Have you ever worried or wondered about whether you should take your resume to the interview? If so. you are in great company. It’s a question that’s bothered most of the job-seekers I’ve coached over many years.
Why is the interview happening in the first place?
I think the main reason people are unsure about this is the mindset they carry into the interview. Do you tend to feel that you are attending an interrogation? That’s how most people seem to feel.
Yes, you are going to face some tough questions but you are in fact a participant – an equal player – in a business meeting where people are trying to make a good hiring decision.
The meeting is happening because they are trying to solve a problem by hiring someone like you.
Why did you agree to attend the meeting?
You are there to find out more so that you can decide if you want to accept the role if you reach the offer stage. A meeting between adults to decide if you want to work together.
So, if you were attending a ‘normal’ important work meeting, what would you take with you? I reckon you would prepare your thoughts, takes some prepared notes and relevant documents for reference.
You would also have a way of writing down any important information you gathered or commitments agreed to at the meeting.
Why treat an interview any differently? Personally, as a recruiter or hiring manager, I get a little nervous about a candidate who turns up attempting to “fly blind” in the meeting and writes nothing down from our discussion. It can leave me wondering if they are taking it seriously.
They asked you to attend because they already think you could be the answer to the problem. Otherwise you would not have been invited to the meeting!
So, take your resume to the interview:
Also, take other tools to help you in the meeting
- a neat folder containing a pad with questions you want to raise
- space to write down the information you gather during the meeting
- a copy of your resume (and cover letter) for yourself to refer to as needed
- spare copies for each member of the interview panel in case they don’t have one or forgot to bring it
- any useful documents that you have discovered in your research into the role and company. Enough to refer to but not so much that you find them hard to manage and look clumsy in the meeting
- And if you have business cards to leave with the panel if the opportunity presents itself, take them along too. And it’s OK to ask if they have cards to give you too.
That’s it. It’s a meeting. Take the tools you need and use them with confidence.
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