You've found the perfect job, written a stellar resume and a captivating cover letter, and have landed the interview. You're dressed to impress and know that your skills match the position description perfectly--but what else is the hiring manager looking for? What won't they see on your resume?
Hiring managers evaluate candidates on much more than just their technical skills. The interview process should bring out more than just your hard skills--it should also include who you are as a member of the team. More than anything else, the in-person interview is a way for the manager, and the team member, to evaluate how you fit into the existing puzzle. Here are two traits that hiring managers will look for in your interview that they won't find on your resume, and that we have heard over and over for the past couple years.
First, Passion. Early in my recruiting career, a hiring manager told me – “you can’t train passion,” He is right. There are a lot of skills that can be trained, but passion is not one of them. How do you show passion? Be excited about what you’ve done. We know work isn’t always exciting, so show your enthusiasm by mentioning hobbies you enjoy outside of the office. I once sat in on an interview where a 25-year-old candidate was so excited about knitting that I considered learning to knit.
Second, ask good questions. It shows you are intrinsically curious and helps build rapport with the interviewer. Recently, someone told me they asked the interviewer, “who is your hero in the company?" This question alone will make a candidate be memorable and show they are interested in more than surface-level information.
There are a lot of ways in which you can be memorable and set yourself apart, these are just a couple things we’ve heard from multiple hiring managers at organizations across Indy.
Ashley Reller is an account manager in our Indianapolis office. You can find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.