Stop fumbling your job interviews

Launch #56

Author

James Cooper
March 16, 2024

On Today’s Launch

How not to fumble your job interview.

Have you ever frozen up during an interview?

It happens more than you think.

This week, I was speaking to a client in the tech field - they were a senior technical analyst working in healthcare.

Now I always notify clients to prepare for the interview beforehand (which in some ways is similar to a real job interview), but sometimes, they still come unprepared. I get it - life happens.

But this was what happened with the Senior Tech Analyst. I had asked them to tell me about a project they recently worked on, and it felt like pulling teeth. Rather than a coherent story that flowed naturally, I got bits of disjointed information that I the had to piece together after the call.

Now don’t get me wrong, that’s my job. But it’s not a recruiter’s job.

If that person had been in a real job interview, what kind of impression do you think they’d have left on the recruiter?

Speaking as a former recruiter (recruited for AECOM for 4 years), I can you it wouldn’t have been a good one.

Remember that right now, you’ve got a lot going against you as a job seeker, including an oversaturated job market and an incredible number of competitors vying for the same jobs (many of which are probably more qualified than you).

Many of these factors are completely out of your hands (you can’t control how strong or how many other candidates there are).

What you can control is how well you prepare yourself for success.

Always have 3-5 projects memorized like the back of your hand. For each of the 3-5 projects, address the following questions:

  • Why the project was initiated? What was the business objective? What was the strategic driver?

  • How you got involved? Was it your idea? Did you take it over after it was failing? New project?

  • Other individuals involved? Core team? Clients? Project owners?

  • Project success criteria?

  • Major complexities? Why was it hard? Was it due to limited resources? New technologies?

  • Project planning

  • Project execution and success assurance (what did you do to ensure its success?)

  • Issues that arose, including those related to people, technology, partners, environment, or unknowns.

  • The results from a short-term, long-term, and strategic perspective. How did the project meet success criteria?

  • Lessons learned. How did this move the company forward?

  • Personal growth since the project's completion. What did you learn from this project?

It’s important to write these down somewhere, either on paper, or in a document. This will reinforce the details of the project in your memory and ensure you can recall those details sufficiently.

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Reader Q&A

Does a "we regret to inform you" message mean that the resume did not even pass the ATS? So I've been applying non-stop for Data Scientist positions in San Francisco for the past 6 months now to no avail, barring the odd callback. Most of the time, I get the standard "Hey, your resume is impressive, but we regret to inform you" message. Does this message mean that the resume was rejected by the ATS? Is there even a way to figure out if your resume was rejected by the ATS?

Highly unlikely. ATS is just a tool - it can’t auto reject anybody.

What it does do is group candidates based on how they answer certain questions (i.e., whether you answer Yes or No to "Do you have at least 5 years of experience in data science?").

If you're getting rejection emails to jobs you're qualified for, that could mean your resume is not presenting you as good applicant.

I’d love to hear from you - let me know if you have topics or questions you’d like me to cover.

About the Author

I’m James, Cofounder of Final Draft Resumes. I’ve been in the career consulting space for 13 years, and before that, I was a recruiter for AECOM.

I’ve helped thousands of job seekers, from industries like software engineering, IT, sales, marketing, manufacturing, and more generate job opportunities through well-written resumes that translate unique backgrounds into coherent narratives.

If you’re struggling with your resume for whatever reason, reach out - I just might be able to help!

If you’re more of a DIY person, then check out Resumatic, my free-to-try resume builder.