You made it to the final round of interviews and you hear: “Walk me through your resume.” This question might seem simple enough, but it is one you should spend time preparing for. Even though it’s tempting, avoid regurgitating your resume. You want to bring your resume to life. This question is an opportunity for you to showcase your accomplishments. You should frame each experience in a way that will prove you are the best fit for the job.
Use the following steps to help you successfully answer “walk me through your resume”:
1. Preparation
Know your resume inside out and back to front. There is nothing worse than stumbling over your answer and seeming unsure about your own experiences. Focus on the required skills needed for the job you are interviewing for. Start by reading over the job description as well as the company’s mission statement. Based on what you find, choose what details are most relevant. Think about how you can show your value by describing the impact you had rather than just day to day duties.
2. Education
If you are a new graduate, your education will be the meat of your answer. Go in-depth about your major and any relevant coursework. Talk about assignments or projects you completed that helped prepare and inform you of this role. Be enthusiastic. Choose examples that are relevant but also ones you take pride in. If you are a seasoned employee, your education is still appropriate, but you will want to focus more on past jobs. Use this portion of the resume to lead into your entrance into the workforce.
3. Past experience
If you are interviewing for a position that is different from your past ones, find parallels between these roles. What transferable skills have you gained that will continue to apply to the job? If you are a new grad, internships or extra-curriculars are great ways to show your work ethic. Explain how these experiences fostered your skills and how you hope to further hone in on them. This is the time to share any significant accomplishments or qualifications that would make you the best candidate for the job. Rely on storytelling to give tangible and concrete examples.
4. Tricky areas
If you have any parts of your resume that might bring up concerns, don’t be afraid to address them. These areas could be gaps in employment or a dismissal from a position. Be open and honest when explaining. If you were dismissed from a role, show what you have done to better yourself as an employee. While you shouldn’t focus all your energy on this section, it’s never a wise idea to lie about or avoid it entirely.
5. Close with your career goals
End on a positive! Even though it might not be an area on your resume, end your answer by sharing some career goals. Like everything else, these should be relevant to the position. Based on your past and current experience, what else are you striving for in your career? Share your plan of how you wish to reach these achievements. Having a plan for your aspirations shows that you are focused and want to grow in your career.
Once you have covered all your bases, it never hurts to ask the hiring manager if there are any other areas they would like you to address. Be thorough but don’t ramble. Overall be confident and enthusiastic in your answer. Showing excitement about your past jobs will help hiring managers see you care and want to excel in this new position.
About Live Assets | IT STaffing Solutions
Live Assets is a boutique IT Staffing/Recruiting firm specializing exclusively in building IT teams of excellence for the Information Technology sector.
We are a small, but productive team that works closely together and has had a 96% success rate for the past number of years!
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