In most cases, your resume is the tool that promoted you to the interview, and if you don’t know your resume inside-out, you will most likely sink your interview. Most interviewers use the resume as a platform for questions they will ask you, to review your skills, knowledge and past work experiences. This method helps the interviewer determine your creditability with your written claims; not knowing your resume will lead the interviewer to believe there are untruths on your resume. Your resume is documentation listing your education and work history which in reality represents life experiences, so you should be able to speak about it clearly, in detail and without hesitation.
We highly recommend reviewing your resume from start to finish and make sure you can speak intelligently about all facts you have listed on it. If you stated, you achieved something to make sure you can clearly explain how you achieved it. If you stated you have a certain skill, ensure you can speak about the skill so the interviewer believes you can perform it. Some people get real nervous during an interview and draw blanks when asked questions about their resume, reviewing your resume before the interview will help you remember. Since you might have many different copies of your resume, make sure you review the exact resume copy that you sent in for this position.
Not Knowing Your Resume Can Cost You The Job Offer
Many people who don’t have accurate facts on their resumes fall victim to failing the interview. Many interviewers will review your resume in-depth to ensure you’re worthy of consideration; a seasoned interviewer has the experience to weed out such candidates. Anything that looks questionable and can be tested can easily get you in trouble.
Examples of questions based on your resume; asked by the interviewer that will test your resume:
- “I see you’re fluent in Spanish, do you mind if we conduct the rest of this interview in Spanish?”
- “Your resume states you’re fluent in Russian, can you please count from 1-10 in Russian?”
- “You state on your resume you increased sales by 400%, what sales amount was that increase based on and how did you accomplish this increase?”
- “I see you reduced shortages by 72%, can you please outline your strategy and how you implemented each stage of it to achieve this result?”
- “The resume states you have in-depth knowledge of global economics, what do you think of the Japanese economy and its future”?
- “On your resume, you claim you’re very analytical and mathematical. One plus one half plus one fourth plus one eighth gets closer to a certain number; what is the number and why?”
- “Wow you had in an internship in Italy for four months, what part of Italy did you stay in, discuss your experience and how living there differs from our country?”
- “You state you won first prize nationally for an article you wrote on global warming, where can I see this article and is it published online where I can review it?”
- “You increased profits by 26%, was this company-wide profits or a certain division and explain the details of how you achieved this?”
Hopefully, you get the point, with anything on your resume you need to be able to quickly and intelligently speak about it to back up its reason for being on your resume. Don’t get resume amnesia; your interviewer will not accept that condition.
