Prepare your career interview question in advance.Follow the three steps to learn what to include, set it up and run it effectively.
Good career interview question help you to discover more about yourself and get important
feedback from others about your career plans and what you need to do to implement them
effectively. Learn how to get the most from it.
1. What to includeA career conversation should be a meaningful discussion between you and another person who
is providing you advice.
The career interview question you include and the topics you choose to cover in the
conversation should be guided by your overall career
goals and objectives and your career research plan.
Topics to consider in your career interview question are:
General discussion - you should feel comfortable having a general discussion with your
immediate manager at any time about your career. It is always good to talk about how you
are progressing in your current job, the kind of experiences you are gaining and also
discuss issues or concerns you may have. You should be able to have a good and meaningful
dialogue with your manager or the person giving you advice. Also, use everyday opportunities
such as casual conversations to develop a good working relationship with your manager - this
will pay off in the long run and will help you in your career development.
Competency assessment and gaps - a career skill or competency assessment
is best done with someone like your immediate manager. Prepare in advance by
doing a self-assessment around the core competencies of your job and department. Assess where you are
, what your gaps are
and also some ideas you have around action steps to close those gaps.
Then include this in your career interview question and ask your manager for their
feedback. Be open to their suggestions. They may not
completely agree with your self assessment so be prepared to have a two way dialogue. If you
have many gaps ask for their advice on which gaps to close first. Get their feedback on your
strengths as they see it - as others may see things that you don't. You can also ask them
how they developed themselves. You may get some new ideas and insight from this
discussion.
Development plan - this can also be part of your career interview question.
You can have a discussion around your development plan before
you put it together, as you are progressing or even as you complete it. It is useful to
bounce the plan off others such as your manager so they give you objective feedback and
also make some recommendations for improvement. Pay attention to the ways you are going
to develop yourself and ask for advice. You may be surprised to find out many new ways of
developing yourself that you may not have thought about before.
Future aspirations - career interview questions can be around your career wants and needs
, a particular position, department or profession you aspire to in
the future. If your career change involves staying with the same company then have a
discussion with your manager first. He or she may then point you in the right direction and
even advice you on who else you should meet.
2. How to set it up and run it effectivelyFollow the simple tips below to set up and run a career conversation effectively. Respect
both your time and the other person's time and plan on getting the most from the session.
Define objective and prepare questions - decide early on what you want to
include in your career interview question and achieve during the conversation. Write down
your goals and objectives and ensure you have
adequate time to cover them. It is better to focus on a few vital career interview questions
than trying to rush through an entire list. Also, give some thought to the questions you
are going to ask and prepare well in advance.
Identify the person - once you have an idea about your objectives it is time to
select the appropriate person. Ideally start with your manager but also be open to having
a conversation with other managers, subject matter experts, colleagues, role models,
mentors and generally people you respect and trust. You could also contact industry experts
from industry bodies and specialist recruitment companies for advice. Look around you and
do not be afraid to
ask - sometimes people we would not have picked or do not want to talk to may have some
valuable insight.
Pick a time and a place - pick a time and place that is convenient and conducive
to having a good conversation. Be open to requests from the person you are meeting if they
have a preference for a certain time/venue. It is best to avoid the start and finish of a
week and also noisy places. A one hour discussion should generally suffice for the first
discussion. If you still need additional time for important career interview questions you
have not asked then see if you can organise another time.
Send a reminder - it is always good practice to send a reminder or re-check
availability before the meeting. A gentle note stating your general aims for the meeting is
sufficient as a reminder. This also gives the other person an opportunity to prepare in
advance if necessary.
Visualize - pick a quiet place where you will not be disturbed and try and visualize
the meeting in advance. Reflect on how you will conduct the meeting, what you will ask
and things you will be looking out for. Visualization is a powerful technique and will help
you to set things up in your mind before the meeting.
Start the meeting - before you get to the career interview question start the
meeting by thanking them for their time and
outlining the objectives of the meeting. It is always good to set some context to the
discussion and perhaps give them some background about you, your career aspirations and how
the meeting objectives fit into that. This way the other person has a better idea of why
you are asking certain questions and may even be able to fill in some blanks on issues you
may not have thought about.
Cover the topics - as your discussion progresses keep an eye on time and also
on the topics. Take notes during the discussion and stay in control. It is after all your
meeting so direct it the way you want it to proceed.
Be open to new discussions - it is good to cover all your career interview
questions but also stay
open and alert to new possibilities. This is a fine balance between sticking to your topics
and allowing some room and freedom for the conversation to go down a certain path. You may
make new discoveries during the conversation that may help open up new possibilities or
considerations in your career development.
Ask for contacts - this is a very common lead generation tactic and one which
you can also use. Everyone knows someone so ask the person if he or she would recommend
someone else that you should talk to. If you do not know that person then ask for a
referral or if you can use your host's name during the introduction. You may open up new
doors this way.
Close and thank the person - finally, it goes without saying that you should try
and close the meeting on time and also thank the person for their generosity. If a follow-up
is necessary then do that in the specified time period. A nice touch would be to send them
a thank you email or card after the meeting. If possible, be on the lookout on how you could
return the favor to them one day in some way. This is a good way to maintain your contacts
and build a network over time.
3. Integrate information into your career development planYou will have a lot of answers to your career interview questions and additional
information about yourself and your career by the
time you have concluded your career conversations.
Record them in a proper place such as your journal. Integrate action steps
into your career development plan.
That way, all of it stays in one document and makes
it easier for you to follow up.
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