have always wanted by following these key points. Follow these tips and realize all your career endeavors.
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