6 Top Tips for Talking Through Your CV in an Interview
As an interview coach with 20+ years’ recruitment experience, I am often asked questions like; “how should I prepare for an interview?”, “what should I expect in an interview?” and “what are the most common questions?”
My advice? When it comes to preparing for interview questions, the first thing to put in your toolkit, should be confidently talking through your CV or career history!
With so many interviewers kicking the session off by asking candidates to give an overview of their career to date, or to talk through their CV, you’d be crazy to not be ready for it!
Here’s my 6 top tips to ensure you ace it! 🤩
6 Top Tips for talking through your CV in an interview
💫 Keep it relevant to the role – Make sure you are familiar with what the role is and what the company is looking for. You will only be providing an overview of your career, so keep it brief and relevant to the job you have applied for. It is important to tell the interviewer about the things they are interested in! Leave out the detail of all the irrelevant jobs along the way or you could lose the interviewers.
💫 Highlight key skills and qualifications – Use this opportunity to impress the interviewer with the relevant skills and qualifications you’ve gained throughout your career. This will be music to their ears and give them confidence that you can do the job.
💫Emphasise achievements – It’s one thing to talk through your roles and responsibilities in your various positions, but for extra points, be sure to share some of your greatest achievement while you were there. This can really separate you from the crowd as interviewers begin to understand the impact you could have on their business.
💫Show your progression – Be ready to talk through the rationale for your job changes throughout your career. Interviewers like to understand why you move from role to role and how you have evolved and developed from each position. If they see lots of hopping from job to job without a clear explanation, this can cause them concern.
💫Demonstrate your motivations – Be clear about what has motivated and inspired you along the way. Interviewers need to understand what makes you tick and why you would want to work for them.
💫 Stay Positive – This goes for both when you are talking about yourself, as well as past employers. No matter what your previous experiences have been, the interviewers don't want to hear you talk bad of past managers and companies. Keep it positive and leave a great impression.
Practice telling your career story using these top tips and get ready to shine in your interview! 🌟
Good Luck! 🍀
Cara
Should you want more guidance to prepare for an upcoming interview please check out my interview coaching packages available here: https://www.stellarimpact.co.uk/coaching
Alternatively, if you’d like to discuss or have any questions you can get in touch here: https://www.stellarimpact.co.uk/contact
If you’d like more interview techniques, you can follow me at:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-quinn-a2200241/
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Cara Quinn - Interview Coach