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Ask A Progeek: What DO I bring to the position?

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What’s our question this week?

How do you answer “What do you bring to the position” in a job interview without reciting the job posting OR going too off track?  What’s the right balance of requirements and outside details?

I don’t know anyone that really enjoys answering this question (OK, I kind of do, but I like a challenge).  The problem with saying “what do I bring to the position?” is that we’re not sure if we’re answering the question, or answering the question for the person asking it, or . . . well, you get an idea.

Really, we don’t know what kind of questions we’re answering or who we’re answering them for.  We’ve just been asked “what do we bring” after filling out a lot of forms and reading a laundry list of requirements (or, just as bad, no list).

The first thing to do is to realize that the question is coming and prepare.  If you’re shocked this comes up, then you’re not ready.

The second thing is to review the position – not just the requirements, not just what people said it is, but what it really is.  Do your research, read up, etc.  If you’ve been in a profession for awhile you probably know it pretty intimately.

With this review, then compose your answers for “what do you bring to this position?” ahead of time.  Make sure it answers what you can really do for the real position.  Feel free to work in a few bullet points or catchphrases if you think it’s needed, but make sure it’s a real answer – a real in-context answer.

Third, prepare to be pre-emptive on this question.  If an opportunity comes up to show what you can do, use it – just don’t blatantly spit out a bunch of catchphrases or prepared statements.  If someone asks about specific experience, focus on the stuff you’ve done and know relevant to the job – in context (as I always say).  Make sure you’re answering the question ahead of time.

If you do it right, you’ll possibly spare your poor interviewer from having to ask “what do you bring to the position,” because they’re probably tired of asking it and getting a verbal tsunami of an answer (or blank looks).

Fourth, work this into your personal branding – very big for us professional geeks.  Is there a chance to show that what you bring to the position is, well, you?  Can you use your meekness as an edge in answering (or preemptively answering) that question.

So the question’s coming.  Be ready.

– Steven Savage

Ask A Progeek – When Do Skills Not Go On A Resume?

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And our question today . . .

Are there some skills that are considered too common (like Word) or too bland (like people skills) to be worth mentioning?

In an age of overloaded resumes it’s actually an interesting question to ask – what do we leave out?

The answer, of course, is that there’s no simple yes/no rule.  No, that’s not a cop-out, because the question itself is actually the wrong question.

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Promoting Professional Geekery #30 – Tell Authors and Creators

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When is the last time you told an author how much their book helped you in their career?  Or an instructional video creator how much they changed your life?

Probably not as often as you’d like.  Actually *I* could be better at it, truth be told, but at least I feel guilty about it when I don’t do it.

If you want people to appreciate and see the value of the Fan-To-Pro lifestyle and career, you need to tell people who helped you out.  That includes authors of the career guides, instructional videos, and other information products that are helping you build your dream job and life.

Almost every author out there has a blog/book web page/something out there.  It’s not hard to find them – in fact it may be hard to avoid them as authors want to be found.  They’re not writing the Necronomicon, they’re writing and selling books and they want to be located.

So go out there and find the author whose book or video changed your career point of view or opened your eyes and let them know how good their creation was – and let them know you’re a professional geek.

Why do they need to hear this?  Well first of all, trust me, any author wants good feedback, we can be kind of insecure.  Also, it helps us become better authors by finding what you liked and didn’t.

But for we progeeks?  We need to let authors know they help us, because they need to know about us and our demographic.

Unless said author is writing a book specifically targeting progeeks, they’re not going to necessarily think about us very much.  They may not even know we exist.  Their world may not include anime-fanartists turned UI designers or ambitious writers turned to tech communication.

When you let them know how great their books or classes or whatever was, you let them know about you.  You let them know about people like you.  They get a sudden jolt that gives them a bit bigger picture of reality.

That means they can better get their books, videos, or whatever out of people like you.  That may mean supplemental material that helps out your fellow progeeks.  That means they may make new and interesting creations targeting people like you  They may blog about their thoughts on people like us.  Making them aware helps them work with people like us – and helps them more.

You help them become aware, do more, and reach more, just by saying “I consider myself a professional geek, and you helped me reach this dream.”

Who knows you might make a new friend or find some new options yourself.

So when an author makes a difference in your career, reach out to them.

– Steven Savage