Are you relevant for this position and/or the company?
Over the decades of writing professional resumes for executives, career transitions, and recent college graduates, they discover their overall relevancy in their chosen career and/or in the position they are applying for.
From an employers perspective by having granted you an interview, you are professionally qualified for the position. However, an employer will be seeking to determine whether or not you are relevant to the company’s mission.
As stated above, one way to determine your relevancy is from your past experience and how that experience benefits the company.
Sometimes as a professional resume writer I can highlight relevancy for a particular position when the candidate is not making a career transition. Then again I may be able in the Summary to indicate relevancy in a new career path based upon transferrable skill sets. An example would be for members of the military, police, and fire fighters. These are highly skilled individuals that have not been in the corporate arena. For these candidates it is extremely important to convey relevancy.
When preparing my clients for their interviews regardless of their past experiences, it is paramount for me to make sure they are ready to answer the question, "What makes you relevant for this position based upon your past experiences?" "What do you bring to the table that will benefit the company that is not written on your resume?
The answer can make or break an interview.
Let's determine what Relevant Experience means.
Relevant experience is any experience that will help you step into a new job as a turnkey. Relevant Experience is a combination of your Intellectual Quotient (IQ) and your Emotional Quotient (EQ). These two when balanced are what makes an individual successful in most endeavors. Telephone pre-screeners with a potential candidate are very good at getting to your core competencies and your EQ level. When they move you to the next level of the in-person interview, relevancy will be a primary factor in the interview.
Relevancy is life interactions and conversations. You bring YOU to every person, place and thing. Are you a person that has the ability to be an "Active Listener?" Do you judge rather than listen? Do you demand rather than request? Can you have a conversation with people of different viewpoints? How do you handle criticism?
In some cultures the company will place a major emphasis on your family and friends. The pre-screener will contact your references and former HRs. This can also make or break your potential to be one of the final candidates. Though the law is clear on the information an HR can provide, as a former HR employee it isn’t what we say so much as what we don’t say or how we communicate the information.
When you are asked to give a specific example of how you handled a difficult situation, never be critical of the interaction. Treat it as it was a learning opportunity. Remember, everyone is replaceable and this position may be an example of an employee that became a nonvaluable commodity. Yes, as an employee you are a commodity and the face of the company no matter what position you are in.
I had an uncle that could talk with anyone on any topic and when you walked away you knew that you just had an amazing conversational experience. He wasn’t so much as brilliant as he was more intelligent in the ways of life and people. He was not only loved by all family members, he was liked and respected by his customers, friends and neighbors.
The first thought a hiring manager has when he/she interviews you is, “Does this person have the skills and experience needed to step into this job and succeed?” That’s why it’s crucial to be ready to highlight relevant experience for each job you pursue.
While some hiring managers are just looking for raw talent, motivation, intelligence, etc., far more are looking at your prior experience and hoping to see relevant work that will help you directly in this next position.
So the more you can show the interviewer that you’ve used similar skills or successfully performed similar tasks in the past, the better they’ll respond to your answers.
If you have prior work experience, highlight that when asked about relevant past experiences. Even if it’s not a perfect match, find the similarities.
And if you’re a recent graduate or someone without any work experience, you can highlight what you studied, leadership projects, presentations, research, courses, certifications, and your volunteer work.
Relevant experience can include the following:
Work involving similar tasks (such as talking to customers, managing a team, hiring people, creative product development, and analyzing data).
Work in a similar or same industry
Academic work/studies in a similar or same field
Any other work that has presented you with challenges and opportunities that will help you learn this next job faster and be successful.
Steps to Answering “How is your past experience relevant to this role?”
1. Focus on the job description
You can’t relate how your previous experience is relevant to an employer’s role if you don’t first understand the position and which skills an employer wants to fill. This is done by reading the job description and the company's Mission statement.
Take note of what’s listed near the top of the requirements. Notice what’s listed multiple times or most often, too, in terms of skills and professional experience.
Finally, note whether the company indicates anything about what type of work environment feature, what type of team member they’re looking for, etc.
If so, you can take advantage of that information in the interview, and present a description of yourself that matches what they are looking for.
2. Review your experience and look for similarities
Once you’ve reviewed the job description, it’s time to look back at your own experience by reviewing your credentials and think about what work experience you have that’s most similar to the employer’s requirements.
This is the experience that an interviewer will be most interested in.
3. Demonstrate that you’ve done research
When you answer the question, “How is your past experience relevant to this role,” it’s a good idea to directly indicate you’ve done your research on their company and the specific requirements for the position. You do this by beginning with a phrase, “I reviewed your job description,” or “I read the job description earlier this week and….”
Researching the company and the role they are looking to fill is a good idea when preparing to answer a variety of interview questions. Hiring managers always appreciate a candidate who focuses on talking about their exact position and needs, rather than talking in general terms and using the word, “I” multiple times. Using this word too much can give the impression of being arrogant, and self-centered.
So this is a tip I recommend following when you answer other common job interview questions, too, such as:
4. Choose one or two examples of how your prior experience will help you in the role you’ve applied for
You don’t need to name every single way in which your past work experience is relevant to this next company’s job. Ideally, pick one to three ways in which your past career experience is related/similar to what this employer needs.
Companies would rather hear a couple of your strongest points rather than a list of ten vague ideas that barely demonstrate how your background is relevant.
5. Highlight specific accomplishments when possible
Next, consider adding one or two specific accomplishments into your response. For example, you could say:
One way that my previous role would be relevant here is through my work in "cold calling," since it required me to be an active listener and to contact existing customers for retention.
6. Recent experience is better
If you’re unsure which past positions to mention, keep in mind that it’s always better to talk about recent jobs if possible. Fair or not, most employers view recent experience as being fresher in your mind and therefore more relevant. Should you have been out of employment due to any number of reasons, and another candidate has been employed though seeking a career transition, your interview will be that much more challenging. Always try to be employed even if it is not in your chosen career.
7. Keep your answers to between 45 and 90 seconds
As mentioned above, responses highlighting two to three key points will be more impressive than a response barely touching on ten different points.
So as you prepare and practice your answer, aim for 45 to 90 seconds. If you believe more is needed, or if you have an exceptionally high level of knowledge related to this next role, then you can talk for slightly longer. However, 90 seconds is typically the limit I recommend aiming for when answering this interview question.
8. If you’re a recent graduate or entry-level job seeker, you can discuss your academic knowledge and any relevant volunteer work or summer employment.
Don’t worry if you have no prior professional experience to point to in your answer. Highlight relevancy.
Give an example or two of how your school projects and coursework will help you join this company and be productive and learn the job-related skills quickly.
Employers always want someone who can get up to speed quickly, learn the role, and be likely to succeed, so that’s what to target in your interview answer, whether that experience comes in via the classroom and internships, or work experience.
9. Stay confident; if the employer invited you to interview then they liked something about your resume especially if it was written by a professional resume writer.
When faced with a direct interview question such as, “How is your past experience relevant to this role?” it’s easy to lose confidence or panic.
So in your job interview, remember that they liked something on your resume and in your prescreen conversation. They would NOT have invited you to the in-person interview otherwise.
Also, realize that quite often, no candidate has every piece of experience an employer wants. Nobody’s going to be a “perfect fit” for the role.
So with any interview question about relevant experience, try to maintain confidence and do the best you can with your answer, without worrying about what experience other candidates may or may not have.
Conclusion
If you give clear honest answers, highlight your most recent experiences that show you’re qualified, and name specific career accomplishments, you’ll ace the interview and give yourself the best chance at getting hired.
If you take one thing away from this article, make it that interviewers and hiring managers want to hire an employee that they can train and one that will stay with the company five to ten years.
So make sure you’re prepared to talk about the position just as much as about your past jobs and professional career up to this point.
The more you can make yourself seem like a solution to their problems/needs, the more likely it is that they’ll offer you the position with their company.
Finally, once you have the job, continue to be relevant to the position and the company. Remember, everyone is replaceable and you may have been the replacement.
I write professional resumes and provide interview preparation courses.
Reach me at beaconresources@gmail.com
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