Most candidates just give a quick look at the job description provided in the job listing. And that’s where they go wrong.
A close analysis of the job description will tell you a lot about the kind of questions that you can anticipate during interviews and what exactly the employer is looking for in their ideal candidate.
It will also give a clear idea about what you should talk about during interviews.
If you customize your approach and strategize your interview preparation based on the job description, you will always be a step ahead of other candidates.
So first, let’s be clear about what is a job description.
A job description is simply a description provided by the employers about the roles & responsibilities, qualifications, and skills that are required for a given position.
While some job descriptions are more detailed than others, all is not lost if the job listing doesn’t provide you with enough details.
In such cases, you can try to network around and find more information about the position.
You can also read job descriptions of the same position but of different companies to get more clarity on the role.
Now, if the job listing does provide extensive information on the nature of the position, here are a few tips on how you can leverage it to your advantage:
The first step is to identify relevant skills and competencies regarding your qualifications and experience.
For Example:
If the job listing reads “looking for someone who can manage and lead a marketing team to raise the sale of XYZ product,” you want to identify and highlight instances where you’ve demonstrated good leadership, marketing, and sales skills in the past.
And if, in your previous roles, you’ve managed to achieve a similar goal, be sure to talk about it during the interview.
Also, keep an eye out for a requirement that has been repetitively mentioned in the job listing. You know that it is a priority.
For instance, if there has been use of words like liaising, coordinating, collaborating, and organizing in the job listing, what do you think is the common requirement to perform these tasks efficiently?
Yes, communication skills.
- You need to read between the lines, identify the employer's top requirements, and showcase how you can meet them during the interview.
- The next step is to identify your selling points or your strengths and weaknesses from the job description.
- Make a note of which requirements out of the ones listed in the job description are your strongest skills.
And along with that, ensure that you can talk about instances wherein you’ve exemplified the same in the past.
The same goes for your weaknesses.
It is extremely important that you prepare a comeback for your weak points and anticipate counter questions that can come up during interviews.
For instance, if your experience is not directly related to the particular niche the recruiters are looking for, try to emphasize how you can apply the skills from your past role to benefit the company now.
Try to identify such instances from your previous role and note them so that you know exactly what you will talk about during interviews.
And that’s how you can leverage the information from the job listing to level up your interview preparation.
