Why Interviewers Ask You to Describe Your Current Job Role

Some candidates think this is a silly question to ask. After all, didn’t you work hard to craft those resume bullet points? Shouldn’t your interviewer be able to get this information from a quick read-through of your resume?

Well, someone obviously read your resume and determined that you were qualified enough to call in for an interview. However, the person who ends up interviewing you may not have had time for a full review — or she may have reviewed it and forgotten the details (easy to do when you have a busy schedule and especially if you are interviewing numerous candidates with similar backgrounds).

You may get this question even if your interviewer is intimately familiar with your resume. It’s a good question for a couple of reasons:

1) It can put the candidate at ease. This question is much easier to answer than the most common interview opener, “Tell me about yourself.” It is a specific question about current or very recent events so the details should be easy to recall and articulate.

As an interviewer, I want to make candidates feel comfortable because I know they will be more likely to open up and show me what they’re really like.  Many other interviewers follow a similar approach.

2) It can help the hiring manager clarify and expand upon the resume. There’s only so much a resume can communicate (even a great resume that’s written by a pro). Your resume obviously got someone’s attention.

However, your future boss will want more details and context to determine if you’re the best person for the job.

3) It can help the hiring manager validate that the resume isn’t B.S. People have been known to lie on their resumes.

Shocking, I know. Your interviewer will want to make sure that all of those impressive bullet points are true.

In general, your most recent position is always going to be the most relevant for your interviewer.  What have you been doing lately?

Your description of your current responsibilities will provide a good idea of the work that you’re capable of doing at this point in your career.

How to Answer: Describe Your Current Position

Here are some guidelines for wowing your interviewer with the answer to this question:

1. Focus on results. Many candidates make the mistake of just listing their job duties (they make this mistake in the job interview and also on their resumes).  If you want to impress your interviewer, focus on how you performed and how you went above and beyond the job description.

Stress any impressive achievements (a promotion, an award), statistics  (#1 sales person, 26 people managed), numbers (revenue generated, expenses reduced), or other details.

2. Customize for the position. You can develop a standard approach to this question. Again, don’t try to memorize a script (I repeat this advice constantly because I really mean it). You just want an outline of the bullet points that you want to cover.

Once you have a standard approach in mind, be prepared to customize it for each new job opportunity. For some positions, your standard description may work perfectly.

For other roles, it may make sense to add an extra line or detail if the firm is looking for specific expertise that you don’t always highlight. Analyze the job description and think about how you can show that your current position has prepared you to master the new role’s responsibilities.

3. Be concise. Don’t try to describe absolutely everything that you do. Nobody wants to hear about TPS reports. Focus on the highlights that this particular interviewer will care about. Don’t feel obligated to explain details that could be confusing or lead you off on a tangent.

Stick to the most relevant and impressive aspects of your job. If the interviewer wants to dive into the details later, he will ask for more information.

Inside Big Interview, our complete training system for job interviews, we give you video lessons, sample answers, and an interactive practice tool for all of these different versions of “Describe your current position” Watch this brief video to learn a little more about Big Interview. 

SOURCE: biginterview.com