Opinions Matter - Getting Noticed in the Career Transition Job Interview

What you learned in corporate life is not always the best lesson to move your career ahead by winning in the job interview. Senior level executives have learned through their corporate experiences to focus on accomplishments. Resume advisors and HR professionals continually encourage executives-in-transition to populate their resumes with quantitative performance results. (You know the drill - increase profit 363% by implementing innovative world-changing new strategy in earth-shattering record time...) That's all well and good, but here's a secret that will help you stand out in your job interview: have an opinion.

At times, you must wonder whether all those performance facts actually make a difference. Certainly they do. They do on the resume. They do in the interview. BUT. If you want to be memorable (and isn't this the goal?) demonstrate during the interview that your intelligence and experience gives you a perspective that is different than other candidates.

For example, Joseph can say his financial skills led to identification of cost reductions resulting in a 12% profit improvement.

But another candidate may tell the same hiring manager than he reduced costs in his previous company by 15%, 18%, or 62%. What's important isn't that you just quantify, but that you can tell how and why you achieved this success and that you can bring that skill to the hiring firm. Joseph can say that the 12% profit improvement was a result of his keen ability and belief in identifying those strategically necessary processes versus nonproductive resources and his ability to communicate and sell an aggressive cost-reduction program to senior management. Now the hiring manager sees that how Joseph can deliver the result.

Alan, a marketing executive, might explain how his philosophy of branding was applied to drive the growth of the product portfolio in his last position. It is this opinion that will be remembered by the hiring manager more than the % growth. Opinion matters.

Now for the caveat. Of course, this doesn't mean to suggest that you should be bombastic, outrageous or controversial in expressing an opinion. That will get you noticed, but probably not get you past the interview. Be smart, but let your experience and the opinions you have developed shine through.

Express opinions. Be confident. Get noticed.