Your competitive advantage over other candidates. Compiling a resume: what qualities of an employee will interest the employer? Positive Qualities for a Resume

Having suffered a fiasco when participating in a competition for a promising vacancy, everyone turns on introspection of what was done wrong. A resume is the main tool for finding a job, both on the part of the employer and the applicant. Often, having selected a couple of worthy candidates, the interviewer stops at a resume in which advantages prevail. So what is the right way to present yourself?

To do this, you should get rid of the internal modest editor, highlight the following for yourself:

• What are the best professional knowledge and skills I have?
• What makes me different from other professionals?
• Why is this job and company just for me?
• emphasis on identical experience, fulfillment of duties (if any);
• examples of own developments, innovative ideas, rationalization proposals;
• tendencies of manifestation of initiative, speed of execution of instructions;
• the ability to work ahead of the curve;
• especially important or responsible tasks that were performed during a career;
• encouraging thanks;
• additional education (courses, seminars, trainings, master classes, etc.).

You can indicate this information in the column "additional information" or highlight "my advantages". The most important thing here is not to overdo it. The resume should be realistic and up to date.

Examples of answers to the question about the advantages of candidates in hiring

As a rule, after selection by resume, the applicant is invited to a face-to-face interview, where they are first asked to fill out an employer's questionnaire. With the help of the questionnaire, information about a potential employee is revealed, confirmed, because the candidate could not write a resume correctly and beautifully on his own. The applicant has to write in it, and then orally during the interview, to reveal their strengths and weaknesses.

Here are some examples of answers to questions about benefits:

“I have experience in negotiations, and at various levels. I easily manage to conclude important contracts, rationally organize my working day, and have managerial skills. In the past period, I managed to increase sales in the category of goods entrusted to me by 20%. I have letters of commendation, gratitude from the management for the prompt implementation new system sales. I have been familiar with the work of your company for a long time, I have always been pleasantly surprised by the smooth running of business processes and high performance.”

The above example mentions numbers (increased sales by 20%) - which is very good. Also, the candidate shows his loyalty to the company (the last phrase).

“I have an analytical mindset, I am literate, I know a variety of styles, genres, even humor. My unique content, both textual and graphic, is ready to be shown. Recently took 2nd place in a lead generation competition.”

The willingness of the candidate to provide real evidence to support his words is a good sign for a potential employer.

"My forte is the ability to find extraordinary solutions, to be optimistic about problems that do not embarrass at all, but even motivate to action.”

The latter option is suitable for applicants without significant work experience or achievements, in particular for students.

What not to write

To the tricky question “Describe your weak sides"You should not indicate their absence, because they are inherent in everyone. But you don't have to speak like a confession. Some use a neutral answer: “Yes, I also have them, but they don’t interfere with my work at all, or I’m working on fixing them” . You can "turn pluses into minuses", for example: “My meticulousness, scrupulousness, only helps in my work as an accountant” .

The current situation in the labor market has led to the fact that the number of resumes significantly prevails over the number of vacancies. As a result, when filling a vacancy, a competition begins, and the applicant must make his profile look like business card.

Below are examples of what personal qualities can be indicated when so that the questionnaire does not go unnoticed by the employer. Such a technique will attract the attention of a potential employer and will allow you to get to a personal meeting.

What qualities should definitely be indicated in a resume?

Hundreds of applicants applying for one vacant position in the company offer personnel officers to evaluate their candidacy. Therefore, you need to stand out from the background of other applicants, indicating not only the relevance of the experience gained on previous work, but also on personal characteristics inherent only to this candidate.

It is the combination of “business qualities plus personal characteristics” that is evaluated by personnel officers and influences the decision to enroll a person in the state. The personal properties of the applicant play the same role as his professionalism!

Brevity and completeness of information

The first is the application form. The summary should be short, concise, capacious. It is worth specifying only those personal and professional quality, which correspond to the proposed position. Listing all previously held positions is only appropriate if each previous job is related to the position for which the applicant is applying.

Moreover, less and less employers hire a person with a long track record, experience can be gained. Much more valuable steel properties:

• competence;
• compliance of the candidate's knowledge with the requirements of the employer;
• accommodating;
• personal interest in the work (implies the profile of the organization in general and the current project in particular).

It is for these personal qualities in the resume pay attention to personnel officers. To an experienced employer, a young man who recently graduated from college may seem like a more interesting candidate than a specialist with N years of experience who has not changed jobs all these years (and, perhaps, because of this, is incompetent in some new areas).

Emphasis on personality

The second important point is personal positive qualities, more precisely, their correspondence to the position for which the person claims. Take, for example, such a popular property as organizational skills.

This quality, of course, refers to the positive. But is it worth adding it to the resume if a person gets a job as a seller or cashier?

In a resume for such a position, emphasis should be placed on the applicant's inherent:

• perseverance;
• contact;
• stress tolerance;
• punctuality.

These personal characteristics, no doubt, will be appreciated by employers who are interested in hiring a competent employee who can quickly join the team and do an excellent job.

May not have communication skills System Administrator- but not a middle manager, for whom this personal characteristic develops into part of professional skills.

A universal set of personal characteristics of the candidate that the employer will like

In the event that the applicant is applying for a position for which the candidate has not yet gained experience, it is worth emphasizing their own prospects.

Those. list in the resume in the first place, not valuable professional skills (which are not yet available), but positive personal qualities that indicate the potential of the applicant.

A completely universal set of personality characteristics for perfect resume does not exist - you can only give an average set of properties that in most cases are considered positive when applying for a job. Which of the personality traits to choose depends on the specific vacant position.

Personal characteristics - an approximate list:

1. The ability to be objective. It depends on the employee’s ability to reasonably assess the situation and those around him whether the subjective perception of what is happening will cause conflicts.
2. The ability to remain attentive. It is impossible, as they say, to take such a person by surprise - he is always collected, he is not surprised at anything, it is difficult to bring him to confusion.
3. It is worth mentioning observation. Sometimes climbing up career ladder depends on that personality trait.
4. The candidate must have the following mental qualities - they will be appreciated by the vast majority of employers:
   • the presence of analytical skills;
   • the presence of consistency, flexibility of thinking;
   • ability to find optimal solution in any situation, including non-standard ones.
5. Communication skills - as mentioned above, it is advisable to indicate them depending on the vacancy for which the applicant is applying. For a number of positions, the success of the project depends on the employee's ability to conduct business negotiations. In any case, it will not be superfluous to focus on features such as:
   • non-conflict;
   • the ability to build a constructive dialogue with any opponent;
   • , i.e. the ability to lead a team;
   • the desire to defend a personal opinion, a personal point of view.
6. and tranquility. The already mentioned competence attracts precisely the ability of a potential employee to independent work. Such a person does not require constant monitoring by superiors - the employee clearly understands the circle of his official duties and ready to take on the challenge.

Attention! The indicated positive properties must correspond to reality - during the interview, the candidate will have to prove that he fully possesses all the personal qualities that the applicant wished to indicate in the questionnaire.

In addition, it is worth showing a sincere interest in getting a position - preparing counter questions for an interview, preparing answers to possible questions from the employer in advance, inquiring about the history of the company, etc.

A person without higher education, which for a short time went from an ordinary sales assistant to the head of the lending department in a bank. Once upon a time, it was a well-written resume that helped me build a dizzying career. For 9 years now I have not been employed, but I often have to deal with a resume, since now I myself act as an employer (IP).

There are many services that will help you write a resume. But not always such a resume will help you find a good, well-paid job. The trouble is that people write resumes with carbon paper. On the one hand there is certain rules writing a resume, but on the other hand, it is important to have an individual handwriting.

A resume should be written in such a way that you are noticed among the general stream of competitors. In this article, you will learn about the standard rules for writing a resume, and I will also share with you my killer features that will help you stand out from your competitors and show typical mistakes, which people allow when compiling a resume and subsequent contacts with a potential employer.

Summary(translated from French as “summary”) is a document that contains brief information (previous work experience, education, skills, Contact Information etc.) about the job seeker. This information helps the employer to choose the right candidate among the many applicants for the vacancy.

Why do you think a resume is the main tool when looking for a job? What do you usually write about in your resume?

Beginners at my seminars usually say that a resume is an attempt to declare oneself, about one's advantages. Then I ask them to list their benefits on what 90% people are brought following characteristics:

• responsibility;
• sociability;
• diligence;
• creativity;
• perseverance, etc.

I'm sure you also write something similar in your resume.

Almost everyone lists the same benefits when compiling. ATTENTION! These are all standard, formulaic phrases that you need to get rid of if you want to stand out from your competitors.

But what and how to write about your advantages? Below I will show you some secret tricks, but first let me tell you one. a little story:

He asked me to write such an ad that people would immediately want to buy everything when they see it.

I then listened to him with irony. And already in my office I imagined for a moment that if I could write such ads, I would probably live somewhere in the Maldives now and enjoy life, having a huge amount of money in the bank.

But over the years, I have rethought what I said. Maybe because of my youth, I literally took it then. But then in life this phrase helped me a lot and continues to help so far.

Now, when I write someone a commercial offer, or write an ad, or even when I fill out my resume, I try to make it in such a way that, after looking at it, the employer immediately wants to hire me.

Still, I do not lose hope of learning how to write such ads.

The most important thing is to use this phrase to try to set yourself up in the right way. I noticed that when I sit down to fill out my resume and tell myself this installation, then the head starts to work differently. I get completely different phrases and sentences, the very essence of the resume changes somewhat and the output is a completely different version than without this setting.

Conclusion: when you write your resume, you should not write about your advantages in standard, formulaic phrases, but give such arguments, having studied which your potential employer will immediately want to hire you.

Believe me, it works and this is what a person who has passed a tough selection among dozens of candidates for such positions as the head of the lending department at a bank and the head of the sales department at wholesale company.

Now try to answer, what, in your opinion, is the main task of the resume?

Here is what the participants of one of my trainings answered this question:

A resume is a commercial offer, the purpose of which is to sell you, or rather your knowledge, skills, experience.

Inventory of own advantages

In order to create such a resume, seeing which the employer would immediately want to hire you, you need to identify your key advantages. This can be done by answering the following questions:

• Why am I better than others?
• Why should I get this job?
• What do I do better than others?
• How am I different from my colleagues?
• What have I done significant in my career?
• What are my life achievements?

If you answer these questions, then you will have something to fill in the most viewable area of ​​the resume which you can learn about in the short video below:

Video: Most Viewed Resume Zones

Answering the questions above will help you make your resume more personal rather than generic and generic like most job seekers. Always try to stand out from other candidates and focus on writing such a selling resume, the key of which will be your advantages and achievements. With this, you can very gracefully switch the recruiter's attention from your shortcomings to your strengths.

How to write the most important part of a resume

Below you will see a sample of my resume. This option worked great at the time when I was looking for a job. I do not claim that this sample is the limit of perfection, that this is the ideal solution, but I can say that this summary worked great and still works today.

Even now, when I am not employed, but developing my business, years later, I receive calls from employers who have my resume and who invite me for interviews.

Important note: in the most important part of the resume, I do not write about what I have achieved in previous jobs. Here I write about what significant happened in my life outside of work, but at the same time it concerns my professional skills:

Standard rules for writing a resume

So, how to make a resume according to standard rules, but using “selling” elements.

Step #1: Specify a name

Step #2: Position

Let us know what position we are applying for.

Step #3: Contact Details

We enter contact information. Indicate the phone number, and preferably two numbers, in case the first one is unavailable. As a second phone number, you can specify the number of your wife, husband, or any other close relative, friend. Enter your email, these contact details are enough.

Step #4: The Tastiest Part of Your Resume

The tastiest part of a resume that most employers see is the area immediately after your contact details. This is usually the first half of the first page. And I have the main life achievements there.

No matter what people put in there. Most often, they write about the education they received, which personally plays the last role for me, moreover, both for an applicant who never had a higher education, but who managed to become a boss in a bank, and for an employer who, when applying for a job, always looks not at the presence of certain crusts, but at real deeds and facts.

So, if you look at my example, then immediately after the contacts I have my main life achievements. This is the most delicious part of the resume.

If you can interest the employer in this particular part, then the chances that he will look at your resume to the end will be much higher. And our goal is to encourage him to look through your resume to the end by all available methods, to interest him so that he invites you for an interview.

Step #5: Previous Jobs

We indicate the previous places of work, and necessarily in reverse chronological order. That is, first of all, indicate your last place of work, then the penultimate one, and so on.

In this section, you must specify:

• place of work;
• from what date and until what date you worked there (you can specify the month and year);
• the title of your position;
• What were your responsibilities?
• What have you achieved and what have you done in this job?

Step #6: Education

After you have indicated your work experience, start adding information about your education. On job sites, the item about your education is sometimes earlier than previous work experience. When you write a resume in Word and plan to send it out yourself, then education should be put higher if you graduated from some prestigious educational institution, or if your position is not considered without the appropriate education.

Since I did not have a higher education at the time of employment, which was a disadvantage, I had to lower it lower in order to focus employers' attention on more important points. However, if I was writing a resume now, I would still omit education below. In my opinion, work experience is much more important than the received “crust” about education.

Step #7: Additional Education

Immediately after that, indicate the courses you studied and the trainings you completed. List everything that can be named additional education.

Step #8: Additional Skills

Please indicate which languages ​​you speak. If only one, then you do not need to write about it. Or, if you speak Russian and Tatar, then there is no need to indicate this either, unless you are employed in a company where everyone speaks Tatar.

Write about how experienced a computer user you are. Also write what professional programs you own of those that may be useful to you when doing your job.

if you have letters of recommendation from previous managers or there is an agreement that you can provide their contact details to provide your characteristics interested employer then be sure to include it. And for the future, always try to have with your superiors good relationship so that they then "put in a good word for you."

Step #10: Personality

Fill in the section with personal qualities and additional information. Here I am writing about the fact that I have my own car, category B rights and I am ready to use it in my work. This is especially true if your work involves movement.

pointing out Additional information about myself, about what I do in my free time and what my interests are. I don't smoke or drink, I consider it my advantages, so I definitely include it in my resume. The employer will know that you will not go on smoke breaks, which means you will work more. He will understand that you will not come to work “with a hangover”, which means that you will always be full of energy, in a sober mind and a solid memory.

I always write that I study professional literature. And I’m not writing this for a red word, I actually subscribe to specialized literature and spend a lot of time on business books, because I don’t want to sit still, but I want to grow professionally, constantly upgrade my knowledge and skills.

Be sure to write about what sports I do. Pay attention to the line: "I am fond of team sports ...". The key word here is command. By this I emphasize that I can and love to work in a team. Thus, he killed two birds with one stone: And he told me about sports, once again emphasizing that I am a healthy, energetic person, and I used the emphasis on the team, giving importance to my person.

My resume ends with duplication of contact details and a call to action. This is how we make it easier for the recruiter, he will not need to scroll your resume to the beginning to find a phone number there. He is already in front of him and in big letters we ask him to call right now!

This is another small detail that none of my competitors have and that decides. It sets me apart from the competition and increases the chances of an employer calling.

How to get a recruiter to review your resume

If you think that all recruiters carefully read all the resume options that come to them, then you are very much mistaken.

Let's imagine one working day in the life of a real recruiter.

When a recruiter is given the task of finding a person for any vacancy, he has a specific list of tasks that is limited in time. It is very important. Surely, you are familiar with what is lack of time, emergency work, and the like.

If the recruiter takes too long to look for candidates, then he will have problems. He can simply be punished for inaction. How does this apply as employees? recruitment agencies, and employees of the HR department, which are in any large enterprise. Therefore, the recruiter's task list looks something like this:

1. Compose a vacancy announcement, which includes information about the vacancy, information about the company, requirements for the applicant, working conditions, etc.
2. Then you need to place an ad
3. After that, according to the coordinates indicated in the announcement, streams of resumes will begin to pour in.
4. All these resumes need to be processed and weeded out by unnecessary candidates.
5. Suitable candidates will need to be called and interviewed.
6. After that, from among the respondents, some of the people will be filtered out again, and the other part will need to be called again and invited for an interview.
7. Then, with all the candidates, conduct an interview, once again weed out the unnecessary ones.
8. And send the rest for an interview with the immediate head of the department where the required employee is required.

I remember well the case when I posted three vacancies on one of the job search sites. I posted job ads around 17:00. And the very next morning in my mailbox there were about 70(!) summary. Just imagine how much work you need to do to study all the letters sent. By the evening of the same day, the number of resumes reached 200 pieces.

Therefore, your chances of going unnoticed are quite high. Your task is to increase the percentage of response from employers with the help of a well-written resume. By the way, I recommend that you watch the video master class Resume through the eyes of a recruiter. Have you ever experienced this when looking for a job, when there are vacancies, but there are practically no responses to your resume? Have you ever tried looking at your resume through the eyes of a recruiter?

Today you will have such an opportunity. I posted a few job ads on one of the job search sites. It was last night. And the next morning, I received about 70 incoming messages from candidates in the mail.

I did a little analysis and found 12 key mistakes, which reduce the effectiveness of your resume and significantly reduce the chances of your candidacy being considered.

Right now, you have the opportunity to study these mistakes and learn a useful lesson that will help you avoid as many as 12 mistakes when submitting a resume for a coveted position.

Video: Resume through the eyes of a recruiter - part # 1

Video: Resume through the eyes of a recruiter - part # 2

Ready-made samples and examples of resumes in Word format

Below you can download a sample resume of your obedient servant, as well as several versions of the resume of our readers, who compiled it according to my recommendations.

By the way, if you want to feedback according to your resume, then compose it according to the rules of this article and send it to Email info doggy site. I will give you feedback.

Cases and analyzes of readers' resumes

Readers regularly contact me with various questions about writing a resume. I try to help everyone, so get in touch. Below I analyze the most interesting cases:

Case #1: What to write in a resume if you have not officially worked for a long time

Hello Roman, I liked your article about a selling resume, the other day I want to buy training from you about “I want to find Good work“I need your help, please help. I am compiling a resume and I don’t know what to write in the resume in the “work experience” section, since I haven’t officially worked for the last 7 years, that is, before that I have experience, because during these 7 years I tried to work mainly on the Internet, where he mostly lost money and was engaged in network marketing, but in the end nothing happened. Please help me, how can I write this gap as cunningly and concisely as possible. I plan to get a job at an engineer, either a manager or a vehicle engineer, I will look at the options. Sincerely, Rustem Thank you in advance.

Dear Rustem! I would not refer to this 7 year period of your life as a "gap". I am sure that you have gained invaluable experience over these 7 years, which can and should be turned to your advantage.

Indicate that you have been doing business on the Internet for the last seven years. Next, select key competencies that you developed during this period. If you were engaged in network marketing, then this contributed to the development of sales and communication skills. I myself was once involved in network marketing, I know firsthand that you have to leave your comfort zone, call different people, convince them, highlight and give some strong arguments in favor of this activity, work with objections, try to fulfill the sales plan, in in general, think of your occupation as a real business and take steps to develop it.

Don't be afraid to speak directly to your employer about this. What are most workers doing now? They want to do nothing and get paid for it, evade work. You can also write in your resume that the experience of entrepreneurship has helped you take a different look at the relationship between the employer and the employee, made you more responsible.

Alternatively, you can include in your resume or cover letter some suggestions taken from your most recent activities that could improve the profitability or performance of the business you are applying for.

Let's say I myself have learned a lot of things on the Internet over the past 9 years:

All this knowledge can be successfully applied in any business, because now there is nowhere without the Internet.

You have indicated specific positions for which you will apply. Here you need to proceed from the knowledge that you have received over this seven-year period and how it can be applied in your industries. Maybe you, as a vehicle engineer, can offer some kind of online system for accounting for traffic or for accounting for spare parts.

Perhaps your experience in network marketing will help improve the control room of the fleet in which you plan to work. Or you can build new scheme sales of motor transport services. This, of course, does not apply to the position of engineer. But maybe it's time for you to reconsider your career direction? Maybe it's time to change careers?

Try to answer these questions and write out your suggestions, and then put it all together in your resume ( commercial offer).

Roman, what can be the answer to the question of the employer when he asks: “Why exactly do you want to work for the company if you are engaged in entrepreneurship? After all, there is more money and opportunities. All the same, 7 years of great experience.” What exactly is the answer to such a tricky question?

Speak like it is. In your case, the truth is the best weapon. Tell me, you overestimated your strength, “bought” the promise of easy money, for millions, but this is not there. More precisely, maybe there is, but I did not succeed. It took years to understand this.

Entrepreneurship is a slippery slope that is like a roller coaster. Today you can earn a lot, and tomorrow you can go into hard minus. Not everyone can be successful in business. When I started, I thought it would be different. I do not regret my attempt, but now I realized that I want stability.

Conclusion

So, let's summarize and consolidate the knowledge gained:

• Play by the rules of recruiters;
• Spend a lot of time writing your resume and approach the writing process responsibly and seriously;
• Get yourself a decent email account (no need to use an email like [email protected] etc.);
• Compose cover letters;
• Do not use template phrases, try to tell about yourself and your advantages in simple and accessible words;
• Highlight key resume blocks so that the employer will definitely pay attention to them;
• Write a 1-2 page resume. Don't make letters too long;
• After sending your resume, be sure to call the employer and find out if your letter has reached;
• Be sure to call the employer and find out the result of consideration of your candidacy.

I'm sure these simple tips will help you write a competent and interesting resume that will help you stand out from the competition and increase your chances of successful employment.

P.S. By the way, if you want to get feedback on your resume, compose it according to my instructions and send it to Email:. I will point out your mistakes and give advice on what can be improved.

Dessert video: Human possibilities are endless

In today's dynamic world, the only criterion for the effectiveness and relevance of specialists is their competitiveness. Today, the choice of employers is determined by the level of advantages of a particular candidate, which can be useful for the company to increase its own efficiency and competitiveness.

The competitive advantages of an employee are inextricably linked with competition in the market segment that the organization occupies. The tougher it is, the more significant the competitive advantages of candidates for a vacancy are for commercial success. Therefore, most organizations seek to recruit a staff of highly qualified specialists.

An applicant who does not fully understand what his competitive advantages are, or cannot properly present them to the employer, often experiences certain difficulties in finding a job. If he himself does not know what his main advantages are, then how can he explain to the employer that it is his candidacy that is best suited for an open vacancy?

Most HR specialists, of course, are professional psychologists, but they cannot read thoughts from a distance! the main objective Job Seeker - Actualize your value to a particular company with an effective resume. Practice shows that the more attentive you are to the definition of your competitive advantages and correctly reflect them in your resume, the higher your chances of getting an invitation to an interview.

Under the competitive advantages of the applicant is understood the unique professional value, which is created in the process of acquiring work experience. On the other hand, individual and personal qualities of the applicant can also be attributed to competitive advantages. It should be noted that the competitive advantages of the applicant are relative nature, since this or that characteristic can be assessed as an advantage only when applied to a specific vacancy.

The presented set of requirements and priorities are almost always individual for each company. AT real life there are no applicants with a universal set of professional characteristics that are equally suitable for any company. The list of requirements for applicants is very diverse. Quite often there are situations when different employers presented very different requirements for candidates for the same position. But while each employer has their own definition of benefits, the following is a generalized list of factors that you should pay attention to, as they often act as advantages in employment.

Competitive advantages of the applicant

1. Consistency of the values ​​of the applicant with the generally accepted norms and values ​​of the company. Manifestations of signs of belonging to any of the subcultures or marginality is not acceptable! (This mainly applies to graduates and young professionals.)
2. The ability to admit your mistakes and learn from them useful experience. Based on this characteristic, an HR specialist can predict how interested you are in professional development. But the most important thing is how adequate you are in terms of behavior (conflict, responsibility and other qualities).
3. Resilience to stressful situations.
4. Adequate self-assessment of their professional qualities.
5. Good communication skills and ability to quickly adapt to a team.
6. Experience.
7. profile education.
8. Competitive resume.
9. Having a cover letter. It is very positively evaluated by employers, as it demonstrates the degree of professional and business maturity of the candidate, as well as interest in the vacancy.
10. The presence of positive recommendations.
11. Interest in professional development.
12. Additional education.
13. Age.
14. Floor.
15. Location.

This list reflects the overall picture of the labor market and is not exhaustive. You can supplement it by studying the vacancy you like and the company itself. Most employers want to find out how the applicant is really ready to perform the proposed job, to adopt a management style, corporate standards of behavior, and adapt to a new team. Each specific position and vacancy has its own set of benefits, and different companies have different attitudes towards certain competencies of applicants. It is for this reason that you should write a resume for a specific vacancy.

Practice shows that the applicant does not have to have all the benefits at once. Some of them, which are closer to the end of the list, are less significant. Your resume will definitely be noticed if you have some “critical mass” of significant advantages. In addition, your advantage over other applicants is determined both by objective factors (experience, education, values, personal qualities, and others), and by how they will be presented to the employer.

All your features and benefits should be reflected in sections of your resume. Don't try to impress the recruiter with a lot of your positive aspects. You should selectively and specifically organize the information in your resume so that the recruiter does not get the impression of the candidate as a person who knows a lot of things, but does not know how to do much. Mentioning some of the benefits may have to be dropped altogether in order to shift the focus to the most significant for a particular position.

A good resume presentation brings something really personal to your professional image. Only in this case, he becomes your indispensable assistant and is able to promote you. This resume is eye catching. A candidate who meets most of the company's criteria is unique, they will definitely continue to get acquainted with him at the interview.

Information for applicants

Today, it is in the uniqueness that success lies in finding a promising job. And when the time comes to choose, the choice will fall on your candidacy. In addition, the personal component allows you to demonstrate that you are really a professional, and not a newly minted "careerist" who has been reading "template" advice on the Internet for writing a resume (HR specialists are very ambiguous about such applicants). Ignoring this fact often leads to a dead end in finding a good job.

An article for those who are preparing for an interview. It analyzes the 15 most frequently asked interview questions, shows what the interviewer expects to hear when he asks you a particular question, and also gives recommendations on how to competently and clearly build your answers.

1. What attracts you to this position/vacancy/company?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate can orientate what he plans to get from this work, how it will help to achieve his goals

How to answer the question:

• It is best to briefly describe your professional goals, describe the roadmap to achieve them
• These goals should be consistent with the goals and values ​​of the company. The plan for achieving goals should also look feasible, correspond to the position, capabilities and objectives of the company.

2. Tell us how you prepared for this interview?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate got acquainted with the tasks, products of the company, found out for himself important points that the company can offer to the employee.
• The candidate got acquainted with the tasks and description of the role that are presented in the vacancy and prepared questions.
• The candidate has worked in detail technical requirements from the job description, compared them with my experience, repeated what was required.

How to answer the question:

• Tell us what and where you learned about the company, how and from whom you found out information about the vacancy.
• Briefly describe your preparation plan, preferably indicating the literature, resources, sources that were used in this

3. What are your greatest strengths/qualities?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate will voice several of their strong personal qualities with specific examples that can illustrate their manifestation in the work.
• The candidate will give some examples of their main professional skills and also accompany them with short examples.

How to answer the question:

• To illustrate each quality/skill, you need a mini-story (literally a few sentences) that will show its application in work and/or in solving personal issues (if it can be useful for work as well).
• It is best to give 2, maximum 3 examples, so as not to delay the answer and the voiced things are not lost and additional questions could follow them.
• When choosing examples of your strengths, you need to compare them with what will be in demand in the position in question. It is advisable to give examples of qualities a little more original than the standard "stress resistance and sociability."

4. What are your biggest weaknesses and shortcomings?

What they expect to hear:

• First, what exactly do not expect:
  • Candidate's self-deprecating "confession"
  • Banal examples of “disadvantages that are actually virtues” (perfectionism, workaholism, etc.)
• The candidate knows which of the personal qualities hinders him or simply needs improvement, understands how it can be eliminated or shielded and takes appropriate measures.

How to answer the question:

• It is impossible not to have shortcomings, the main thing is to be able to identify, analyze and work on them and overcome them. Actually, the main thing when answering is to reveal exactly this idea.
• Next, you need to choose some 1 real example shortcomings and how to overcome them.
• It will also be a plus a short story about those problems that have been solved earlier.

5. How do you see the ideal candidate for this position?

What they expect to hear:

• How a candidate sees a list of skills, qualities and work experience required for a vacancy
• A few examples of tasks that the "ideal" candidate should help solve

How to answer the question:

• When answering, you need to proceed from the problem that the employer plans to solve by hiring an employee for the position in question.
• Accordingly, when answering, you need to highlight the main similar problems / tasks (2-3 pieces), indicate the skills and qualities that are required to solve them (keeping in mind that your resume confirms such experience)

6. What are your advantages over other candidates\why should we hire you?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate will specify (preferably with specific examples) in what exactly his experience, knowledge and qualities necessary for the position in question are unique, which distinguishes him from other applicants.
• For example, if a candidate's “unique” skill is personal time management, then they are expected to briefly outline the basic principles and how their approach helped solve a particular work problem.

How to answer the question:

• In fact, this question expands on point 5 in more detail, but here the answer should already be personalized.
• You need to take for example 1-2 problems / tasks of this vacancy and show that you have experience and knowledge of how to solve such problems. At the same time, your experience is unique (you need to highlight it), which gives you, as an applicant, an advantage.
• An excellent option would be to voice some additional personal “trick” (which is useful in work), something that is not in the resume and that has not yet been discussed. This could be, for example, your personal approach to dealing with stress at work and sharing your experience with the interviewer.

7. Tell us about your main achievement, what can you be proud of?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate will talk about his successes in previous / current jobs and / or solving personal problems (if this correlates with the topic of the interview). will lead specific example when, thanks to him, his team / project / company has achieved visible positive results.
• 1 example from professional activity is expected: what was done, how it was implemented, what indicators were received (terms, revenue, costs, quality level, etc.).
• The candidate will tell why he is proud of this particular achievement.

How to answer the question:

• The answer must be prepared in advance based on what task / problem the employer wants to solve by hiring a specialist for this vacancy. Having defined this task, we choose the most successful experience closest to it from our previous practice.
• Examples should really be perceived by you as an achievement, not a solution to a regular problem. It should be something that goes beyond your usual functionality, or should be associated with the use of some new approaches and methods at work, which led to a better result.
• It is best to give 2 short, clear examples: one from professional activities, the second - solving personal problems.
• No need to take your daily tasks as examples (if there is no unique solution). For example, if you are a tester, then the answer would not be “development of test cases and description of defects”, this is already the main responsibility.

8. Tell us about your main failure, failure, mistake?

What they expect to hear:

• How the candidate analyzes and defines failures, what conclusions he draws and takes measures for the future
• What exactly the candidate characterizes as major failures and failures.
• Failures at what level are most critical and important for him: personal mistakes, problems at the team level, project level

How to answer the question:

• Take as an example such a situation, with the consequences of which it was possible to work, correct and prevent them in the future, which, of course, you successfully coped with.
• When answering this question, it is not necessary to analyze a specific work incident. This may well be some personal example from life situations (for example, mistakes in the financial sector).
• The main thing when answering this question is to describe the algorithm for working out the selected problem situation: analysis, solution, implementation, result

9. Why did you decide to change jobs?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate will tell what did not suit him in the current place and what he would like to avoid.
• What events / factors were sent for the candidate to be decisive for starting the search for a new job.
• What the candidate is waiting for a new job, what he wants to acquire as a professional.
• You must voice real and real reasons, but it is advisable to take them from the field of motivation and development. You show that you have reached the “ceiling” at your current position, and this vacancy provides opportunities for growth (technology, expertise, career). The main thing is to correctly identify these opportunities, they really should be in the new employer.
• The answer should be based on the principle: “I am looking for a new job in order to”, and not “I am leaving because of what”. You show what you want to acquire, master and upgrade at a new job, and do not load the interviewer with complaints that you have been doing uninteresting tasks at your previous job for 10 years.
• Naturally, if the transition was affected by a violation at the current place of some “hygienic” factors, then in this case they can be indicated. For example, your salary has been delayed.

10. What would you change at your current place of work (in processes, tools, technologies), if you had the opportunity?

What they expect to hear:

• Where and what problems the candidate sees, what non-optimal solutions in workflows he has identified.
• What ideas and suggestions does the candidate have for optimizing work?
• How the candidate determines the scope of his responsibility, where, as he sees, his ability to influence business processes, tools, technologies and operating rules that exist in the company ends.

How to answer the question:

• 1-2 examples are needed related to the inefficiency of processes / tools that are in the current place, but which are easily overcome or are not available at all in the position in question in the new company.
• You need not only to identify some problems, but also ways to overcome them and solve them. Fresh will be a plus original ideas to optimize any work area or business process.
• After answering this question, it will probably be clarified why you did not make these changes. Your question should immediately be built with this in mind. For example, you did not have the opportunity to change any processes in the company, because this issue was not decided at your level and not at the level of your leader. In this case, you need to describe what steps and attempts you have taken to still implement your proposals.

11. What will motivate you at work and what will demotivate you?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate will indicate a list of factors that are undesirable or unacceptable for him
• The candidate will indicate factors that, on the contrary, will be positive for him, briefly describe the work process and / or the team that he expects to see in a new job.
• The tasks that the candidate performs with pleasure, which are interesting to him, and which correspond to his development plan, will bring him closer to the goal will be announced.

How to answer the question:

• When answering this question, it is quite possible to voice universal human values ​​and standards of professional behavior at work. For example, at work, you are motivated when everyone keeps their promises (if it depends on the person), is determined to solve a problem, shares information openly, gives constructive feedback, etc. Accordingly, it demotivates if all of the above is not fulfilled. You can stop at 2-3 points.
• If there are any other fundamental points (for example, I can’t work in open space at all), then it’s also better to voice them right away. So at least there will be an opportunity to discuss them with the employer immediately at the entrance and know what to expect.
• In addition to general things, it is a good idea to emphasize that you are motivated and inspired by the tasks that will just need to be solved on new job(After all, since you are going there, it must really be so). Here you do not need to repeat all the requirements for the vacancy, it is better to take the 1 most significant aspect of the work for you and for this role.

12. How do you see your professional development in 1, 3, 5 years?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate will describe in general terms his plan for professional and career development, which he, in turn, is sufficiently aware of
• An approximate period will be indicated during which the candidate sees himself in the position in question, what he plans to get in it, how and when he plans to move on.
• The candidate will name what skills and knowledge he plans to build up at each stage.
• Also, the candidate will formulate fairly clear criteria for growth / transition from position to position, from role to role.

How to answer the question:

• This answer will echo the answer to question No. 1 “What attracts you to this position / vacancy / company”, because this interview is nothing but the next stage in your career plan. However, here the answer should be more detailed, with a description of technologies, work tasks, personal skills.
• You indicate several major stages in the future that you are currently moving towards (for example, this may be a certain position, some kind of niche expertise, etc.). All goals should naturally have achievement criteria and certain deadlines, otherwise it won't be the target.
• You also need to indicate the point from which you went towards these goals: when did you determine the goal and what knowledge, skills, and opportunities did you have then.
• Next, you tell where you are between the starting point and your goal and why you need this work how it will help in further progress on the plan.

13. How do you see the beginning of work in a new place, the process of entering the role?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate imagines what they need to connect to the workflow in the new location and can describe a short plan of the initial steps to enter the role.
• Make sure that the candidate knows who his main stakeholders (interested persons) and colleagues are, what contacts need to be built.
• The candidate correctly imagines the main work tasks in a new place, understands how to approach their implementation, who and what is needed for this.
• Find out how the candidate will find out the missing information, what will he do if something is not clear.

How to answer the question:

• It is necessary to briefly and structuredly state the action plan:
  • What will need to be studied to get started: regulations, documents, processes
  • Who do you need to meet and interact with?
  • How to approach the study of the subject area and product
• You need to show that you understand your immediate goals and objectives. Outline your vision of the main tasks (in case of inaccuracy, you will be corrected) and discuss with the interviewer the criteria for achieving them and how you will be evaluated.
• When discussing this topic, for your part, specify the main contact person who will be involved in the process of your integration into the workflow, who can be asked questions.

14. How quickly can you move to a new job after receiving an offer?

What they expect to hear:

• Does the candidate consider any other vacancies, does the interview go through. In connection with this, how much time will it take him to decide on the final version and make a decision.
• After what time the candidate will be able to start a new job, when will be his first working day: the exact number or the number of days / weeks.
• Does the candidate have any restrictions on the time of exit: a vacation is planned, additional obligations at the current place that are not covered by the standard 2 weeks, etc.
• Are there any risks that the candidate may be asked to stay in the current position and / or they will make a counterfeit, offer conditions to leave him in the company.

How to answer the question:

• The best answer would be to accurately indicate all the terms and criteria associated with the transition to a new location:
  • When you are able to make a decision on the job offer (either from the moment you receive it, or before a certain date). Can something affect this period (for example, you are waiting for a decision on an interview from some other company).
  • How long will it take you to work at your current location and when will you leave for new company. Can something affect this period (for example, the current employer).
  • Do you have any planned events in the next six months that require absence from work: vacation, graduation, etc.

15. What are your financial expectations?

What they expect to hear:

• The candidate either announces the amount for which he this moment calculates or announces his next salary target and a strategy for achieving it: what is planned to be undertaken, studied, mastered, when to achieve.
• In the case of any of the options, the candidate somehow explains\comments why the amount is such
• How the candidate sees opportunities to change his salary in the future, how a review can take place and what this will require to be done and demonstrated.