Walk Me Through Your Resume Manager
I started my career as a professional writer, first for a local newspaper and then an online news publication. In that second role, I was promoted to Managing Editor in my third year, when I took over managing a team of seven writers. Ive been on this same career path since then, managing teams of between five and twenty staff for a couple of different online publications, all with millions of readers per year. Im now interviewing for director-level positions as I look for the next challenge in my career. Im still employed by my most recent employer on my resume and the job is going well I simply feel its nearing the time to make a change in order to keep challenging myself and growing. We also had an investor back out recently which is putting our expansion plans to a halt and limiting my budget to hire and grow my team as well as the website. Id like to take on a new challenge, and the Editorial Director position that you posted seemed highly relevant.
Why Does The Hiring Manager Ask This Question
So, why would a hiring manager ask you to walk them through your resume? While its true that the hiring manager could read your resume, this question is about more than that.
First, hiring managers want to see if the information you share lines up with your resume. Overall, 85 percent of employers have discovered inaccurate information on candidate resumes. By asking you to walk them through your application, they increase their odds of finding possible fibs.
Additionally, hiring managers know that your resume is just part of the story. By asking you to walk them through the document, they give you an opportunity to add some context that might not have fit into your application.
Finally, your answer gives the hiring managers clues about your personality. Theyll learn more about what you think is most important in your professional history, and that can give them a lot of valuable insights.
Surprising Ways Employers Phrase Tell Me About Yourself
Employers might phrase Tell me about yourself in a variety of ways, most of which are open-ended. Be prepared to respond to similar inquiries such as:
- How would you describe yourself?
- Guide me through your resume.
- Tell me about your background.
Learn to identify alternative forms of this question and answer them the same way you would with, Tell me about yourself.
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Common Mistakes To Avoid
Its easy to misunderstand what the hiring manager is asking you for, but remember that they have already read your resume. They think youre qualified enough for an interview, which is an excellent sign.
That being said, dont bombard your interviewer with too much information. This will make your answer come across as unfocused and unprepared. The interviewer will try to figure out why youre giving them extra details and how you think theyre relevant to the position.
Best Ways To Answer Walk Me Through Your Resume
Every interview will always focus to get the best out of the job seeker. There are many things which impresses the interviewer in just a few seconds.
One of the most common thing which represents the job seeker before the interview is the resume. There are many chances that the interviewer might have evaluated the job seeker through his/her resume.
But there are also chances that they wish to hear a review of your resume directly in the faceto face interview.
So, the question undoubtedly would be Can you please walk me through your resume? Read this post to know how to answer this question in a smart way.
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Example : Research Assistant
“During my time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I spent my undergrad as a research technician for the department of zoology. During this time, much of my research work involved the study of primate behavior. Once I graduated from my program, I found a research role with the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. I also worked in their zoology lab, this time focusing on how therapy animals affect human health and well-being. During these studies, I was responsible for recording data and running reports.
“I find that both of these experiences have prepared me for the next step in my career. Along with getting used to working in a lab setting, I have definitely improved my communication, organization and critical-thinking abilities, as I have highlighted in the skills section of my resume. I can effectively work with others and find that I have quite a bit of patience when it comes to research methodology.”
Why Is This An Important Question To Get Right If You’re On The Job Search
Since this question is usually the first question asked in an interview, your response sets the tone for the rest of your conversation. Youre making a first impression here, and you want to get it right.
If you have a top-notch response, youll excite the interviewer about talking with you. If you arent well prepared and your response is a flop, the hiring manager might decide youre not the right candidate before youve even dug into the meat of the interview.
It all comes down to taking the time for interview prep. We know you can do it!
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Before We Continue Download The Sample Investment Banking Resume
Use the form below to download our sample investment banking resume:
When discussing your college experience, be sure to highlight any summer internships even if they are non-finance related and any clubs where you have a leadership role on campus. Be sure to focus your response on professional internships and clubs where you serve as a leader much more powerful than discussing clubs where you are simply a member. In fact, the same things you highlighted when creating an investment banking resume a focus on academic, professional, and extra-curricular experience that demonstrates leadership should be highlighted in your resume walkthrough.
Poor answers
Poor answers to this question include ones that ramble on. If you are giving your life history to the interviewer, you are surely failing the question. The interviewer is looking to see whether you know how to present a succinct response again in case they ever decide to put you in front of a client. The other purpose of this question is to see whether you know how to separate essential information from non-essential information an important skill in finance.
Great answers
Final thoughts, dont underestimate this question. Believe it or not, it is a deal breaker for some interviewers and is one of the few questions that you can prepare for because you should be expecting it.
Sample great answer
Go Beyond The Bullets
When youre walking your interviewer through your resume, you shouldnt just name your job titles or recite your resume entries. Do not just read through the bullet points, Goodfellow says. Instead you can connect each job to a skill or experience directly needed for the job. You can share, There I really honed my problem resolutions skills and share an example, or, After only 6 months, I was promoted to assistant manager
If youre making a career pivot or youre an entry-level candidate, youll want to focus on highlighting the transferable skills you gained in one context or past experience that apply to another.
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Walk Me Through Your Resume Example Answer For Fresh Graduates
I graduated from Boston University in May and have been focused on my job search since then. I earned my Bachelors degree in computer science and also completed a three-month internship with IBM focused on product testing and quality assurance. I think the ideal next step in my career is to obtain a full-time position with a growing technology company like yours, and your products interested me so I thought it made sense to apply for the Junior Fullstack Developer position to learn more.
Question #: Do You Have Any Questions For Us
When I was still new to the workforce, I viewed this question as being purely for my own benefit. If I felt I had gotten sufficient information from the person I was speaking with, I would let them know that I didn’t have anything I wanted to ask. But this question isn’t just an opportunity for you to learn more about the position at hand it’s an opportunity for your interviewers to gauge how thoughtful and passionate you are about the job.
By far one of the biggest, and most common mistakes, a candidate can make is saying no to this question. If you have not prepared any questions for the interviewers, they may interpret this as a lack of interest or engagement in the prospective position, Bracher explains.
The simple fix? Draft a few questions beforehand!
Make sure you have prepared a list of questions for the interviewer. These may be questions about the role or the work environment. Preferably, the questions you are asking will demonstrate an interest in both the role and the company, Bracher says. For example, it is a good idea to ask questions that surround specifics about the responsibilities and expectations, while avoiding questions that are overly self-serving, such as salary-related questions.
A few questions you might want to ask in particular include:
Is there a question you’re struggling with that you don’t see above? Don’t worry. Bracher had some additional tips for job seekers, regardless of which question they face.
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Calm Your Nerves Even If You Have Not Impressed:
Even though this answer does not directly link with answering your walking through your resume question, it is equally important to keep yourself cool and calm down when you have not done justice to your answer.
Mistakes happen, so do not get worried if you are not satisfied or your performance was not at your best. Remember that you have many chances to prove you about your qualification and your confidence has to be higher to walk down through the rest of the interview.
The Best Way To Answer Walk Me Through Your Resume
When asked to walk an employer through your resume, its best to explain your background in chronological order, starting with your education or the beginning of your current career path. Then share the key career moves youve made, accomplishments, promotions, changes, and end with your current situation and what youre hoping to do next.
Even if they dont ask directly, I recommend ending your response by explaining what youre looking for in a new job and why you applied to this position. Those are details that every interviewer wants to hear at some point in the conversation.
Also, focus on sharing information thats relevant to the job youre discussing now. Spend most of your time sharing skills and experiences that will help you step into this employers job and succeed.
You dont want to share everything youve done when answering, Walk me through your resume. Instead, highlight your most relevant jobs, skills, and qualifications.
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Acknowledge Gaps In Your Resume
If you have a significant gap in your resume that might raise questions or red flags for your interviewer, you should acknowledge it in your answer. If you skip it, the interviewer might assume youre hiding something, Smith says, and theyre probably going to ask anyway.
You dont need to hide your gaps. Everyone has a story, Smith says, and the story around your gap could be what makes you unique and memorable. For example, Smith says, I once had a gentleman tell me a story about how he took a year off work to travel the U.S. He had photos at the most northern and southern points in the U.S. How cool is that? Or maybe you can connect your story to your career. For example, if youre a graphic designer who spent time touring Europe and seeing every art museum you could, you might talk about how you plan to apply what you learned to your work.
Even if you dont have an exciting story, you should still fill in the gap for your interviewer. You can read more about how to explain some common reasons for resume gaps here. And dont feel the need to overshare, Goodfellow says. Transparency is good but you want to focus on why youre the right person for the job.
Walk Me Through Your Resume
- the employer wants to learn more about you and to bring to life the information on your resume page
- they are assessing whether you are able to communicate effectively and provide a comprehensive and cohesive response
- they are evaluating your ability to focus on the essential information that pertains directly to the job opportunity and not ramble on about irrelevant details
- they want an answer to the question “Are you the right person for this job?”
- they want clarification on any areas that may be of concern to a potential employer
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Share Whats Next Connect Your Future Goals To The Role Youre Interviewing For
This part is KEY and I promise you that it makes a huge impact.
Most interviewers are curious as to why youre leaving your current role and what attracted you to the role you applied for, so take this opportunity to share those things proactively.
I think a nice transition sounds something like this:
While working at has been a great experience, Im looking to step into a role/join a company where I can .
Always be diplomatic when discussing why youre leaving your current role but dont be so vague that it seems like youre covering something up.
Critical Mistakes To Avoid When Answering
As a former recruiter, I can tell you that Ive talked to quite a few candidates who werent completely familiar with their own resumes. So thats the first big mistake to avoid.
If its been a while since you wrote your resume, its easy to forget whats on the page. So before your job interview, go through your resume and practice your answer a few times so that you dont hesitate when youre asked to walk the hiring manager through it.
Another common mistake is to give an answer thats scattered and long-winded. Similar to answering, Tell me about yourself? its best to keep your answer to one or two minutes maximum. The hiring manager isnt looking for you to read every line of text on your resume when they ask this question.
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How To Avoid Falling Off The Path With Walk Me Through Your Resume
First, do NOT spend too much time on the Beginning: do not explain your family history, why you picked all your classes, why you took a medical leave in your second year, etc.
Second, avoid excessive plot twists. Dont say that you went from being a novelist to a lawyer to a hockey player to a male escort to a banker simplify it!
Third, dont forget to give a reason for each transition and move in rough chronological order.
If youre jumping forward and backward, you need to group together and simplify your experiences.
- So why, exactly, would anyone ever want to leave PE and go back to banking?
- If you liked banking so much, why did you move to another industry afterward?
- How do I know you wont just move back into PE a few months after you start here?
Group together the first two internships and say, I did private equity and boutique investment banking internships, liked working on deals, and want to focus on , which your group specializes in.
Finally, do not include information that doesnt help your case.
Students love to go on tangents and explain 2-week internships at the local library, prizes from high school activities, and all 12,731 of their activities.
Mentioning all that information to the interviewer is like telling someone that you have herpes on a first date: it ensures that there will be no second date.
How To Answer Can You Walk Me Through Your Resume
· When walking an interviewer through your resume,keep your answer short and succinct. Typically, the answer to this interview question should be two minutes or less. You dont want to give them some long-winded answer that leaves them checking their watches. If you have a short interview, keep it short.
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Example Answers To Walking Through Resume
You should give an in-depth response to this question lasting approximately two minutes. This is your opportunity to highlight the parts of your resume you believe deserve attention and give more information about these points.
Briefly mention where you grew up and your education. Telling your interviewer why you chose your last educational institution and your major, if appropriate, will add some context to your resume. Make sure to mention internships and clubs that gave you leadership or industry experience during that time.
Unless you are taking an entry-level job, next mention your job history. If your job history is long, the two most recent positions should suffice. If these are in the same industry, note any experiences or responsibilities you believe will help you in this role. If you are transitioning from a different industry, you may mention why your experiences there led you to decide on a career change.
Since this question is commonly asked, it’s a good idea to plan out your response before your interview. This will give you an idea of how long your answer is, and whether you need to add information or eliminate any unnecessary details.
Memorizing your response can help your performance in the interview, but make sure you don’t sound as if you’re simply reading a script when delivering your answer.