As job seekers we spend hours on our resume: strategizing, organizing, concocting the most well constructed paragraphs to define who we are and what we’ve been doing with our lives onto a piece of paper (no, that doesn’t make me stressed out). We show up to the interview ready, prepared, knowing our resume in and out; and ready for any questions that come our way. We’re ready to get this offer! We’re 5 minutes into the interview and the interviewer comes at you with the most general questions, asking questions that are easily answered on your resume. A twinge of frustration and disappointment hits… you think to yourself, have you even read my resume?
I know – it can be frustrating. The time, the preparation, and sometimes its even feeling a bit disrespected. And, I understand.
And – Don’t take it personally. Recruiters sometimes can literally be booked the entire day with phone screens and don’t have the opportunity they’d like to thoroughly review your resume prior to the call. The hiring manager you’re meeting with may be coming right from another meeting or may have just had to let someone go. I know it’s not easy to do, but this is a good time to remember that we don’t always know what someone’s day looks like, or what is happening on the other side.
What you don’t want to do is let your emotions get the best of you and angrily respond – did you even read my resume?! Yes, it’s warranted. But you are cool, calm and collected and can handle any situation. So in your preparation you share verbally about who you are and what you’ve done and where you’d like to go. This is why having a great resume is only one part of the equation. More importantly, you need to be able to communicate who you are and what you do.
If you’re interested in scheduling a call you can do that here.
