Saturday, April 11, 2009

PERSONAL INVENTORY PRIOR TO INTERVIEWING

One of the things that so many of us do poorly is to candidly focus on ourselves. A favorite interview request used by recruiters when interviewing candidates for positions within their respective firms is, "Tell me about yourself." Now the candidate has lying before them a tremendous opportunity in which to fully and effectively sell themselves; a span of time that should adequately allow a person to highlight their interests, talents, background, activities, achievements, credentials, values, strengths, and goals -- in essence, a chance to secure a job or, at least, to receive a follow-up interview opportunity. What many times follows this request, however, is a lengthy terror-stricken glare that gradually fades into a vacant stare. Sometimes a paling of the complexion, hints of perspiration on the forehead, or nervous laughter will accompany this empty response.

Why is this?

After all, who could possibly know us any better than us? If the typical age of a traditional campus recruit is 20+ years, surely most everyone should be able to find 20+ minutes (the average time spent in a campus interview actually focused on the candidate) of interesting commentary about themselves to pass on to a person who may be presenting them with a significant career opportunity. Unfortunately for a number of recruits, this period of time seems interminable, and the professional probing of a competent recruiter is required to deftly extract the necessary information from the candidate.

Another example of people wrestling with the idea of promoting themselves comes in the form of the employment resume or personal vita. Here, again, an individual has an excellent opportunity to market themselves, but for some reason tends to soft-pedal their assets. (Granted, one of the reasons for the inability to effectively market oneself on a resume is the lack of space created by the popular fallacy that employers require one-page resumes. I say, if it takes two pages, or more, to promote yourself, use them.) Aside from the aforementioned reasoning as to why many resumes lack scope and intensity, and recognizing that tension and stress related to the interview process may inhibit more proactive responses from a number of people, I am convinced that a more profound rationale exists for why individuals are unable to self-promote. I think, more often than not, the reason individuals are not able to more openly discuss their interests, backgrounds, values, strengths, and achievements, is that they have never taken the time to adequately focus on themselves. This is why people end up majoring in subjects for which they have little or no interest, and why they pursue career areas that bring them little satisfaction, or why they associate with individuals or projects that bring conflict into their lives.

For these reasons, and other more important related reasons, it is essential that we center down on ourselves.

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CENTERING DOWN ON YOURSELF

Skills:

(Educational) __________________________________________________________________
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(Vocational) _________________________________________________________________­__
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Personal Strengths:
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Personal Weaknesses:
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Values:
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Achievements To Date:
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Personal Interests:
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Favorite Academic Subjects - And Why:

­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________

Least Favorite Academic Subjects - And Why:

­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________

Personal Opinion Regarding Education and Its Importance (or lack of) to You:
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Role Models:

Keep in mind that in order to experience success, it is imperative that we, early on, fashion ourselves after positive role models. Following the wrong role models can be a devastating mistake in the worst case scenario, and, at best, will slow the professional growth and development process. For this reason, we must carefully select those whom we aspire to emulate.

People You Most Admire - And Why? Who are these people? What are their values, occupations, roles in life? They are who you most likely fashion yourself after - why?

­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________
­­___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________

Primary Motivators Of Working People:

A number of motivators exist in our world. If money is your primary motivator, some career areas will not be appropriate. Some jobs offer security, comfort, and professional satisfaction -- but not money, prestige, or upward mobility -- what is important to you?

• Rank these motivators as to their relative importance to you:

(1) Money (1) ____________________________
(2) Prestige (2) ____________________________
(3) Challenge (3) ____________________________
(4) Comfort (4) ____________________________
(5) Benefits (5) ____________________________
(6) Job Security (6) ____________________________
(7) Professional Atmosphere (7) ____________________________
(8) Personal Satisfaction (8) ____________________________
(9) Upward Mobility (9) ____________________________

DEFINING SUCCESS

Somewhere in our psyche we embrace a definition of success and we have a perception as to what successful individuals might be like. By completing the following exercise you begin to develop in your mind's eye a profile of the type of individual you truly wish to be -- or certainly a profile of an individual whom you admire, or would readily follow.

Please provide in this space your definition of the term success: ___________________________
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When you visualize in your mind's eye what you perceive to be a successful individual, what do you see (think in terms of appearance, style, mannerisms, attitude, etc.)?

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How would this person's biographical sketch read?

• Age:

• Occupation:
• Educational Background:
• Socio-Economic Status:
• Social Activities:
• Values:
• Interests:
• Skills:
• Strengths:
• Weaknesses:
• Achievements:
• Goals:

ESTABLISHING GOALS

In the space provided below please list ten goals you would like to reach in the near future. Review these goals closely and then select the three goals that are the most important to you. After you have done this, explain what you are doing at the present time to reach these three goals.

Goals:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Goal #1:

Efforts being expended to reach this goal:



Goal #2:

Efforts being expended to reach this goal:



Goal #3:

Efforts being expended to reach this goal:



SUMMARY

Once you have concluded the preceding personal inventory take time to review your responses. If you are satisfied with the thoughts that you have crystallized on paper, begin to internalize them. Think about them and understand the background, experiences, and influences that led you to these responses. You need to reach a point where you can fully discuss yourself without hesitation. This is the only way that you can effectively sell yourself to a recruiter — or anyone else for that matter.

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PLEASE GO TO MY WEBSITE www.bagleyconsulting.com TO PURCHASE ANY OF 3 GUIDEBOOKS THAT PROVIDE SPECIFIC ASSISTANCE TO CRITICAL COLLEGE / CAREER AREAS:

· NAVIGATING TOWARD ACADEMIC AND CAREER SUCCESS (Preparing for and selecting a college just right for you)
· WHY ACCOUNTING? (Why ‘Accounting’ is an excellent academic major)
· IMPACT INTERVIEWING (Interview skills that win you that scholarship / internship / job offer)

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